Vanderbilt Cup Races

Glen Oaks, Queens County with north looking up. Queens County Farm Museum (1697 - ) in center. Photo is about 1926. Motor Pkwy is the jagged diagonal in the center. Pre Union Tpke, from l to r: Winchester Blvd (Alley Rd), LIMP Creedmoor Highway Bridge/Creedmoor RR Spur, Commonwealth Blvd (Clinton Ave), Little Neck Pkwy (Little Neck Rd), Lakeville Rd (Hyde Park Rd), Marcus Av. Willie K’s Deepdale Estate in the upper right corner.
Mid photo: Commonwealth Blvd 1942
Bottom photo: Little Neck Pkwy 1932

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

Yes! I will attend. The HQ for the Suffolk County Dental Society is on the first floor; I penned a short article for its June newsletter about the Motor Parkway themed decor.

From Save the Date- Saturday, June 8, 2024: A Long Island Motor Parkway Preservation Society Field Trip to the Motor Parkway

I’m pretty sure it is Dix Hills, Suffolk County, but don’t know the date.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

Judging from the curvature of the Parkway this appears to be the eastern Queens/western Nassau County segment between roughly Springfield Boulevard and Lakeville Road.Roads crossed would include Little Neck Parkway and Commonwealth Boulevard as well as Marcus Avenue. The area looks a bit different today.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

Bottom left Winchester boulevard as the motor parkway moves northeast towards Lakeville Road and the lake success home of Vanderbilt. (Upper right of photo) In the middle of the photo is where Long Island Jewish Hospital now stands. Year is approximately 1925.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

The photo is over today’s Glen Oaks / Lake Success area with north at the top. The LIMP runs from lower left to upper right with Winchester Blvd., Commonwealth Blvd., Little Neck Pkwy., Lakeville Road, and Marcus Ave. also visible. LIMP structures include bridges over most of the above roads with the exception of Lakeville Road (just out of frame). Also visible are the Creedmoor pedestrian bridge, Deepdale farmway bridge and possibly the Deepdale gate house. Since there appears to be no work being done on the proposed Union Tpke. extension and no evidence of 235th, 236th, or 237th streets, I think the date is around 1924.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

Lower left LIMP is coming out of Alley Pond Park.  Crosses Winchester.  Looks like the original steel bridge.  Under the walkway in current Creedmore property.  Then over Commonwealth Blvd and Little Neck Parkway.  Top right we can see the parkway cross over Marcus Blvd and into what was Willie K’s property.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

This is a view of the Motor Pkwy. in what is now Glen Oaks, Queens. South is at the bottom, North at top, East to the right and West to the left. The Parkway is the major road starting in the lower left and going on the diagonal to the upper right. At the very top right is the Vanderbilt Deepdale Estate. Lakeville Rd. is also there, heading south and then east, out of the photo. Other roads crossing the Parkway starting from the West and heading East are Winchester Blvd., Commonwealth Blvd. and Little Neck Pkwy. You can make out a few parkway overpasses, especially the Creedmoor one in the lower left. Since there is almost no development in the area, I would guess that it is in the 1930s or earlier. I have attached present day map of the area which I believe was published by Frank Femenias with the help of many of our Vanderbiltcupraces.com contributors.

From Mystery Friday Foto #19 Solved: A Motor Parkway Aerial in Glen Oaks, Queens

https://halfpuddinghalfsauce.blogspot.com/2012/07/south-gate-lodge-at-deepdale.html

From Mystery Friday Foto #17 Solved; Moving Willie K's Deepdale Gatelodge

Not sure what I enjoyed more, the article or the comments. So great to have this great community of enthusiasts who share their passion for automotive history!

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

Great story. Thank you.
BTW between Austi Clark and the Brumos Collection the T35 Bugatti lived in Vermont in the collection of Charles Levy.

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

A full-size model of the Bugatti Chiron supercar that can be driven.
Lego’s creative team built the model.
Over one million Technic Lego pieces were used.
Powered by 24 motor “packs”, each made up of 96 individual Lego motors that are hooked into a steel chain that drives the wheels.
5.3 hp (theoretical)
13 - 19 mph
Located at the LEGO Campus in Billund, Denmark.

https://fb.watch/rTA-CnfaUf/

From Mystery Friday Foto #18 Solved: A life-size drivable model of a Bugatti Chiron by LEGO

Howard, you have another connection to Bird’s Long Island Duesenberg J! The designer of the three 1934 Walker-LaGrande Convertible/Coupes was none other than Tucker designer, Alex Tremulis. Tremulis would play hooky from school to draw the cars in the Duesenberg and Stutz showrooms. The sales manager at the Chicago showroom immediately saw the potential in Tremulis to draw up his customer’s custom coachwork so he could produce a sketch overnight as opposed to waiting several days by going through the Indianapolis studio. Tremulis was paid $1.00 for a black and white sketch and $2.50 for a color drawing. As an “In-House” designer, Tremulis’ design work was placed under the Walker nameplate. Prior to getting paid for his artwork, Tremulis was cleaning out fruit stands for $0.10 and hour. He declared “I am now a designer” and never looked back. Three Duesenbergs were built to Tremulis’ sketch: J-530, the only supercharged version now in the collection of the Academy of Art University, J-531, now in Harry Yeaggy’s fantastic collection, and J-534, now in the LeMay collection.

Decades after Tremulis drew up the car, Art Center’s Strother MacMinn was perusing yard sales in Auburn, Indiana, and stumbled upon one of Tremulis’ Duesenberg renderings and immediately recognized it as the initial sketch for the 1934 Walker-LaGrandes. He snatched up the rendering and sold it back to his pal Tremulis… for $2.50! When the Academy of Art purchased J-530 at the Amelia Island auction, we presented the curators with a print of Tremulis’ original rendering for their collection.

