The Motor Parkway Billboard on Horace Harding Boulevard in 1934
Following up on the great detective work from David Stephan, Al Velocci and Art Kleiner, the Motor Parkway billboard on the north side of Horace Harding Boulevard as seen in 1934 is presented here.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The view looking east on Horace Harding Boulevard in Fresh Meadows. The Western Terminus billboard can be seen on the right.
The entrance to the Motor Parkway was hard to miss.
By 1934, the toll for the Motor Parkway had been reduced to 40 cents, the equivalent of $8 today.
Billboard Documentation courtesy of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, Al Velocci and Art Kleiner
The billboard was owned by the General Outdoor Advertising Company. In their 1932 contract with the Motor Parkway, the cost was $36 per month.
The billboard was expected to be completed by April 30, 1932
The copy layout.
In 1935, the Motor Parkway requested a lower monthly fee due to the "advent of State Parkways" resulting in lower tolls.
Other Views of the Western Terminus Billboard
Courtesy of the McCamish Family Collection
Courtesy of the McCamish Family Collection
Comments
Great shots! Anyone know what the structure was on the left? Looks a little like a service station.
Wow!! Super job cleaning up this photo-of-the-year. Approaching the Motor Parkway entrance with all signs in plain sight. NOW the parkway entrance is clearly visible!
One problem with the contract though. If the sign was installed 500 feet west of the MP entrance, it could not be located 800 feet east of North Hempstead Tpke (Booth Memorial Ave) as stated, more like 1500+ feet east of NHT. I wonder how that issue was corrected/resolved?
Lots of changes soon to come in this Pre WWII photo. With the world soon entering the war, Motor Parkway’s closure in four years, Nassau Blvd to transform into Horace Harding Blvd in preparation for the 1939-40 World’s Fair, the “Wizard of Oz” in color in five years.
Mitch - The structure resembles a service station with three bay doors, the center door being blocked by a tanker truck. A great location to fuel up before heading out to Ronkonkoma. I guess it was tucked in that far off the roadway as to not encroach in the city’s 160’ RoW
Spectacular photo Howard!