Vanderbilt Cup Races

Prior to A.I.

Before A.I. infiltrated everything, this example would have been the most inaccurate photo and caption one would've encountered. Maybe you've seen one already.

This September, 1908 photo is one of the most famous and most circulated photos of the Motor Parkway. It is also the main cover photograph of The Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society. Free to join, it is a wonderful society to learn all about the Motor Parkway and Vanderbilt Cup races.

It displays the Motor Parkway looking West from the top of the Carmen Ave Bridge looking across the Hempstead Plains in now Westbury along current Salisbury Park Drive (of which this portion of the Motor Parkway became after 1938 when the Parkway closed). The motor car in the photo is the 1908 Buick owned by the photographer with his assistant in the vehicle. Far off in the distance is the Ladenburg Estate, which is now the Salisbury section of Westbury.

This particular post found isn't as inaccurate as others as the only inaccuracy in the caption is the background being New York City. But in most other references and posts of this photo, I have seen claims that this was an early photo of the Long Island Expressway in 1908. A quick look at the history of the expressway and you'd realize the L.I.E. wasn't built for over a half century later, but even these older, incorrect posts persist.

A.I. Everywhere

With the introduction of A.I., these posts have gone from simply inaccurate to downright preposterous. Some being so fake, the average person can judge that it is artificially produced.

Can anybody distinguish what make ANY of those cars are? No. And modern guard rails?

Clearly A.I.

I've seen this one multiple times now. Where to begin with this one? Just about everything.

As is with the rest of the examples, I can write entire stand alone posts for what is wrong with this image.

But clearly, the image has a sign above the roadway saying it is the Motor Parkway! It has to be correct! It's on the Internet!

This one is made for you to believe this is the opening of the Motor Parkway.

But is it really? In a word, no. Even looking beyond the awkward wording of the sign, the fake nature of the image just 'feels' wrong, and it is.

For reference, here is an actual photograph of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Long Island Motor Parkway on June 6, 1908, in Central Park (now known as Bethpage) on Long Island.

The actual photo looks a tad bit different!

I don't think A.I. itself put in any effort to try and reproduce an image of the actual Parkway with this image.

And maybe that might be the point, so people can clearly deduce it's a faked image.

One doesn't have to know a single thing about the Motor Parkway to realize this isn't even a 1908 image.

Words aren't even necessary for this one. In the comments, you yourself can describe what you see as 'wrong'.

This one seems to be very popular as I've run into this one more than others.

Wrong? Yes, VERY!

For us Motor Parkway enthusiasts, even casual people, these posts can be frustrating, especially when you see people buy into them in the comments.

This one, flat-out made me chuckle.

Because not only is it not the Motor Parkway, but how often do you see your Teddy bear pulling a horse-drawn carriage down the street? Maybe for some, they haven't seen something like this since their Woodstock days in 1969.

For the goof of it, I tried to ask Meta's A.I. to envision the Parkway in 1908 and this was my result. Just about as good as the rest!

So yes, for fun, go A.I. crazy! In a recent post, Cristofer Damianos Jr. from the Damianos Realty Group, submitted a few of the Vanderbilt Cup races he created for fun. But that is the point, it was for fun and not be accurate.

So if you notice one of these in the future anywhere on social media or elsewhere, post a link of this post and/or website, let's keep A.I. for fun and not to create history.

Consult this website if you are unsure about accuracy. Or, to speak directly to ask, or report, something extremely inaccurate, you may email [email protected].