Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Art Kleiner:
Good comments, Al and Greg - sounds reasonable to me!  Also like the two way conversation, Al - guess you’ve been reading my mind, as well as my blogs!. 

And about the motorcycles being banned on the Motor Parkway, as you’ll see in my upcoming Part 4 of this series I couldn’t find documentation after 1920 relating to races.  So the ban had to be the reason.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

You would never think that an area that was known only for it’s potato farms would have a history right under it’s soil. I hazard a guess that you could probably still find old rusty railroad spikes along the LIRR ROW. Way back in the 1950s my dad was digging post holes for a backyard fence at our house on Grove Lane. On one hole he encountered a hard packed surface that would not yield to the post hole digger. He speculated that there must have once been a road in that area. Fast forward 60 years and I saw map that shows the Rowehl farmhouse just off Loring Road in the vicinity of where the Center Lane Green is. There was a circular drive that ran from Loring road to the house right in the area of Grove Lane. I wish my dad was still alive so I could tell him he was right. BTW, the Rowehl farmhouse was moved and is the center part of the Dalton Funeral Home. But then, most of you know that.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown

Art, That metal object on the bricks is an automobile spring with a history. I remember seeing a picture of it in a 1908 automobile magazine as coming off of old 16 during a pit stop and replaced. Check with Howard, I’m sure he will make an offer for it.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown

I have lived on Crocus la since 1975. My property in next to where the old parkway was. I remember digging up a piece of iron in my yard years ago that must have been from the stadium stands. You can still see part of the road way next door. Come take a look.

From Kleiner's Korner: The Long Island Motor Parkway and Levittown

Al, my thought was the Smith bridge as well, but surrounding foliage at the Smith bridge does not seem to fit the motorcycle photo. Also, why gather the motorcycles and not be on the LIMP?

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Brian, The Joseph Burt photo you posted…. the building was built by the Parkway as a garage at no cost to the lodge keepers. You can see the top half of the building in the flag pole photo that Greg posted.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Art, the first photo, Me thinks the bridge in the distance is the Smith farmway bridge (Art to Al) Why.? If they are starting at the Great Neck Lodge, would they not gather in the vicinity of the lodge?  Also, look at the condition of the roadway ,not very good, at that time that part of the Parkway was just being developed. (Art to Al) Very good, brilliant in fact, you are probably right, Howard is going to give you one of his duplicate motor parkway plates as a reward.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Art I think the second photo was taken from the Old Westbury Rd./Gasser Ave. Bridge looking east. In the distance, on the left, the treed area,    is where the New Bridge Hotel at New Bridge Ave. was located.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

Art, Found the letter that Kienzle sent to the lodge keepers about motor cycles. It’s dated Mar. 15, 1923 and states the motor cycle rate is increased to $1.10 effective immediately. ( the 10 cents is a “war tax” put in place in 1918.) Shortly thereafter motor cycles were banned from the Parkway because of an” unauthorized race that blocked automobiles” Can place the date exactly but on the Daily Report of Toll Lodge Receipts forms, in late 1923, the motor cycle column is no longer there.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

I’ll guess on the bridges…the upper bridge photo is taken from the West side of the Old Courthouse bridge looking East.

The lower photo I think was taken by a photographer on top of the Hicksville-Massapequa bridge looking East with the Stewart Ave-Jerusalem Rd bridge off in the distance.

