Vanderbilt Cup Races

Nuvolari’s winning Alfa Romeo was not the fastest car in the race, but the car better equipped to handle the challenging curves of the 1936 course

From Mystery Friday Foto #30 Solved: And the Award Goes to...Tazio Nuvolari in 1936

Howard:

The photo was taken on October 13, 1936 at the NYC Manhattan Ambassador Hotel during the prizegiving ceremony of the Vanderbilt Cup 1936 won by Tazio Nuvolari, Alfa Romeo 12C-1936. Nuvolari is on the right while George Vanderbilt is presenting the small permanent cup of the winner.

The small cup is today on display in the Tazio Nuvolari Museum in Mantua (Italy). The large Vanderbilt Cup is on display in the Museo Nicolis in Villafranca di Verona (Italy).

Many thanks for showing the photo and for the always interesting newsletter.

All the best.

Aldo

Aldo Zana

From Mystery Friday Foto #30 Solved: And the Award Goes to...Tazio Nuvolari in 1936

What a marvelous collection of automobiles! Rolling sculptures.

From Hemmings.Com; Strolling the Lawn at the 2024 Misselwood Concours d’Elegance

Presentation of the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup Race Trophy
October 12th, 1936
George Vanderbilt 1936 trophy, manufacturered by
Cartier
George Vanderbilt and Tazio Nuvozari
The trophy is in the Museo Micholis in Verona, Italy

From Mystery Friday Foto #30 Solved: And the Award Goes to...Tazio Nuvolari in 1936

Photo shows George Vanderbilt, on the left, presenting Tazio Nuvolari with Vanderbilt Cup Race Trophy, the winner of the Vanderbilt Cup Race held at in 1936 at Roosevelt Raceway. The reason this mystery photo was presented at this time was because it was found in the Domino’s Pizza Car recently acquired by Howard Kroplick.

From Mystery Friday Foto #30 Solved: And the Award Goes to...Tazio Nuvolari in 1936

That’s George Vanderbilt on the left presenting Tazio Nuvolari with the trophy for winning the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup Race. The ceremony probably took place on October 12, 1936, the day of the race at Roosevelt Race Tack in Westbury. I believe both trophies were manufactured by Cartier. The large cup in the background is in the Museo Nicolis in Verona, Italy. Not sure about the small cup that is being held by Vanderbilt; maybe it’s still in the possession of the Nuvolari family.

From Mystery Friday Foto #30 Solved: And the Award Goes to...Tazio Nuvolari in 1936

Looking forward to seeing you and this special ride in Pebble Beach. Best of luck for continued concourse success!

From The 1937 Chrysler' Chrysler is heading back to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Congratulations! Beautiful car!

From Tucker 1044 honored with Best in Show at the 2024 Misselwood Concours d'Elegance

Fantastic awards!  Congrats!

From Tucker 1044 honored with Best in Show at the 2024 Misselwood Concours d'Elegance

Another congratulations to the Tucker Team on winning Best of Show.
I’m sure there were many people in attendance that never saw a Tucker in person.
It’s great that Howard takes his Tucker Out to car shows for people to see and appreciate the work done by the Team.
Looks like a great location for a Concours.

From Hemmings.Com; Strolling the Lawn at the 2024 Misselwood Concours d’Elegance

There are actually two versions of this painting.  The first is the subject of this search and appears in the actual movie.  The second is a winter snow scene version that appears in a made for tv compilation of Godfather 1 and Godfather 2. My guess is that the subdued original painting shows off the characters better.

From Update: The Hunt for the "Godfather" Train Painting is Over

Wow! Amazing rare find of the Croton reservoir demolition-in-progress photo. Great find Greg!
Below:
Reservoir in 1899 after the Dewey parade.
New York Public Library construction underway 1903-1910

From Greg O's Garage: The Great Wall of East Hills and Long Island Motor Parkway director Clarence Mackay

Congratulations Roz & Howie. Well deserved.

