Vanderbilt Cup Races

Congrats, Howard.  Great to see your stories and photos of our past “neighbors”.

From The Roslyn Times: Local historian wins award

No, not just neatly arranged, I believe this is the foundation of the Creedmoor Highway bridge. A recent overlay placed it right on the spot. This is the only LIMP remnant I know of the area besides the pedestrian underpass.

From Remnants of Long Island Motor Parkway Discovered in Queens

I believe LIMP remnants of the Creedmoor highway bridge still exists in this area. Eric Shaffer’s recent findings of concrete embedded in the grass lays where the bridge’s foundation should have been. This is the only remnant I know that still exists in the area besides the pedestrian underpass.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/remnants_of_long_island_motor_parkway_discovered_in_queens

From The Expansion of Union Turnpike and the Relocation of the Motor Parkway East of Winchester Boulevard

Thanks for the most interesting presentation!  I was around in 1938 but I was a bit too young to be interested in the Motor Parkway.

Ken Harris

From The Expansion of Union Turnpike and the Relocation of the Motor Parkway East of Winchester Boulevard

Western Terminus.

From Mystery Foto #43 Solved: A 1939 View of the Motor Parkway Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows

Looks like its going thru Eisenhower (salsberry) park east of Merrick ave.

From Mystery Foto #43 Solved: A 1939 View of the Motor Parkway Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows

The LIMP Creedmoor highway bridge’s exact location is also included.

From The Expansion of Union Turnpike and the Relocation of the Motor Parkway East of Winchester Boulevard

WOW! Never seen these surveys before, and they’re loaded with info; bearings, lengths, radius’, and ROW widths. This is as accurate as possible. Thank you gentlemen for sharing these. Great stuff!

From The Expansion of Union Turnpike and the Relocation of the Motor Parkway East of Winchester Boulevard

The path or road that continued N/O the Creedmoor Highway Bridge meandered thru quite a bit of forest. I read that they used to have the patients tend to the farm fields. Just being outdoors and doing some yard work can be quite therapeutic.

From Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge Series: #9 The Creedmoor Bridge in Queens Updated: 10/22/16

Oh, THAT’s who the others are!  Sure wish you’d give us better blow-ups of pix, especially the letters.  Sore eyeballs notwithstanding, the guest list is an impressive array of early car buffs.  “Alec Ullman”!  WOW; I’ve been trying to think of his name for years; he was a friend my Dad’‘s and wrote a history of Mercedes I’ve misplaced.  Now I can update my Mercedes pages and bibliography!  Thanks a million, Howard.  Bet that monster Mercedes was either Ullmann’s or Charlie Strich’s.  Sam, III

From Mystery Fotos #42 Solved: A 1948 Picnic at Lowell Thomas' Home in Pawling, New York

I had gone on Google search for 1923 Cadillac for photos, which came up with lots of photos of the car. Something new for me, great stuff Google.

From An Accident on the Motor Parkway in Garden City on July 8, 1931- Updated: 10/17/16

I’m a little surprised that this map does not show the proposed Creedmoor Parkway which was to run along the abandoned Central Railroad ROW from somewhere west of the still in operation Creedmoor Spur to the Flushing area. Some other maps from the 1920’s showed this as part of the grand plan to expand arterial highway construction. For some reason all this old highway/railroad/subway/trolley history in East Queens is fascinating to me,e.g.,your recent Union Tpke. underpass discovery. Keep up the good investigative work and thank you for making my neighborhood (Queens Village) more interesting.

From 1925 Long Island Map of Queens Traffic Arteries & Proposed Highways and Parkways in Nassau & Suffolk

I havn’t been in this area for several years, now. It looks like the housing complex is basically at the N/W corner of Ruland/Maxess Rd? I remember a bit of farmland at this locale ( And ocassionally meeting up with a old timer/tractor tilling the soil ) It’s good that the workers filled up behind the north embankment. The dirt will harden over time, and provide stability. Good job with the updated photos , Art.

From Status Report: The Ezekiel Smith Farmway Bridge on Maxess Road in Melville Updated: 10/16/2016

I agree with Walt that the car in that crash is a Cadillac listed in my standard catalog of American Cars that it to be from 1922-23? period, base on the photo of the wreck, the right fender lines, the headlights, though the horn was to be under the hood? It’s listed as a 4dr Touring 7p.

From An Accident on the Motor Parkway in Garden City on July 8, 1931- Updated: 10/17/16

Great stuff Dave Russo and George Zink for exposing this gem. There was no access point for the midway wooden staircase on Union Tpke’s north sidewalk. I checked. Most likely it was sealed off soon after construction, as stated in the construction diagram. Its entry sliding door along with two others must still exist within the underpass.

From The Union Turnpike/Long Island Motor Parkway Pedestrian Underpass

Another one I didn’t have too much time for. Other than my guess of this being a possible political fundraiser of some sort at NY Gov.Thomas Dewey’s Dapplemere in Pawling, I didn’t discover much on this one. Since I spotted a couple of Jeeps in the background, maybe this was for his 1944 Presidential campaign.

From Mystery Fotos #42 Solved: A 1948 Picnic at Lowell Thomas' Home in Pawling, New York

Very tough series of photos this week and I ran out of time. However, I’ve got a few guesses: photo C could be Walter Hagen; photo D could be Mel Allen. Since photo F has the Dewey sign, I’m thinking the host of the party was NY Governor Thomas Dewey at his farm in Pawling, NY on the occasion of having just won the Republican Party’s nomination for President around June, 1948.

From Mystery Fotos #42 Solved: A 1948 Picnic at Lowell Thomas' Home in Pawling, New York

This post definitely got the explorer bulb burning. I had to go this weekend and check it out! Great find. And if there were any remaining “unknown” or “mystery” element regarding the inside of this tunnel I would definitely have gotten in there but I see what it is, it’s a great find but the pic you see over the door looking in….that is exactly what is on the other side so it’s just a straight / narrow / concrete run from one side to the other.

It’s great that we have this venue to share our discoveries and fuel the exploration passions.

From The Union Turnpike/Long Island Motor Parkway Pedestrian Underpass

F. James Melton, Robert Montgomery, Eddie Rickenbacker, Howard Morgan’s, Neil McElroy, Gene Tunney, Lowell Thomas in 1948

From Mystery Fotos #42 Solved: A 1948 Picnic at Lowell Thomas' Home in Pawling, New York

I wasn’t going to comment, although I think that guest “A” is Eddie Rickenbacker, but it just occurred to me that it’s 40 miles from Boston Corners to Pawling!  Can you even IMAGINE driving the Bête Noir from Roslyn out to Yaphank just for a party?  No trailering for Peter, not back then!  I recognize a few others, like the boxer, but can’t name them.  Mightn’t the writer, “B”, be a famous broadcaster, like Lowell Thomas?  The “Dewey wins!” headline was on 03 Nov 1948 so it was probably a bit earlier.  AHA; that’s tenor Jimmy Melton driving; he had a nice car museum up around Pittsfield or thereabouts (later moved to Florida)!  Sam, III

From Mystery Fotos #42 Solved: A 1948 Picnic at Lowell Thomas' Home in Pawling, New York