Vanderbilt Cup Races

Thank you Peter for your comment.  Yes, I enjoyed investigating and researching that section of the Motor Parkway and many times made my way through the woods finding relics.  But to be able to do it while you were there would have certainly been a treat.

From Kleiner's Korner: 100 Years Ago on the Motor Parkway (Oct. - Nov., 1924)

I just came across the Kleiner’s Korner 12/18/24 piece and found it quite accurate and very interesting as I grew up there in the late 50’s till the early 70’s on Hasslacher Blvd (aka Chateau Drive) and spent many days exploring and playing on the LIMP pavement from the former Terra Cotta brickworks site on Conklin Road, past the Chateau Restaurant, and all the way up to the fenced-in Baruch Estate Castle (now Madonna Heights).  Despite the steep surrounding hills it was a mostly straight and level stretch that must have been a speedy fast section.  A heavily wooded surrounding area including the Henry Kaufman Campground with its Colonial Springs, the Usdan Arts Center, and the Bagatelle Nursery, I feel very fortunate to have spent my childhood roaming this virtually undeveloped area where the Indians had previously lived at one with Nature.

From Kleiner's Korner: 100 Years Ago on the Motor Parkway (Oct. - Nov., 1924)

Beautiful.  I saw in the 1892 my old stomping grounds - Supreme Court, Nassau County - where I tried cases for 30 yrs. The buildings in the area, including the WPA Sup/Cthouse (it has a magnificent inside lobby), were built on the lands. I also noticed that the LIRR ran from its intersection with the mainline in Mineola all the way south through GC and Hempstead to the Montauk line along Sunrise Hgwy.  I think I read about it if I’m not mistaken. Am I wrong? Did it run south and connect up with what is now the terminus from a branch of the Montauk that runs north to West Hempstead?  I also notice where my wife and I built a teardown in the Gates at Woodbury near the intersection of Woodbury Rd and Jericho Tpke.  My wife and I go back every other month to see our granddaughters from where we are now - Phoenix, AZ, in the middle of nowhere.

From From the Marty Himes Collection: Two Very Early Long Island Pocket Maps (1892 and 1917)

May 2025 - this car is again on display at the Gilmore Car Museum as part of the feature exhibit in the main gallery about race cars.

Come see it before this exhibit ends at the end of September.

From Hemmings Blog (2010) "Sand Special Riding: Ralph Hamlin's 1911 Franklin Special desert racer"

Wow! An amazing set of photos defying the test of time, now available 119 years later. Always grateful when old historic photos are kept and preserved for future viewing.

From Helck Family Collection: Seven amazing photos at the Hairpin Turn during the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race

To the best of my recollection there was only two places where the Motor Parkway was unable to get the 100 foot wide sections they preferred for the ROW. The first was the Alfred Cornwall section 50 feet wide from R. W. Smith to New Hyde Park Rd. The other 50 feet wide section was the Stewart Heirs piece from Old Country Rd. to the Raymond Court area in Garden City. One section the Parkway had difficulty in obtaining the desired 100 foot width was with Jacob Ganger who supplied the piece between the Old Westbury Rd. and what was Newbridge Ave. at the time. As it turned out the distance between the north side of the Parkway ROW and the Newbridge Hotel was less than 50 feet wide.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

Figured I see if the Mystery Foto is possibly The Westbury Ave LIMP Bridge. The curve in the mystery foto ( not flipped ) is comparable to The Westbury Ave LIMP Bridge viewed South. But there should be trolley tracks and a utility pole & wires visible, but these aren’t seen in the foto. Westbury Ave didn’t extend here yet here either. Here’s some screenshots anyway below.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

In between the cedar posts on the left appears structures of the same height. These could be barns belonging to the Mineola Playground (1866-1950)

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

The fact that the fencing follows the upper road leads me to believe the upper road is the LIMP.  Doubt it is Old Searingtown Rd.  Was swampy with trees.  This area void of trees eliminates so many places.  Leaving Garden City and the entire Levittown/Westbury area left as candidates.  The idea of the upper road being Bloomindale Rd is very interesting.  But those fence posts just do not reconcile for me.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

The Clinton Rd bridge has the best WSW orientation as seen in the photo. The “bridge openings” below are part of the same array of cedar posts. When the group visited the Clinton Rd bridge a few years ago, there was little room on either side of the roadway suggesting a narrow RoW.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

2930-RD9 was a Phantom II sedanca de ville #21GN, coachbuilt by Charles T. Weymann of Paris in 1930. It was rebodied in 1938 by Coachcraft in London and it was probably scrapped/dismantled after 1954 because its engine was put into another PII #21GX and the car never resurfaced.

