Vanderbilt Cup Races

Ya got me, had trouble with this. Looks like a LI Motor Parkway bridge at the top center and a NY State Parkway bridge to the right of it in this Fairchild aerial. Closest I was able was Levittown facing SW with LIMP Newbridge Rd Pkwy bridge and the Wantagh State Pkwy bridge, just after starting the May 1947 construction of the Levitt homes. Old Country Rd diagonal at the bottom. Clueless on those buildings in the foreground. Looking forward to the obvious answer.

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

From Jerry R:

Great highlights!

From The Black Beauty Meets The Black Beast in Roslyn

-What is the location and orientation of the aerial?

Meadowbrook Hospital in East Meadow (Now NUMC) looking North/NorthEast.

-Identify the landmarks

Meadowbrook Hosp., R. Moses bridge over the Wantagh Pkwy in the upper right, The LIMP Westbury Ave PW bridge to the left of the RM bridge.

Zooming in very tight on the hospital parking lot shows a neat, classic ‘Woody’ station wagon parked closest to the hospital. Wouldn’t mind having that car today!

-Identify the roads in the aerial

Hempstead Tpke along the bottom with a small sliver of Carman Ave showing. The Wantagh Pkwy upper right.

- Give your rationale for the approximate date of the aerial.The photo was not dated.

1951-
I checked the construction dates on the Zillow and Redfin real estate sites for the homes being constructed on Clearmeadow Dr east of the Hospital in the photo. Most homes we constucted in 1951-52.

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

-What is the location and orientation of the aerial?

Meadowbrook Hospital in East Meadow (Now NUMC) looking North/NorthEast.

-Identify the landmarks

Meadowbrook Hosp., R. Moses bridge over the Wantagh Pkwy in the upper right, The LIMP Westbury Ave PW bridge to the left of the RM bridge.

Zooming in very tight on the hospital parking lot shows a neat, classic ‘Woody’ station wagon parked closest to the hospital. Wouldn’t mind having that car today!

-Identify the roads in the aerial

Hempstead Tpke along the bottom with a small sliver of Carman Ave showing. The Wantagh Pkwy upper right.

- Give your rationale for the approximate date of the aerial.The photo was not dated.

1951-
I checked the construction dates on the Zillow and Redfin real estate sites for the homes being constructed on Clearmeadow Dr east of the Hospital in the photo. Most homes we constucted in 1951-52.

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

Two iconic symbols of American history. Being a guitar player and have played a Les Paul, the Les Paul has a very unique & special sound which is very pleasant to the ear compared to other guitars. Very cool piece, keep them coming Howard.
Best regards,
Wayne Carroll Petersen
Barney Oldfield Great Great Nephew

From The Black Beauty Meets The Black Beast in Roslyn

Meadowbrook Hospital, with the LIMP in the background?

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

It looks to be Howard’s old neighborhood, East Meadow…..looking northeast with Hempstead Tpke running l to r across bottom, Carman Ave. lower left running north; old Meadowbrook Hospital in dead center with the county jail behind to left and the sprawling jail farm behind.
At the top in the distance can be seen Salisbury Park Drive with the LIMP running across the back of the farm and the Limp bridge over Old Westbury Rd. And another LIMP bridge over Wantagh State Pkwy.  I estimate the photo date to be 1947 because the first section of the new Levittown appears at the far top right.

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

Nassau County Medical Center (NUMC) East Meadow. With the Jail just to the north of the hospital. My guess is 1948 or very soon after WWII. Facing North from Hempstead Tpk. The close up looks like Salisbury Park Drive crossing over the Wantagh Pkwy (which is the reason for today’s photo?) . The central RR should be just north of the Jail, but i cant seem to find it in the picture. I think the hospital building is still there, but hidden behind the big 18 story tower now. Parking lot is still the same.

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

It’s amazing that the cognac bottle is still almost full! How many people must have resisted the temptation to taste it during the past 108 years? Or someone must have kept it in a safe all the time ...

