About
The six Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 were the greatest sporting events of their day, and the first international automobile road races held in the United States. The races had a far-reaching impact on the development of American automobiles and parkways. This site provides comprehensive information on the races, the Long Island Motor Parkway and current Long Island automotive events, car shows and news.
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Co-Founder and Writer: Howard Kroplick
Co-Founder: Dana Kroplick
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Recent Comments
Robert——great stories! What is / was EJ Korvettes? Riding sleds down onto Clinton Road doesn’t sound very safe! But then again….young boys aren’t the smartest things out there!
You MUST have pictures of the abutments in the backyard! If you do have them please let us know! Or any other LIMP pictures would be cool too but the abutments especially would be great.
From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City
Fantastic Foto. 1931, an impressive Army? display of Keystone B6A bombers over early Curtiss Field, Roosevelt Field, and Mitchel Field. I counted 3 squadrons alone in this photo, possibly more had passed through at this event; the sky was roaring on this day.
This was at the intersection of Old Country Road (diagonal at the left) and Clinton Road (horizontal at the bottom). Watch for the red-light cameras today. Motor Parkway is diagonal at the top, and Stewart Ave is diagonal just above it.
Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field was used for storing the Spirit of St. Louis, just before its famous flight to Paris with Charles Lindbergh at the helm (May 20-21, 1927). It was the second hangar from Clinton Road. A historic sign is long overdue!
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
As I’ve noted a few times already, my grandfather Donato Lerario worked on this portion of the VMP and, in fact, then bought some property just to the west of it on Windhorst ( one house south of Central) where he built his house. He moved to that house from one in Astoria which he also built.
As kids me and my cousins would constantly walk along the Deadman’s Curve which was fully paved at that time. The road was surrounded on both sides by blueberry bushes and already completely obscured from the small neighborhood in that area.
My son Gram and I explored this particular section many times over the years and it remains our favorite portion as well!
From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Hike" I: Stewart Avenue to Deadman's Curve, Bethpage
Definitely looking forward to viewing these. I’m guessing having this treasure in your keeping is the next best happening than winning a lottery, Howard!
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
William believes a historic marker is long overdue for a building in this aerial (courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation).
What is the building? What is its location? Why is it historic? Hanger 16 in Roosevelt Field - the hanger that Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis was stored. While not pinpointing the exact spot, documentation shows that Waco Sales of NY, Inc. occupied Hanger 16 in the early 1930s. The mystery photo shows this building on the lower portion of the picture.
Identify the airplanes: Keystone B-5 Bombers
Identify the major roads and parkway in this Mystery Foto: Motor Parkway, Old Country Road, Clinton Road, Stewart Avenue
What year was this aerial taken? 1931
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
In this photo, which shows Curtiss Field in the foreground, we are looking east towards Roosevelt Field. The famous building is hangar 16, in which Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis” was stored and prepared for his historic flight in May of 1927. According to Joshua Stoff’s book “Charles A. Lindbergh, A Photographic Album”, hangar 16 was immediately west of Roosevelt Field so I believe that would be the building that’s only partially visible against the left edge of the photo. The major roads are Clinton Road, Old Country Road, Stewart Avenue and the L. I. Motor Parkway. The planes are Keystone B-6A bombers, which were first delivered to the the US Army in 1931 so I’ll go with that as the date.
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
Wow, what a find!!! I saw the article in today’s Newsday Life section and was fascinated by what was found. A true treasure trove. It really went to the most qualified person to preserve all those maps and photos. We know that Howard will take excellent care of them. Way to go Howard!!!
Rog
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
-William believes a historic marker is long overdue for a building in this aerial (courtesy of the Cradle of Aviation). What is the building? What is its location? Why is it historic?
Lindbergh’s Hangar that the Spirit Of St. Louis stayed in the night before his transatlantic flight. Located along Old Country Road near the current Roosevelt Field entrance.
-Identify the airplanes
Keystone B-5 bombers
-Identify the major roads and parkway in this Mystery Foto
The intersection of Glen Cove Rd/Clinton and Old Country Road bottom left corner. The LIMP and Stewart in the upper right.
-What year was this aerial taken?
1931
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
I stumbled onto this photo and was intrigued by the airplanes. So after a lot of googling I can answer some of the questions.
I am not sure about the building. I think all of the buildings in the photo are gone as is Roosevelt Field and Curtis Field. This is now shopping malls and subdivisions. But somewhere in this photo is the hangar where Charles Lindberg’s Spirit of St. Louis spent the night before he took of for the historic solo trans-Atlantic flight. That’s my best guess - seems to deserve a marker.
The airplanes are Keystone Bombers - possibly B-4’s.
Clinton Road at the bottom - Old Country Road at the left - the Long Island Motor Parkway upper right. The parkway is now gone - but the other roads are still there.
Finally found it - 1931.
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
Mitchell Field.
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
Mystery Foto #14… I want to believe that the building Moyers is referring to is the Curtiss Engineering Corp plant built in 1918 on Clinton road in lower foreground. Historic because it was the world’s first facility dedicated to aviation research and development. The planes are Keystone light bombers. Some of the roads here are Clinton Road across the bottom of photo. Old Country road at the lower left corner. I believe that Motor Parkway shows in the upper right side. Photo taken in 1931.
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
I would call that discovery the “Frosting on the Cake”
you must have been thrilled when this was discovered
Keep up the good work, Jerry
PS green
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
FWhat a find
I have a map of old Farmingdale If you are interested
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
What a day! and how lucky to find these photos! Thx for sharing, Jeffrey H. Sado NYC / Bourne relative
From Frederick Gilbert Bourne- President of Singer Sewing Machine & a Long Island Motor Parkway Director
Hi again Robert - When playing by the walls in the fiftys, while they were still 8 ft. high, do you recall a dark sign/plaque affixed on the top edge of one of the walls? If so, do you remember what the plaque read?, year? The sign once fixed to the wall was missing today.
From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City
For me, the building is one of the Dade Bros. buildings in lower left, where I worked ca. 1957/8, but you probably mean the surviving hangar on Old Country Road. Keystone B-3/4/5/6 Bombers (I’d opt for B-6 for their high numbers) over Roosevelt Flying Field with Clinton Road at right front, Old Country Road at left front, and the LIMP diagonally across the upper right in front of Stewart Avenue. The Keystone B-6 came out between August 1931 and January 1932 and was assigned to nearby Mitchel Field (at far upper right, where they are heading), so I’d guess 1932.
From Mystery Foto #15 Solved: The Historic Hangar 16 at Curtiss Field (Circa 1931)
As always; great and thanks. Takes me back to when I first slogged and forced m,y way through the more over-grown areas which I, and later Al and Howard and a few others (and then LI Parks), cleared. Slowly but surely you can see how it looked “before” as I restore more and more of my old website. Keep it up! The 71-year older Sam (III)
From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Hike" I: Stewart Avenue to Deadman's Curve, Bethpage
“Pitter-patter”, indeed! Sam, III
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
Fantastic find and outcome! I’ll be getting my hard copy soon.
From Newsday LI Life Cover Article: "Treasure box’ sheds light on history of Motor Parkway
Hi Robert - Fantastic story about growing up near the Mayan Ruin walls in Garden City. Just today a group of LIMPPS members met this morning by the walls. With permission, we witnessed the entire Russell Rd wall has been reduced to approx 3 ft. In height. The Pell Terr wall now stands half at 8 ft., the other half at 3 ft. It must have been some fun back then with the huge structures standing tall out of the ground!
From Sam & Dave’s Excellent Lost Motor Parkway Adventure III: The "Mayan Ruins" in Garden City
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