Vanderbilt Cup Races

In answer to Mr. Frank Femenias, comment about the odd dimensions of the balcony that could have very well been a balcony for plants and decorative foliage and it probably was, but from a child’s mind, we always thought of something more freighting, after all we thought it was an old haunted house and plants just didn’t fit in.  Thank you for your observation.  I’m sure your right.

In regards to Mr. Walt Gosden, I agree with you on that magnificent structure and the surrounding grounds, how anyone with any forethought, being the town, county or state did not try to save that property, two acres on lake front, four acres altogether with an incredible view of the lake from the hill where the Petit Trianon was built, the building itself was made of stone with a slate roof, it would have lasted forever, inside some of the plaster came down from the ceilings, probably from rain getting in, but basically the old girl was in great shape, no vandalism to speak of and all the boarded glass, even up to the fire of 1958 was still in tact.  Thank you for your forethought.  Somebody dropped the ball.

From New Series: An Insider's Look into the Petit Trianon in Lake Ronkonkoma Part I.

Identify the building and its location:
• Garden City Hotel, 45 7th St, Garden City, NY
How was this building related to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?
• The Garden City Hotel served as the headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Race
      Commission from 1904 to 1910.
What was the approximate date of the photo?
• 1973

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

My best guess is that may be the Garden City Hotel under the wrecking ball in the ‘70s.  W. K. Vanderbilt used the hotel for board meetings of the Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

It looks like the takedown of the Garden City Hotel in 1973.
The hotel was host to participants and spectators of the Vanderbilt Cup races.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

The Garden City Hotel   Shame!

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

That looks like the third incarnation of the Garden City Hotel (45 Seventh Street) in beautiful, downtown Garden City, NY. as it was being demolished in the summer of 1973. It was the headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Race Commission from 1904 to 1910.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

7th street & Cathedral Ave., Garden City. The Vanderbilts were frequent visitors there. Meetings for construction of the Long Island Motor Parkway were attended there. Doing this from a phone, no fun.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

Garden City Hotel (most famous third version, 1901-1973), during demolition after filing for bankruptcy. Look Out Below!

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

This is an absolutely wonderful insight into that magnificent structure and the surrounding area. Thank you Mr. DeStefani.

From New Series: An Insider's Look into the Petit Trianon in Lake Ronkonkoma Part I.

This is the original Garden City Hotel on the north side of 7th Street in Garden City. There were one or more dinners there during the Vanderbilt Cup race to celebrate the event.
It was the gathering place for old cars every Easter many decades ago, and I remember going to annual antique shows there and even at a young age marveling at the “grandness” of the place.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

Identify the building and its location
The demolition of the 3rd incarnation of the Garden City Hotel in Garden CIty

How was this building related to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?
The Garden City Hotel served as the headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Race Commission from 1904 to 1910.

What was the approximate date of the photo?
Jan. 15, 1973

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

This is the Garden City Hotel. Not sure when it was demolished. Maybe early 1980’s? Perhaps the site of Vanderbilt awards ceremony and or lodging for race teams.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

Demolition of the Garden City Hotel in 1973. The Hotel hosted many of the racers and attendees.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

This picture must be when the idiots in charge knocked down the original Garden City Hotel in Garden city. It was torn down in 1973 and replaced with garbage. The hotel was used as headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

Hi Howard:

    Answer:  Garden City Hotel…..    Ron

From Mystery Foto #17 Solved: The Garden City Hotel Being Demolished in 1973

Could also be a third occupant sitting behind the driver. I’ve yet to see anyone sitting behind Willie K while driving.

From Mystery Foto #16 Solved Again: Ralph Beardsley's Simplex Practicing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race

I loved this. Thank you Mr. DeStefani for the descriptive view of the interior. I know a child’s memory and views of early events can be precise and everlasting. Mine sure are. Those small balcony doorway/windows over the reading rooms are indeed strange. My best guess for their purposes was to keep the guest off the balconies for safety reasons (the low walls outside), and were probably used as crawl access points for maintenance crew outside. Those balconies could’ve been used for displaying large plants or trees high up, complImenting the famous inn. Looking forward for more insights from within!

From New Series: An Insider's Look into the Petit Trianon in Lake Ronkonkoma Part I.

As noted, despite it looking like the 1910 winner of the VDBC race early in the conversation we dropped all the way down to 15th place with the Simplex of Beardsley…....I’d rather it be factual, so all is well there…....a possible Hotchkiss in the center.

The focus of the photo by the photographer is a 1908-09-10 Mercedes.  My guess is either the person (or car) was significant or driving through with a significant amount of speed catching the photographer’s eye.  Was it Willie K?  We may never know, but the lad in the passenger seat with the huge mustache would be an easy validation if another photo is known of a driver or someone involved with the race had that mass of undernose thatch. 

Who knows what is still out there to be discovered.  Thank you all and enjoy your day.

From Mystery Foto #16 Solved Again: Ralph Beardsley's Simplex Practicing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Unless he shaved his mustache the day of the race, that almost looks like it could be WK Vanderbilt himself at the wheel- especially since that does appear to be a Mercedes.

From Mystery Foto #16 Solved Again: Ralph Beardsley's Simplex Practicing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Interesting photograph, which turns out to be more difficult than it looks like at a first glance. The year is 1910, the location is the Vanderbilt Cup race course in front of the grandstand. The numbers indicate the the pits. The structure on the left is the officials stand with clock. With respect to the cars: easiest seems to be the 1910 Mercedes on the left. The race car on the far right is the Simplex, driven by Beardsley and mechanician Coote with no.6 in the Vanderbilt Cup race. The 4 on the car is probably a number from an earlier race, possibly the race at Brighton Beach held early September, where Beardsley competed in the 1 hour race. At that time Beardsley had just joined the Simplex team as a professional driver. The car in the middle is unclear to me at the moment: is the radiator round or not? If its is round, an option is Hotchkiss. Details however are hardly visible (though the shapes of radiator and front axle do match more or less), but still I have some doubts about the roundness of the radiator. A better scan would be very helpfull!

From Mystery Foto #16 Solved Again: Ralph Beardsley's Simplex Practicing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race