From Kleiner's Korner: A Light-Hearted View of the Automobile

Richard - thank you for you comments and the link to the Knox club newsletter and your article.  Its a piece of research after my own heart!  I’m sure your great grandfather’s cousin has read it many, many times.  lol.  Fascinating details and pictures.  I’ve bookmarked the site and will definitely take some time to look at it closer.  Thank you again.  Art

From Kleiner's Korner: Vanderbilt "Dare-Devils" Caught on 1910 Film

The approaches of Bloomingdale rd as it goes over the LIMP are straight.  In the mystery picture, the upper road is still curving as it goes over the lower road.  The particular care the workers are giving to the road in question lends me to believe that it is indeed the LIMP as the upper road.  It is odd that the right of way is so narrow though.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

The poll link did not work! This photo is dated 1908-1910. This is not a highway bridge. Note the extensive gutter work in progress for the roadway, extra work that Motor Pkwy Inc would not extend for Bloomingdale Rd development. Al Velocci has a point where the Right-of-Way is less than 100ft in this location, a rare occurrence on Motor Pkwy RoW. Al’s observation should narrow down the bridge location.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

Now, I’m noticing the safety railings for the Mystery Foto Bridge and Bloomingdale Rd Hwy Bridge are obviously different styles. Now I know for sure that the Mystery Foto is not Bloomingdale Rd Hwy Bridge.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

I should’ve added the below images of Bloomingdale Rd Hwy Bridge with my above comment. So the main image, then I zoomed in on each side to see the wire fencing along the LIMP to the bridge face. I don’t see wire fencing on either of bridge slopes, just safety rails along the top.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

I tapped the link for the Poll a few times, just took to me to the poll results so far. Tried tapping my choice, but nothing happened. My answer is the LIMP bridge over Clinton Rd, viewing northwest. Or viewing southeast with the image flipped.

On the poll, I see the Bloomingdale Rd Hwy Bridge at the highest vote. Know the curve looks right and distant structures look convincing. But another thing I realized is about the Cedar Posts & Wire Fencing. The fencing is obvious on both sides of the parkway to the bridge. The image of the Bloomingdale Rd Hwy Bridge with all the spectators - Cedar Posts & Wire Fencing on both sides of the parkway, ending at the face of the bridge. I don’t see any Cedar Posts & Wire Fencing along the slopes of the Hwy Bridge ( only the railings along the top for safety ) Those are my latest thoughts.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

Greg, Regarding the mystery photo, note that the cedar posts fencing is much narrower than the normal 100 foot wide Motor Parkway. There is only two, maybe three instances where the overall Motor Parkway ROW is less than 100 feet wide.

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

Photo is looking mostly Southwest based on the shadows (photo below). Note the Motor Pkwy curve maintains all the way to the parkway bridge. Possibilities: Clinton Rd bridge, the illusive Old Searingtown Rd bridge, and the Little Neck Pkwy bridge. The background scene should solve this mystery bridge but it’s difficult indeed! If the image was flipped (unlikely), all above is incorrect

From Update 5/6/2025: Now open for further discussion and a new poll- Mystery Friday Foto #18: An Unknown Motor Parkway Location

I wrote a series of articles for the Knox club newsletter a number of years ago detailing the 1909 accident at Indianapolis involving “Billy” Bourque (driver) and Harry Holcomb (mechanician). They were the first casualties at the speedway. Harry was my great grandfather’s cousin and they both grew up in Granville, Massachusetts. The article is at this link: https://knoxracing.blogspot.com/p/1909-indy-crash.html  Charlie Merz is also mentioned in the above post; coincidentally my mother worked for him at Merz Engineering in Indianapolis.

From Kleiner's Korner: Vanderbilt "Dare-Devils" Caught on 1910 Film