Vanderbilt Cup Races

Identify the location and orientation of the the Mystery Foto and the Motor Parkway bridge.
Central Park (Bethpage) looking east across Broadway.  Central Avenue bridge.

Which Vanderbilt Cup Races courses, if any, included this bridge?
1908

What year was this photo taken? (Currently unknown)
Somewhere between 1941 - 1950 (after completion of the Kessler Glass Factory and and bridge being demolished).

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Congratulations cuzzins!!  Hoping that you can find the time to visit with me and Shelley (and your other “California cuzzins”) when you come out this summer.  Maybe we (me and my AMC / Rambler buddies) can arrange to see the Tucker when you’re here.

From Tucker 1044 Selected to Appear in the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

-Identify the location and orientation of the the Mystery Foto and the Motor Parkway bridge.
Looking East down the tracks at the Mineola railroad bridge.

-Which Vanderbilt Cup Races courses, if any, included this bridge?
No races went over this bridge

-What year was this photo taken? (Currently unknown)
Judging by the car on the right, I’ll guess sometime in the 1940’s.

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Happy Easter everyone.

Dave-  Maureen has an excellent idea of inspecting the original Huntington lodge’s foundation by the north side of the RoW. Although this area has been rebuilt over the years, there’s a chance of discovery closer to the parkway. I quickly drew up an overlay of the 1930 and 1947 lodge locations (see attached, sending to Howard).

It looks like both foundations are in the paved parking lot, Darn! As Al Velocci noted, U-turns at this lodge were permitted and made by motorists mostly coming from the west, without privilege to leave and return. So a round trip, one dollar toll from Queens was possible from here. I sketched the yellow lines where the driveway was and where auto activity occurred with the U-turns. It looks like Broad Hollow Rd was eventually expanded eastward. 

If you and Sam are visiting here soon, it wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look. I included coordinates if it helps

From Updated: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Hike” VI: Broad Hollow Road

Looking east from the Central Line rail crossing, Bethpage.
In the distance is the LIMP bridge over Central Avenue.
The 1908 Cup race utilized this bridge.
The building on the left was the Kessler glass factory.
The building on the right was the Colonial Inn ( Hayes’ Inn)
Estimated date, using auto in front of Colonial, 1946.

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Oyster Bay line of LIRR at the east Williston station on 25B or hillside avenue or east Williston ave. The picture is looking north towards the Motor parkway bridge crossing the same branch line between Willis ave and Roslyn rd, cira 1935. I do not believe any Vanderbilt cup races ever used this bridge. It was built later.

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Congrats Roz and Howard! Great news. Looking forward to see 1044 rolling on the red carpet.

From Tucker 1044 Selected to Appear in the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

... continuing East from the start of Colonial Springs Road, look to the first house on North side (Visible via Google map, with the house just as I recall), then behind the house and up the hill is the LIMP (again the route of LIMP easily seen).  Indeed, if I were not now handicapped with a walker, I would go to the house and tell the owners that their house was once owned by the Hairston Family (the husband/father, a Southern gentleman with hound dogs he kept there, and who was the Commissioner of Elections for Suffolk County), the house being to where we would ride our bikes to visit Mrs Hairston… recalling, as I have previously remarked, how we would bike from our farm house on Route 110 (2 lane) at the Huntington/Babylon town line to the LIMP bridge and then go uninterrupted all the way to a point on the LIMP directly behind the Hairstons, where we would get off our bikes and walk down the hill to the back of the house.  Perhaps a bit repetitious, but seeing the Hairstons house today as it was in the mid fifties, suggests that there may yet be the odd reminder of the LIMP directly behind the Hairstons house.  Anyway, that is how I remember it. Edith

From Updated: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Hike” VI: Broad Hollow Road

Hello,

Really appreciate the pics of the motor parkway.  I just had a light bulb moment and remember walking east bound from my home at Huntington Lodge.  When I would go to the parkway, take a right to go east, there was a foundation on the north side of the parkway shortly after walking east. This could have been around a 1/4 of a mile from old rte. 110.  The foundation was of a sandstone color and not of the gray cement color you see now-a-days.  There was much over growth of scrub brush and the top of the foundation wall was weather beaten.  Has anyone ever come across foundation remains while hiking this area?  The size of the basement could very easily fit to the actual lodge.  There was also metal and/or pipe fragment scraps in the foundation.
I think Howard was right,  the lodge was moved to the location where I lived.
Maureen

