Vanderbilt Cup Races

Over Eisenhower Park in Salisbury looking NW, directly above future Nassau County 9/11 Memorial. Merrick Av, Stewart Av, Park Blvd, Meadow Brook Hunt Club access road and CRR bridge, and Meadow Brook Lodge access ramp to Motor Parkway hidden under the trees. The lodge and its porte cochere are visible. Salisbury Links clubhouse in the foreground and the Salisbury Plains RR Station just to its north. RR crossing at Merrick Av. Meadow Brook lodge was the starting point for the 1908-10 Vanderbilt Cup Races. Photo taken sometime before 1960’s, before the lodge was removed.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

Garden City looking northwest from Salisbury Park

Merrick Avenue on the right (diagonal from lower left to upper right)
Stewart Avenue bordering Mitchel Gardens housing complex
Building off of Merrick Avenue is the Meadowbrook Train Station years before this picture was taken.  The building became a test site for scientific experiments, including sonic booms (see picture).  Smith property in the park just east of Merrick Avenue.  Polo field grandstands.

VCR ran through the area as does the Motor Parkway north of Mitchel Gardens
Late 1940s - pre-Roosevelt Field and Meadowbrook Parkway.  Mitchel Gardens still there. 

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

00:03 – 00:24 HAC Jr in 1910 BUICK Model 10 Toy Tonneau
01:08 – 01:12 and 01:29 – 01:34 HAC Jr’s 1910 White Opera Coupe
01:41 – 01:46 HAC Jr’s 1912 Packard Landaulet
02:00 – 02:03 Warren Kraft?
03:16 – 03:24 Hewlett and Dorothy (Dot) Treadwell
05:24 – 05:36 & 05:44 – 05:52 & 06:06 – 06:16 Charles Addams
06:25 – 06:32 HAC Jr (with megaphone) and Charles Addams
06:41 – 06:47 HAC Jr
07:11 – 07:20 Mary Ullman

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

Is this thread still open? When exactly was the “St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church” converted into the “Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Church?” I was looking to add pictures of the church to Wikipedia, but when I saw it, I thought it was the wrong church.

From The Residence of the Starter of Five Vanderbilt Cup Races -Fred Wagner- Rediscovered in Smithtown

Meadowbrook Club looking NW from over Salisbury/Eisenhower Park with Post/Merrick Avenue running from lower left to upper right and LIRR Central Branch running from upper left to lower right. Salisbury Plains station at near side of parking lot.  LIMP in distance.  Flying fields at far left.  Sam, III

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

It seems to me that there are older pix of this bridge around in which the trolley wire supports are clearly visible.  Sam, III

From A New 1946 View of the Broad Hollow Motor Parkway/Trolley Bridge in Melville

I’m no antique-car expert but the low white tourer at 1:08 (etc.) is underslung and so might well be an American Underslung, quite possibly a 1913 Tourist.  Sam, III

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

Here’s 2 color postcards from HAC/LIAM showing the 1912 Packard Laudaulet and the 1900 Columbia.

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

Looking northwest over then Salisbury Park and it’s lake. Merrick Ave runs from bottom to top on a diagonal and Stewart Ave right to left. The date? Salisbury Park opened in 1949 so it’s after that. There is no hint of the Meadowbrook Parkway which was built from 1953-56. Also, there is no sign of railroad tracks, temporary (Levittown construction) or otherwise so it is after 1951 when the last Levitt houses were constructed and before 1953. The old Salisbury Plains LIRR station can be seen as can the (still extant?) LIRR bridge over the Meadowbrook Club entrance road. The Motor Parkway row would have run from left to right just north of the still visible LIRR row and Lilco towers.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

Howard,

Please consider displaying replicas of the coins found at the grist mill and not the actual coins. There was a robbery at the McClarty Treasure Museum in Vero Beach, FL many years ago where some Spanish coins found on the site of the 1715 Fleet disaster survivor’s camp were taken. A friend’s father was approached by somebody trying to sell the coins and recognized them as the coins that were taken. (No two Spanish colonial coins of the era were exactly alike as they were hand struck and trimmed to weight.) While the coins were recovered, I believe cast replicas are now on display.

From Update 12/12/20: An Amazing "Message in a Bottle" Discovery and the Roslyn Grist Mill Match Challenge

Awesome discovery. So cool to find stuff like that. This story got pretty impressive news coverage.

