Update: The Motor Parkway Toll Collection Structures: #11 Massapequa Lodge in Plainedge
Going west to east, the tenth Motor Parkway toll collection structure was the Massapequa Lodge in Plainedge.
The Lodge was located west of Massapequa Road, now Massapequa-Hicksville Road.As one of the original three toll lodges built in 1908 and on the course for the 1908 to 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races, the Massapequa Lodge is very well-documented.
Update: September 6, 2026: The date and credit for the 1959 photo was corrected. and the Zinzi ownership of the Lodge was documented.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
July 1908 Survey
The .448 acreas for the lodge in "Plain Edge" was purchased from Joseph Walsh. The lodge was named because of its entrance on Massapequa Road.
1908 Image
The Massapequa Lodge was one of the three identical toll lodges designed by John Russell Pope and built in time for the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race.. The other two were the Meadow Brook Lodge and the Bethpage Lodge.
This a view looking east from the Wantagh Avenue Bridge. The lodge is in the background on the right. The Central branch of the LIRR is parallel to the Motor Parkway on the right.
1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race
This is the view from the Massapequa Road Motor Parkway Bridge. Note the pioneering guardrails on both sides of the parkway.
A classic view of Old 16 climbing the bridge.
1909 Vanderbilt Cup Race
The Motor Parkway section for the 1909 and 1910 courses ended at the Massapequa Lodge. A temporary banked road connected the Massapqua Road.
A wonderful view of the lodge.
A telephone operator calling in the standings to the officals' stand.
The eventual winner the Alco Black Beast taking the turn at the lodge.
This photo was taken further down the temporary road. Note the lodge in the background.
1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race
Even larger crowds showed up at the lodge in 1910.
One of the few images showing the "Massapequa" sign.
This appears to be a large map of the Motor Parkway.
1938
Thomas and Josephine Zinzi, bought the lodge from the Long Island Motor Parkway Corporation on June 20, 1938 after the Motor Parkway had closed. If the Zinzi name sounds familiar, it's because Thomas Zinzi was Badge #1 of the Motor Parkway Police Force, while Arthur's grandmother Josephine Zinzi was the lodge keeper before the lodge closed for good in 1938.
Zinzi Residence (1938-1960s)
A view of the Zinzi's home in May 1938, one month after it closed as the Massapequa Lodge.
Note how the Zinzis expanded the home by enclosing the porte cochere. The term comes from the French translation of "coach door".
The Zinzi's enjoyed almost 30 years in the lodge raising a family there in the process.
This brief film documents the former Massapequa Lodge of the Long Island Motor Parkway as seen in 1953 when it was the Zinzi residence..
In the film, the Zinzis can be seen with their daughter Francine on her wedding day leaving for church. The film was found in the family archives and provided by the Zinzi's grandson Arthur Mauriello. It was edited by Gram Spina.
1950 Aerial
The "keyhole" entrance from Massapequa Road was similar to the Meadow Brook Lodge entrance.
March 27, 1959
The original photo was taken on March 27, 1959 by a Nassau County Department of Public Works photographer Bob Donahue. He snapped this photo of the lodge to document future project sites and captured the decaying pavement of the parkway.
At this time the Zinzi's were still in the lodge, but only for a couple of more years. the lodge was torn down in the 60's to make way for the eventual Nassau County Police Eighth Precinct building and Crescent Woods Garden Apartment complex.
Now
The lodge was demolished in the early 1960s and the site became part of a garden apartment complex. Note the right-of-way of the Long Island Parkway has been repaved and now leads to the Eighth Precinct police station. The location of the Lodge was on the right.
A Google Earth view of the site for the Massapequa Lodge.
Comments
Love the pic of Old 16 climbing the bridge!