From Kleiner's Korner: Part 3 - Motorcycle Races on the Motor Parkway

I always enjoyed looking thru old photo albums, even if I didn’t realize who they were in the photos. Curious about the small building beyond the hedges - Otto’s Flag Flying Proudly. It was his workshed, the view is East. Courtesy of Joseph Burt below.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Greg Regarding your comment about a toll lodge “archaeological dig” , might have one for you. When the Garden City Lodge was being moved, a good friend of mine and a a die hard Parkway buff, said he figured out where the out house used to be. He tried to get permission to dig for it but was refused. He is convinced it was never disturbed and is located some where on the front lawn of the home that was built. I’m sure if you were to pay for his air fare from Florida, he will be glad to share that information.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Frank, Your comments of June 19, regarding Power House Rd./NY25D made me take another look at that scenario and,... discovered I made a HUGE mistake.  I said that I. U. Willets Rd. joined Power House Rd./ Old Westbury Rd.  Actually,  Its the other way around,  The 1914 Belcher Hyde Atlas of Nassau County clearly has the western terminus of Power House/Old Westbury Rd. at Shelter Rock Rd. It also shows that west of that point, heading in a south west direction, are dotted lines stating “proposed line of new road”  that connects to I. U. Willets Rd., Now I think I know why that road designation is so convoluted and confusing. The state built that section between Shelter Rock and I. U. Willets and, some where along the line, they designated every thing west ward as Route 25D,.... adding to the mess. Thanks to Frank’s observation all is right with the world again.

From Mystery Foto #24 Solved: A 1952 Aerial View of Lake Success

Thanks Al!  I remember our conversation about the addition but did not add it in assuming your explanation would be better conveyed here in the comments.

Doubtful it could happen today as most of the sites have been built over, but it would have been fun to conduct an ‘archeological dig’ where the outhouses used to be to possibly recover the materials used to fill the voids.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Greg, Otto McCamish dd not build the addition onto the lodge. That extension is the bathroom the Parkway added the lodges (at no cost to the lodge keepers), once there was municipal water lines in abutting streets. (late 1920’s-early 1930’s) At the same time basements were dug under the lodges to accommodate hot water tanks, furnaces, etc.. If there were sewer lines in the streets, they were hooked up. If not, cesspools were built. At this time the out houses filled in with expired motor parkway license plates, old toll tickets, their deputy sheriff badges, and all kinds on Motor Parkway signage and other memorabilia.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Sam, Regarding your Browers Lane /Power House Rd. street sign, ( on the south service rd. of the LIE, between Willis Ave. and Searingtown Rd.), that one is gone. BUT ....it has been replaced with another with the exact same designation. So, Power House Rd. still exists west of/Willis Ave. but only up to Searingtown Rd. Not only that, the south service rd. of the LIE, between Willis Ave. and Roslyn Rd.,  is also designated Power House Rd., just like the North Service Rd. That has to lead to some confusion as neither of the two roadways is designated North or South!

From Open Discussion: Powerhouse Road

The 1926 map below shows the original route of Powerhouse Rd, exists today as Al explains above. I can now see that Nassau Power & Lights property expanded over the LIE, larger than the utilities property today.

The 1950 map also shows the original route of Powerhouse Rd, but also the road that branches off W/O Mineola Ave, then runs parallel with Northern State Pkwy; and joins with Powerhouse Rd at the lower left corner of the map. This newer branch is now the S Service Rd/Powerhouse Rd of the LIE.

I marked these aerials as clear as I could.

From Open Discussion: Powerhouse Road

Thanks Art! I was so focused on a few other aspects of the photo, I somewhat missed that myself. My ex-wife and I had a house in Salisbury near the corner of Carmen and Stwewart, that is the direction it would be in, so you’re right, most likely a directional arrow.

______________________________________________

Howard Kroplick

Greg, it is likely the sign was pointing to the nearby Salisbury Country Club:
https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/mystery_friday_foto_11_can_you_identify_this_flight_over_long_island

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge

Thanks, David.  Will keep both products in mind - you never know when you’ll need help!

From Mystery Foto #24 Solved: A 1952 Aerial View of Lake Success

Nice story, Greg!  I just noticed the “Salisbury” sign in the last picture.  Wallace is hiding the other part of the sign, wonder if its an arrow.

From Update: Greg O’s Discovery: The McCamish Family and Their Time in the Meadow Brook Lodge