From Update 12/12/20: An Amazing "Message in a Bottle" Discovery and the Roslyn Grist Mill Match Challenge

Here’s a few more Tentative ID’s (some are very obvious) - what do you think?
#1 - HAC in a 1910 Buick Toy Tonneau (see attached LIAM14)
#2 - Cadillac
#6 - 1912 Thomas Flyer
#7 - Harold Kraft’s 1908 Sears
#9 - 1910 White Opera Coupe (Plate ANT-1?) (see attached LIAM12)
#10 - Ford (Plate OLD-46)
#11 - 1912 Packard Laudaulet (Plate ANT-18) (see attached LIAM12)
#12 - Station Wagon (Plate 7666DN)
#14 - Brush
#15 - 1908 Stevens Duryea (is this the same car that Walter McCarthy owned in 1978?)
#16 - 1909 Hupmobile Runabout
And Finally, the Ashtray being held by one of the drivers was from Clark’s LIAM - it shows the 1900 Columbia Surrey (see attached LIAM12)

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

We are over East Meadow looking northwest toward Westbury (East Garden City). Major roads are Stewart Avenue, Merrick Avenue, and Old Country Road off in the distance. Some buildings include various structures for Roosevelt Fields (airfield and raceway), the old clubhouse for Salisbury Links and the Mitchel Gardens complex. The photo includes the site for the 1936 & 1937 V. C. Races and a portion of the course for the 1908, 1909, and 1910 V. C. Races. Remnants of the LIMP can be found just beyond the Mitchel Gardens along with the site of the Meadow Brook Lodge slightly to the right of that behind the trees. Since the Mitchel Gardens are completely intact and there’s no sign of the future Meadowbrook Parkway, I’ll guess the date to be around 1950.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

addition: I recognized the large building in the closeup of the intersection as the former store of H.O.Penn machinery (Caterpillar dealer). They moved to Holtsville. The building then housed an International truck dealer, I don’t know if they are still there.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

This is the intersection of Stewart ave. & Merrick ave. in Westbury. The photographer is looking Northwest. Merrick ave. runs diagonally from lower left to upper right of photo. The lake and open land to the right of Merrick are part of Salisbury park (now Eisenhower). Large tract of open land at upper left edge is Roosevelt field(the air field). I don’t know the date,but there is no Meadowbrook pkwy. I’m going to guess at the mid to late 1940’s.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

Interesting film! We have here Brass Era cars such as Fords, Buicks, Hupmobile and a few others. These were the cars collectors wanted in 1960. Sadly interest has shifted today to cars from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Cars that were built 50 years prior as is the case with the cars in the film. It would be interesting to know how many of these cars exist today.

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

Best wishes to Richard for great success with the Classic & Sports Car Quarterly. Please put me on the list for a subscription. How badly we’ve needed a replacement for Automobile Quarterly!!!

From Update with new video: Crankshaft, Richard Lentinello's new quarterly magazine, is available for orders

The auto with the plate “OLD - 1”  was Oyster Bay resident Harold Kraft’s 1908 Sears Model J.  See attached photos I took of Harold & the car back on October 22, 1978 at the “Town of Oyster Bay 325th Anniversary Grand Parade and Vanderbilt Cup Race”.

From Film of the Week: 1960 Antique Automobile Rally to The Museum of The City of New York

Location: Over the Eisenhower (Salisbury) Park pond. The photographer is looking northwest. Merrick Avenue runs from the lower left to the upper right. In the picture can be seen, crossing Merrick Avenue from south to north, the remnants of the old Central Railroad, then Stewart Avenue, then the remnants of the Motor Parkway.

North of Stewart Avenue is the Mitchel Gardens housing development. West of that, the Meadow Brook Polo Club, and west of that, Hazelhurst Field. South of Stewart Avenue is the area that became Nassau Community College.

Is that Ellison Avenue between Mitchel Gardens and the polo club? That would be a connection to the VCR, since it was part of the ‘08 course.

I see no sign of the Meadowbrook Parkway, so I’m placing the Foto in the late ‘40s.

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury

-Location of the Mystery Foto and orientation of the photographer

Looking Northwest flying directly over the small lake on the West side of Eisenhower Park.

-The major roads and buildings

Merrick Ave diagonal on the bottom right corner, Stewart Ave running semi-horizontal in the center of the photo. Roosevelt Field hangars far off in the upper left. Salisbury Links Clubhouse. I also spot the railroad trestle that still stands in the cloverleaf entrance to the current Meadowbrook Parkway.

-Link the Mystery Foto to the Vanderbilt Cup Races

Parts of the 1908-1910 race courses were run through this area as well as the 1936/37 Cup Races towards the right side where Rossevel Raceway was located.

-Link the Mystery Foto to the Long Island Motor Parkway

The LIMP ROW ran ran horizontally across the center of the photo. Tough to see due to resolution, but I believe I see the Meadow Brook Lodge still standing with Otto McCamish waiving to the plane out front. OK, maybe I don’t see Otto….

-The date of the Mystery Foto. Provide a rationale.

No Meadowbrook Parkway or Rossevelt Field mall construction yet. My guess is 1951.

As I write my answers, on the TV in the background, is Howard explaining the Roslyn Grist Mill’s ‘message in the bottle’ to Danielle Campbell on News 12. Great find Howard!

From Mystery Foto #49 Solved: A 1953 View over Merrick Avenue and East Meadow and Westbury