From Tucker 1044 honored with Best in Show at the 2024 Misselwood Concours d'Elegance

I am a student of the Lindbergh kidnapping and have an out-of-town friend who is a big fan of Chares Lindbergh’s flight (not so much a fan of the man, mind you).  I learned that Lindy (probably reluctantly because he was dead tired) accepted MacKay’s invitation to have dinner at his and his wife Katherine’s Harbor Hill mansion the night of his Broadway ticker tape parade.  (His mom and NYC mayor Jimmy Walker went with him.) Frank’s terrific overlay enabled me to drive over to scout the site of the mansion and the gardens, so that when my friend comes to L.I. I can easily show her where the front door was, and where Lindy had dinner( in the dining room.)  Of course, my view was from the steet, not from within the properties of the homes!) I dug into the MacKay family and discovered a couple of neat things:—Mr. MacKay funded the building of the mansion, but it was his wife who actually planned it all out.  SHE told the architect to base the house on a mansion in France (which still stands) and worked closely with him. SHE planned all of the interiors.  She ruled all of this with an iron hand.  TheMacKays’ youngest daaughter, Ellin, fell in love with a little Jewish guy and wanted to marry him.  Daddy, an Irish Catholic, said “No way,” and sent Ellin to Europe for a few months in hopes she would forget about him; she didn’t. When she married the little fellow in NY City Hall, Daddy would have nothing to do with the bride and groom and he cut her out of his will.  (However, he had set up a Trust for her, which he could not touch, so by the time she got married she was already wealthy.  SHe and her hubby lived happily ever after.  They brought their children up to observe Jewish holidays and to attend the synagogue.  MacKay lost everything in the stock market crash.  He sold all of the furnishings and gave the house to his son, who just let it rot.  Eventually (around 1949, a real estate developer bought the land for only $10,000 and blldozed the remains of the dilapidated mansion and the once-beautiful gardens.  Oh, I forgot to mention—the little Jewish guy was Irving Berlin!

From Harbor Hill- The Roslyn Country Home of a 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race Spectator- Clarence Mackay

From Greg O.

A recently found photo of the demolition of the reservoir.

From Greg O's Garage: The Great Wall of East Hills and Long Island Motor Parkway director Clarence Mackay

1903-04 90 horsepower Mercedes   Owned by Willie K Vanderbilt
I believe first raced at Ormand Beach   He also terrorized people inn Long Island by driving very fast on the road at speeds never seen by people

From Mystery Friday Foto #29 Solved; Willie K. in his Mercedes

The driver is Willy K.

From Mystery Friday Foto #29 Solved; Willie K. in his Mercedes

It’s fairly obvious that’s Willie K. in a Mercedes but the question is: which one? I’m going with a 1904 90 HP model with the date of the photo early 1904. I think it’s the same car he used as a patrol car during the 1904 Vanderbilt Cup Race (first appearance). His first participation in a competitive race could be the Eagle Rock Hill Climb on November 24, 1904. The gentleman with his hand on the radiator is probably Al Velocci in his younger days when he was trying to look older with a moustache.

From Mystery Friday Foto #29 Solved; Willie K. in his Mercedes

I would love to see the floor plans and interior photos if they are available.

From In the Garden City News: Village Takes Bids for Toll Lodge Work

This is William K. Vanderbilt in the 90hp Mercedes, with which he set the world flying mile record at 39 seconds end of January 1904 at the beach of Ormond-Daytona. The same car was driven by Koehler in the 1903 Paris-Madrid race, finishing on 36th place. Vanderbilt bought the car in December 1903 at the Paris Salon and sold the car already in March 1904. So I guess the only competition event he drove with the car probably were the races at Ormond-Daytona, during one of which he set the above mentioned record.
The man a the front was his twin-brother, who, being his counter image in every aspect, is seen here trying to stop his brother from driving at all.

From Mystery Friday Foto #29 Solved; Willie K. in his Mercedes