From The Silk Menu Celebrating Louis Wagner- Winner of the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race

Isn’t it interesting how people who never even met Austin Clark refer to him as “Austie”, so it will make it appear that they knew him so well. He NEVER referred to himself by that name in all the years that we were friends and I worked for him. Beverly Rae Kimes called him that and other people picked up on it , now it it is being perpetuated by auction companies and anyone else who want people to think they knew the man. I only ever heard him, his family, and his friends (the real ones who actually know and spend time with him) know him as Austin. He and John Fitzgerald Kennedy were classmates at Harvard (class of 1940) yet do we hear Kennedy referred to as “Fitzie” ? Call him by what he did himself - it is Austin, not Austie.

From Henry Austin Clark Jr.'s 1911 Type 35R Raceabout to be Auctioned in Monterey

So I did do good on this one, better than I thought I did. I’m surprised that there wasn.t more answering this one

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage

Remind me to never be away on vacation while my favorite type of mystery photo gets posted!

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage

Thanks, Frank.

From Was the First Parkway Fast Food Restaurant Located in Central Park (Bethpage)?

Hi Brian,

You’re right about Stony Brook. It’s tough surfing there. The easiest way I found is to have the browser opened twice separately to the link below (1938 Aerial Photographs of Suffolk County). Leave one always viewing this page. With the other one, click on any of the map links below. When the map appears, use the ‘Return to Thumbnail List’ link at the top center of the page. Keep using the browser’s back button to navigate back and forth. This helps a bit.

http://alex.sinc.stonybrook.edu/1938ind.html

From Was the First Parkway Fast Food Restaurant Located in Central Park (Bethpage)?

Almost missed the Mystery train. Old Bethpage/Bethpage/Central Park looking West. I’m going with approximately 1915. At the bottom right is one of the three original toll houses by J.R. Pope, the Bethpage Lodge (1908-1938) and its access road off of Round Swamp Rd. The lodge remained abandoned until 1960, then destroyed! (I would’ve gladly moved in and fixed ‘er up). The Round Swamp Rd Pkwy Bridge, and the Botto Farm Hwy Bridge. The longer 1908 course was the only race using this area (besides the rumrunners) Battlegrounds at the bottom. While cheating for race years, I noticed the 1914 Vanderbilt Race used guardrails that were not made of humans. For a while I thought Botto’s rectangular farm and access road at the top left was today’s half of Bethpage Park parking lot, though same shape and vicinity, the parking lot is actually smaller and a bit more to the west.  This site is packed with all sorts of goodies. Much thanks Howard and Dana.

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage

let’s try this.  Fairchild aerial photo of Bethpage, Round Swamp Road.  1935.
Bethpage lodge, Powell Ave. bridge. Used in the 1908-1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage

I know there has to be more landmarks than what I’m going to mention, Round Swamp Road and the Bethpage Lodge. I see lots of others things that I’m not sure of, maybe Powell Ave and Old Bethpage Rd. I think I did pretty good

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage

I was able to see the inside of the garage wall that faces south towards the motor parkway and had large cut outs for large windows which would swing open. Which would sell food according to the owners in the 1960s. There were many more cement posts which are now missing.  I used to ride my bicycle in the mid 60s on the motor parkway and would talk with the family at his house.

From Was the First Parkway Fast Food Restaurant Located in Central Park (Bethpage)?

Walt is, of course, SO right - tricked by a “radiator” cap!  Somewhat off topic, the history of C. K. G. Billings and his Fort Tryon estate in Manhattan and Farnsworth are really worth your time; it was he who gave the fabulous 1903 horseback banquet at Sherry’s!  Just Google him and follow the many links.  Sam, III

From Mystery Foto #74 Solved: The C.K.G. Billings "Farnesworth" Garage in Locust Valley

Hi Howard

This looks like Old Bethpage back in the early 20’s with its farms and very little development. Photo taken from theNassau/Suffolk line looking west. The triangle upper middle on the right would be formed by Old Bethpage Rd. and Round Swamp Rd. with Haypath Rd. capping off the triangle on the right. The second close shows the bridge over Round Swamp Rd. and the toll house now occupied by a fire house. The middle left road at a 45’ angle is Battle Row named for the tenants who worked the farms and did the sand mining. The sand mining was carried on toward the bottom of the photo. The road just above the water filled sand pit would be Claremont Rd.
Nice photo
Harry Bell

From Mystery Friday Foto #75 Solved: 1935 Aerial of Bethpage and Old Bethpage