From Updated: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Hike” VI: Broad Hollow Road

Wonderful news Howard and Roz, congratulations. A lot of us who read this will be there with you in spirit! I am proud to have contributed to the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours at the request of the Chairman Christopher Bock with a history of the Rollston body company for their souvenir program. Cars with Rollston coachwork are a featured class this year , and the building they occupied for decades still survives in Manhattan and is home to Manhattan Toyota on the west side .

From Tucker 1044 Selected to Appear in the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Looking east access Broadway in bethpage, the Hayes in is the building to the right.the buildings to the left burned down and now it is a CVS.
This was taken from the old location of the bethpage train station, now it is one block West on the other side of Stewart avenue.
If you would to go about a half mile east where Central avenue and the LIRR meet the old motor parkway was ended under the “LILCO” wires.
The train gate house was removed in the 1960’s

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Howard,
Nice going!!!  What’s the current status of the Tucker?  All I know is that it’s going to be a beauty.
Rog

From Tucker 1044 Selected to Appear in the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Judging by the car on the right side,I’d say the year of the photo is 1938.As far as the location,I don’t have a clue.Great photo. Gene Perry

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Cool pic. I’m going to guess LIRR bridge Williston Park / East Williston. I’m pretty certain it’s not the Mineola RR bridge - there was no station that close to it. And the other option is Central Ave in Bethpage and I believe the same is true there….no station nearby so Williston it is. I’m sure that “HESSLER” sign on the building to the left is some sort of clue but I have no idea and dont feel like researching that stuff!

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Howard—-I appreciate your excitement but you are older then I am….you should know by now, especially when it comes to the Mets…..Don’t get excited too soon. There are 160 games to go! Mets pitchers have a way of quickly finding their way to the disabled list! I like alot of things I see too—-but let’s talk further in June/July.

From Off-Topic: Highlights from the Mets' 2018 Opening Day

Frank—-I hear you but I really kind of love the “untouched and preserved”. The Greenway is a great idea but that will end the history to some degree. Dead Mans Curve has to remain as it is. No changes. I feel that way with many sections!

Brian—-makes total sense. Thanks. You two have to give us ideas for exploration! Any ideas??

From Updated: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Hike” VI: Broad Hollow Road

Another great mystery photo, thanks Bob! 

Only 3 possibilities;
Mineola, Albertson, and Bethpage. We’re at the latter on Broadway and the LIRR looking SE towards the Central RR bridge.

The two buildings on the right are still standing today. The buildings on the left are all gone, as is the crossing gate booth and the fence between the RR tracks.

Bridge was used for all races 1908-1910

Bridge was taken down around 1950. The car in the photo is late ‘40s. A car expert can close in on the year of the photo. 

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Mystery Foto # 13… Going out on a limb I will photo shows the bridge over the Motor Parkway in Mineola and East Williston/Williston Park. Some of my research is falling flat so it could also be in Hicksville. I want to say we are standing west of the bridge looking east. The Vanderbilt cup race in 1906 included this bridge. Photo taken in October of 1944… maybe.

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage

Just wanted to mention, it’s always great that we can enlarge the photos at home!

From Mystery Foto #11 Solved: Sammy on the Ezekiel Smith Farmway Bridge in Melville

It’s the crossing of the LIRRR & Broadway in Bethpage, looking east-southeast toward Farmingdale.

The building to the right is still there. The car in front of it looks like a late 1940s model. Dating the car will help get the year, as will knowing when the gates were no longer raised & lowered by hand (which was probably done by the guy standing by them). I believe those gates were still manual in 1958 when I moved to Bethpage, but changed to automatic (both there & at Stewart Ave) not long after that.

The bridge (#12 on the maps on this site), just north of “Deadman’s Curve”, crossed over both the LIRR and Central Av. It had to have been used in the 1908 race, and any other race that included Bethpage & Old Bethpage. The LIRR insisted the bridge be made of steel.

From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: A 1944 View of the Central Avenue/LIRR Motor Parkway Bridge in Bethpage