Vanderbilt Cup Races

My Grandfather, Father and myself worked at “Meadowbrook Hospital” since it opened back in the late 1930’s I believe. In this photo taken early 1950’s there is No Nassau County Correction Center in the background. I don’t believe the jail was build until the early 1960’s. It was the best “state-of-the-art” hospital at the time.
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From Howard Kroplick

Bill, I was raised in East Meadow and remember Meadowbrook Hospital very well!!

From Mystery Foto #76 Solved: An Aerial of Meadowbrook Hospital and East Meadow Circa 1951/1952

This race was called the “10 Mile Futurity Handicap” held at Sheepshead Bay racetrack in Brooklyn, NY. The track was located on 112 acres along Ocean Parkway across the bay from Manhattan Beach. The entire property consisted of 430 acres situated between Ocean Avenue, Neck Road, Vorhees Avenue, and Cedar Woods. The five drivers are: (top to bottom) Louis Chevrolet in the #3 Frontenac, Ralph Mulford in the #9 Frontenac, Dario Resta in the #1 Resta Special, Eddie Hearne in the #8 Duesenberg, and Tommy Milton in the #7 Duesenberg. All the drivers except for Milton participated in at least one Vanderbilt Cup Race; Chevrolet (1905, 1908, 1909, 1910); Mulford (entered 1910, won 1911); Resta (won 1915 & 1916); Hearne (entered 1910).

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

-Identify the race

Harkness Auto Handicap trophy race -won by Ralph DePalma in a Packard

Identify the race track. Where exactly was it located?

Sheepshead Bay Speedway in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn.
From Wikipedia; Old maps and railroad track diagrams for the Manhattan Beach Branch of the LIRR showing the spur that served both the club and the racetrack indicates the entrance to the club was located on the east side of Ocean Avenue between Avenues X and Y.

Identify the five drivers and their race cars

All cars/drivers and handicaps; The handicaps assigned and given at the 1 June 1918 Sheepshead Bay 100 were as follows, with only Louis Chevrolet starting at scratch (Source: AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES, 30 May 1918, page 1068); i.e. driver, car, and handicap;

(1.) Louis Chevrolet, Frontenac, Scratched; (2.) Ralph De Palma, Packard, 1:01; (3.) Dario Resta, Resta Special, 2:02; (4.) Ralph Mulford, Frontenac, 2:05; (5.) Barney Oldfield, Golden Submarine, 2:10; (6.) Eddie Hearne, Duesenberg, 2:12; (7.) Tommy Milton, Duesenberg, 2:15; (8.) Ira Vail, Hudson, 2:21; (9.) Omar Toft, Miller Special, 2:35; (10.) Nicholas Dwick, Delage, 2:50; (11.) J. J. Meyer, Delage, 3:00; (12.) Denny Hickey, Hotchkiss, 3:10; (13.) I. P. Fetterman, Peerless, 4:00; (14.) Percy Ford, (not listed), 5:00; (15.) Rudolph Wehr, Wehr Special, 6:00; and (16.) William Vetere, Duesenberg, 6:00.

Which of these drivers are linked to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?

Louis Chevrolet, Ralph De Palma, Dario Resta, Ralph Mulford

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

A library of Congress photo purported to show the 1918 Harkness Handicap although some historians believe it’s more likely a support race at the same meeting.

Sheepshead Bay Motor Speedway NY

Chevrolet-Frontenac
Mulford-Frontenac
Resta-Resta Spl
Hearne-Duesenberg
Milton-Duesenberg

Resta won the cup twice 1915 and 16

From Mystery Foto #37 Solved: Futurity Handicap Race at Sheepshead Bay Speedway Held on June 1, 1918

Hey Howard, Graves held gatherings on a regular basis for the smart set at the garage. On March 31, 1913 he had a luncheon that included Willie’s mother and Elsie Janis. Entertainers included Irene and Vernon Castle and Al Jolson Al.

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The Opening Day of Mineola's Corpus Christi School, Formerly Grave's Garage

Elsie is my great grandmother
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From Howard Kroplick

William, very cool!

From Elsie Janis and The Broadway Show "The Vanderbilt Cup"

Howard.  Only wish that I could be their to enjoy it with you

From Highlights from the Sunday in the Park Concours d'Elegance at Lime Rock Track

Howard   Congratulations on peoples choice,you’re always a sure winner,no matter what it is,with any of your cars.
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From Howard Kroplick

Thanks Ted!

From Highlights from the Sunday in the Park Concours d'Elegance at Lime Rock Track

Howard, finding that car in the museum & then restoring it and now looking back at the journey, I’m certain you are thrilled to have invested all of your effort . This was a winning expedition…..Congratulations on a journey well traveled , from start to finish.

From Conceptcarz.com Profile: 1937 Chrysler Imperial C-15 Town Car

Identify the building and its location: Previously, the Robert Graves Garage in Mineola.  Soon after it became the The Corpus Christi elementary school which is now wanted by a developer;

Who are the children in front of the building?  One of the first classes to study at the Corpis Christie school.

