Vanderbilt Cup Races

Ted-
While I agree it’s not the same fence, it’s not impossible for fence railings to last that long. Take a ride over to the Old Courthouse Rd bridge and you’ll find small sections of some of the original wood railings on the ground that are almost that old.

From Then & Now: Guinea Woods Road in Old Westbury

Not very likelly Howard. How could it last this long,unless it’s very strong wood,even that,it’s over 100 years,something would have to be done to it to preserve it,because I see that some parts are broken and missing in both pictures and it’s been repaired,doesn’t look like it was replaced. Need more research to find out. This could be a Friday Mystery,if no one comes up with an answer by the end of the day

From Then & Now: Guinea Woods Road in Old Westbury

Not likely to be the same fence (the old one looks like post and rail construction with the rails going into slots cut into the posts) but could be in the same location as the original.  Thanks for another interesting presentation.

Ken

From Then & Now: Guinea Woods Road in Old Westbury

I should have gone with my reasoning that it couldn’t have been the 1906 car since the picture showed it in front of a garage that obviously wasn’t collapsed.  Would have taken a year or two to have it rebuilt just in time for the 1908 picture of the Mercedes.  Guess I also couldn’t differentiate between the two drivers faces.  Almost!

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

My mistake Howard you did mention about the 3 Mercedes,I was just looking for my name to see if I got the answers and didn’t read the whole thing

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

Good morning Howard,  Taking a crack at it didn’t work,but then after I saw the garage on your home page on the bottom right side I knew what to do and I got it. You didn’t mention if it was the Mercedes and which one.

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

I have it,it was in Mineola and now I say it’s a1906 Mercides

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

Ha Howard you gave away part of the answer,it’s garage#11,now to find out where

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

Howard Hope to see you at Morgan Park on Sunday,also Saturday for the clean-up,hopefully for breakfast,if not at the site. Enjoy the rest of Fathers Day

From Alco Black Beast Upcoming 2014 Events

Howard,
Thank you for your Father’s Day wishes.  Same to you and all the dads out there.
Roger

From A Father's Day Tribute: Willie K. and His Children

I’m constantly amazed at how much knowledge is out there concerning the Vanderbilt Cup Race and its surroundings.  Just to look at that house (above) is amazing.  Many thanks.
Roger

From Then & Now: The Hicksville Old Country Road Turn at the 1909 and 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races

With only 6 weeks left in 1933, I’d like to know more about W. K. V. III’s untimely death…

Other than that :( ,  Happy Father’s Day and thanks for all you are doing!

From A Father's Day Tribute: Willie K. and His Children

Mercedes owned by Robert Graves.

Robert Graves Garage in Mineola (Searing Avenue).

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

Hi Howard, I hope you read this in time, just to let you know that I’m going to the Kingberge Festival,looking foward to seeing you and enjoying a beautiful day. See you in the morning, I’ll be there about 9am

From Alco Black Beast Upcoming 2014 Events

For me, aerials and maps (as well as LIGC estates) are my loves and what I know, so this one required a little research. At least I didn’t have to leave the VCR website! Hence, why I assume you called it a ‘softball’! The journey’s always fun learning about the subject and other things along the way.

I discovered this was the #3 Mercedes driven by Emil Stricker in the 1908 races. In the above photos, it’s without fenders. I assume they were returned to the car for the race since there were quite a few unpaved roads. -Thinking of that sound made me appreciate the fact that Vanderbilt put leather fenders on his Lincoln!

Digging deeper, I came across the blog entry for April 12, 2011 for the ‘The Garages of the Vanderbilt Cup Races’ and the answer for the second question, (as well as amazing full view pics of the garage);

‘One of the largest and most elegant garages was built [in Mineola] by Robert Graves, the owner of Mercedes racers entered in the 1906 and 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Races. Unfortunately, during construction in September 1906, the building collapsed resulting in the death of three workers and twelve more injured.

Happy Father’s Day to all!