In 1936, Tremulis would replace Gordon Buehrig as Chief Stylist at Auburn when Buehrig left for Budd, and would go on to add the iconic side pipes to the supercharged Cord 812 (Buehrig was not a fan of the “chrome entrails” on his Cord design). Then Tremulis went back to LeBaron and designed the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt show cars of which 5 were built, now in various collections. He designed supersonic jet aircraft at Wright Field during the war just before his most famous adventure as Preston Tucker’s Chief Stylist for the Tucker 48 and personally helped complete the build of Tucker #1044 after the plant had to close its doors! It’s a small world!

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

Howard, there’s another connection to Bird’s Long Island Duesenberg J! The designer of the three 1934 Walker-LaGrande Convertible/Coupes was none other than Tucker designer, Alex Tremulis. Tremulis would play hooky from school to draw the cars in the Duesenberg and Stutz showrooms. The sales manager at the Chicago showroom immediately saw the potential in Tremulis to draw up his customer’s custom coachwork so he could produce a sketch overnight as opposed to waiting several days by going through the Indianapolis studio. Tremulis was paid $1.00 for a black and white sketch and $2.50 for a color drawing. As an “In-House” designer, Tremulis’ design work was placed under the Walker nameplate. Prior to getting paid for his artwork, Tremulis was cleaning out fruit stands for $0.10 and hour. He declared “I am now a designer” and never looked back. Three Duesenbergs were built to Tremulis’ sketch: J-530, the only supercharged version now in the collection of the Academy of Art University, J-531, now in Harry Yeaggy’s fantastic collection, and J-534, now in the LeMay collection.

Decades after Tremulis drew up the car, Art Center’s Strother MacMinn was perusing yard sales in Auburn, Indiana, and stumbled upon one of Tremulis’ Duesenberg renderings and immediately recognized it as the initial sketch for the 1934 Walker-LaGrandes. He snatched up the rendering and sold it back to his pal Tremulis… for $2.50! When the Academy of Art purchased J-530 at the Amelia Island auction, we presented the curators with a print of Tremulis’ original rendering for their collection.

In 1936, Tremulis would replace Gordon Buehrig as Chief Stylist at Auburn when Buehrig left for Budd, and would go on to add the iconic side pipes to the supercharged Cord 812 (Buehrig was not a fan of the “chrome entrails” on his Cord design). Then Tremulis went back to LeBaron and designed the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt show cars of which 5 were built, now in various collections. He designed supersonic jet aircraft at Wright Field during the war just before his most famous adventure as Preston Tucker’s Chief Stylist for the Tucker 48 and personally helped complete the build of Tucker #1044 after the plant had to close its doors! It’s a small world!

From In Search of H. Dieter Holterbosch and his W.C. Bird's Duesenberg

Frank, The gatehouse pre-dates the 2 golf courses by about 20 years.

From Mystery Friday Foto #17 Solved; Moving Willie K's Deepdale Gatelodge

Gram, The New York Times mentioned the sale in the May 12, 1962 issue.

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

That’s a Bugatti Chiron made by LEGO from over 1 million Lego Technic elements (bricks). It weighs about 3,000 pounds and is powered by two batteries that operate 2,304 toy motors. It is rated at about 5.3 horsepower and can go about 12 mph or 30 kph. It is located at the LEGO Headquarters campus in Billund, Denmark.

From Mystery Friday Foto #18 Solved: A life-size drivable model of a Bugatti Chiron by LEGO

All of this, including comments edges toward a wonderful magazine feature and perhaps even an eventual book!
As for my personal preferences… THAT BUGATTI!

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

Forgot to mention Jaques and David Tunick were brothers, they had antique cars for sale in Greenwich, Ct. on a lot they owned on Rt. 95 the north side of the road. Much of the cars they had were stored outside on an open lot.
The Duesenberg Beverly sedan had its shift lever sawed off about 4 inches above the floor - was done by vandals as a souvenir when the cars were in the garages at the Bird estate . Car was owned more recently by Mark Smith of NH and Va. and when he passed away 2 years ago he left that car to Steve Babinsky ( so the car is in excellent hands of a caring owner)  - it remains mostly original with a repaint many many decades ago. I saw the car in October when on a tour of Steve’s collection. I am certain that this is the first Beverly sedan built and was pictured in the custom body salon programs at that time that I have a collection of. More useless information . PS a automobile salon was by invitation only - no general public allowed to attend and they ran from 1915 to 1931 , luxury cars only, - the final NY salons held in the ballroom of the Commodore Hotel in NY City.

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”

I was at that auction ( at age 13) my folks drove to it as they knew the area well, my maternal grandparents and family lived a few miles away in Glen Head. This was just before I bought my first old car a 1931 Plymouth sedan and my interest in pre war cars did not wain ! I still have three. Austin Clark attended the auction in his 192? Rolls Royce town car. I recognized him because I used to visit his auto museum in Southampton. I would later become good friends with Austin and was the librarian for his collection of automobile literature for some years at his house in Glen Cove. He and I would attend the AACA annual meeting in Philadelph9ia together for years, were on the team that organized and ran the AACA Glidden Tour in long island in 1981 , all kinds of car activities. This included celebrations of the Vanderbilt Cup Races on their Anniversaries that we used the Main Maid Inn as a place for the start and finish and dinner. Austin gave me my first 100 mph ride in a pre 1915 automobile…..........that is another tale - that was documented by the law on a radar /speed camera. It was on North Sea Rd. between Southampton and Sag Harbor.

From InstGRAM Report: The Wallis C Bird 1962 Auction Brochure for the “Car Auction of the Century”