What is the approximate year of the photo? Provide a rationale.
1921-1922 after the purchase of the building in 1921but before a newer building was erected.

How was this building related to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?  The Robert Graves Garage served as a hotel/garage for many early races of the Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The Opening Day of Mineola's Corpus Christi School, Formerly Grave's Garage

Great section of road here. Very Cool how the original road is still leading up to the town pool. Not cool that they built a pool over the road.

Why are there no dates on the bridges over the railroad tracks?

Just east of the railroad tracks is a fantastic spot to bring “rookies” that are interested in the road. It really has everything here. Original road, much of which is under a layer of weeds but easily dug up and exposed. Posts everywhere. Bridge remnants and the bonus of the toll lodge which is obviously changed but still recognizable. Just a great all around spot.

Local boys have figured his out and created a really unbelievable drinking spot just east of the tracks complete with couches, fire pit and barbecue. Hundreds of beer cans everywhere. We ran into a group of boys one time and they all were in fact aware of the history off the road which was good. They weren’t aware of much else but they did know the road!

East of Roslyn road stands a house as you can see in the pic. This is followed by an elevated section which seems to be remnants of the Robbins road bridge. We looked hard but could not find any Vanderbilt relics but the road must be under there somewhere. To the north of the road are many posts which lead up to the town worker building. If you hop this fence you are in a woodsy area that leads up to the golf course and we need to explore this more but no road fragments were visible to us the two times we looked.
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From Howard Kroplick:
-Not sure why there are no dates on the railroad Motor Parkway bridges.

-The elevated section is actually the Motor Parkway. The Robbins Motor Parkway Bridges is gone without a trace.

-The concrete posts north of this area were boundary posts for the Motor Parkway.

From Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure” IV: Albertson to East Williston

This is such fun, reliving my similar excursions back some 55 years ago, after a Bob Miller lecture got me started on the LIMP.  [The Roslyn Lodge is NOT a remnant, though; it is an expanded second floor overwhelming the original first floor (we sure lost THAT fight).]  Thanks again, Dave.  You GO, Sam!  Sam, III

From Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure” IV: Albertson to East Williston

Oh, sibling!  No clue!  Why do I have a feeling this is gonna be about as far-fetched as anything ever previously posted, however parochial?  Judas priest, I’ll have nun of that!  Sam, III

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The Opening Day of Mineola's Corpus Christi School, Formerly Grave's Garage

Howard,
Looking at the photo of Harry Grant driving the Black Beast in the 1909 Vanderbilt Race, it looks, surprisingly, like you driving the Port Jefferson Hill Climb.
Rog
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From Howard Kroplick
Scary!!!!

From NewEnglandHistoricalSociety.com: Profile of Driver Harry Grant

Hi Dave and Sam. Looks to be fun and thorough at the same time.

From Sam & Dave’s “Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure” IV: Albertson to East Williston

Remembered this one from a similar mystery photo from a couple of years ago.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/mystery_foto_friday_20_can_you_identify_thsi_vanderbilt_cup_race_car

-Identify the building and its location

Grave’s Garage/Corpus Christi School located on Searing Avenue in Mineola.

-Who are the children in front of the building?

Students of the Corpus Christi School with the Sisters of St. Dominic.

-What is the approximate year of the photo? Provide a rationale.

Since the Grave’s Garage building was eventually replaced, I’ll throw out a guess here and say the founding year of the school in 1922. I can say with certainty that it’s 8:57am.

-How was this building related to the Vanderbilt Cup Races?

The garage of Robert Graves in Mineola. Robert Graves was the owner of the #1 Mercedes that raced in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race and the two #3 Mercedes that raced in the 1906 and 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Races.

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The Opening Day of Mineola's Corpus Christi School, Formerly Grave's Garage

Robert Graves’ Garage in Mineola where Corpus Christi School is now, by the LIRR Oyster Bay Branch and between Searing/Clinton st.  The kids are in uniform so it probably could be the Corpus Christi Catholic School, I dont know the year the picture was taken, probably before the Sept 1906 Collapse of the building…...good thing it didn’t fall on them kids !!!

From Mystery Foto #36 Solved: The Opening Day of Mineola's Corpus Christi School, Formerly Grave's Garage

Hi Howard, in all of these races, despite the number changes, is that car the Black Beast ______________________________________________________________
From Howard Kroplick

Yes, they are!

From NewEnglandHistoricalSociety.com: Profile of Driver Harry Grant

I don’t miss a thing ,do I?,that’s why I had to watch it over again,something didn’t look or sound right,so I zoomed in and listened and knew you must have shifted,just by the sound of the engine,otherwise it would have stalled out,that was a thrill in itself,wasn’t it?

From Highlights from the 2015 Port Jefferson Hill Climb (Updated 8/28/15)

Hey! My car in the post suffered structural damage during delivery. That’s what 92.3mph can do. Be careful everyone and stay well.

From Mystery Foto/Illustration Solved #35: Wille K in his 1903 Mercedes Seeking "Other Worlds to Conquer"