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

A Pope Toledo driven by Dingley

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

The building is of course the garage of Robert Graves in Mineola. The car however is not the #3 Mercedes, participating in the 1906 VC-race (as stated in the post on your site regarding the VC-garages), but the Mercedes with same number driven by Stricker in the 1908 VC-race! Note the high radiator pipe and the outline of the number 3, which differs from the 1906 Mercedes.

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

I’‘ll take a crack at it. Is it the 1905 Matheson driven by Ralf Mongini in the American Elimination Race that came in 10th,with an oil problem and wasn’t selected for the american team? that seems too easy

From Mystery Foto: #20 Solved: Grave's Garage in Mineola- Headquarters for the 1908 #3 Mercedes

OK, I am officially flip-flopping.  You’re probably right and my “theory” belongs up there with Ptolemy’s that the Earth is the center of the universe.  A friend directed me to “historicaerials.com”.  There I punched in “500 Vanderbilt Parkway Dix Hills New York” in the search box.  I don’t know what house that is, if any, but I know it would be around where the DPA / Vanderbilt intersection is.  A 1954 aerial clearly still shows a side access road running between the LIMP (or whatever they were calling it in 1954) and DPA…..WEST of DPA.  Probably not still in use in 1954, but still visible in the aerial.  What’s more this road (on/off ramp?) appeared to hit DPA directly across from where Candlewood Path hit DPA on the east side back then.  Thus, it appears to have run BETWEEN the LIMP and the location of the headstones in the historic cemetery.  The cemetery is now fenced in, including where that ramp would have run, so I was thrown off by that.  I didn’t consider that in 1937, or whenever, that fence may not have been up, and that the former LIMP ramp may have been added to the cemetery property by the town after the LIMP closed.  Perhaps the “coolest” revelation in all this is that the current entrance to this historic cemetery is very likely that same former entrance to/from the LIMP, as it is situated directly across from the barrier put up to close the Candlewood Path entrance from DPA (probably in the 1960’s as Jeff above states, as it was still connected to DPA as of 1954 in the aerial).  The entrance does consist of some old pavement but is quickly overtaken by nature as you walk onto the property.  I bet some pavement could be excavated, but digging in a cemetery without permission from the town is probably not a good idea for obvious, and some not so obvious, reasons.  I’m still confused by some of the signage, such as why they thought people should stop there and look east and west before proceeding, unless it was to yield to possible cemetery visitors.  There was no other road near where that sign is according to the aerial I saw.

From CSI Report: Anatomy of a Rare Motor Parkway Dix Hills Photo

I recently visited the area where this southern entrance would have existed to see if I could find any “artifacts”.  I have to say I find it hard to believe that the entrance in the photo could have been west of DPA.  If that’s true, it almost certainly would have cut through the historic cemetery that still exists there, which I also checked out.  That doesn’t seem likely and the “terrain” around that cemetery isn’t very conducive to an off-ramp in any case.  There’s also no parallel road to Vanderbilt Pkwy on the west side of DPA, so that “look east and west” sign would probably have been unnecessary on that side.  Finally, if that entrance / exit is on the west side, the signs should be facing the other way (and the arrows pointing the opposite way), as you would have to make a left to go to Centerport and a right to go to Deer Park when approaching DPA from the west.  The old aerial photos here don’t show any parallel roads west of DPA either.  Candlewood Path is east of DPA, so if that’s the road in question, the southern entrance would have to also be east of DPA, unless that was also a “bridge” over DPA so to speak.  I admit the mystery photo probably is Vanderbilt going over DPA facing west.  I’m just a bit lost on where that southern entrance could have been.  My “theory” is that it was an access road to Candlewood Path (and ultimately DPA) from the LIMP that was located east of DPA, but closer to it than the Vanderbilt / Candlewood intersection of today is…..but that’s just a guess.  I think the “valley” of the present day Vanderbilt Pkwy is somewhat less pronounced in the photo due the bridge that’s there instead of the intersection of today.  None of the aerial photos appear to show evidence of any entrance to the LIMP in that general spot that I’m seeing, but there is no close-up there either so I don’t know.  Some things about this remain a mystery at least to me.  BTW, I lived on it, near Half Hollow road, growing up.

From CSI Report: Anatomy of a Rare Motor Parkway Dix Hills Photo