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The six Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 were the greatest sporting events of their day, and the first international automobile road races held in the United States. The races had a far-reaching impact on the development of American automobiles and parkways. This site provides comprehensive information on the races, the Long Island Motor Parkway and current Long Island automotive events, car shows and news.
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Recent Comments
Wow! Wonderful information here! Super fun to read.
From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K's Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
Regarding the Mystery Foto #13, I see that one of the replies is from Karl Ludvigsen. The world renown Automotive Journalist/Author,Yes?
Karl, I met you a zillion years ago through mutual friend Armand Fiorenza.
Great to see you name here.
______________________________________________
Howard Kroplick
Yes, Karl is a regular viewer and he correctly identified Howard Hughes!
From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K's Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
I think bridge 19 on the map should be placed a little bit to the west over the herricks high school driveway, next to the west embankment.
From Long Island Motor Parkway Bridge Series:#19 I.U. Willets Road Motor Parkway Bridge in Searingtown
The “other” No. Hemp. Tpke LIVES further east! The former tiny Muttontown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on the south side of No. Blvd. just west of Chelsea and 107 had a legal street address of 6080 North Hempstead Turnpike.
From Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap C: The Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows, Queens
About Al V.‘s 11:21 AM comment: the NHT renaming had nothing to do with the coming of “Cross Island Blvd.” Part of NHT was renamed Booth Memorial in conjunction of an anniversary celebration that honored the eponym medical center, which opened in 1957. However, much of the street remained NHT which doubly confused everyone, including us 70s graduates of Francis Lewis HS, located at the corner of Utopia Pkwy & NHT. About 30 years ago, sanity took over, and the entire extant road to the LIE was renamed Booth Memorial—only to see the medical center renamed in 1993.
So, today, there is no Booth Memorial on Booth Memorial Ave and FLHS is not, and never has been, on Francis Lewis Blvd (once Cross Island Blvd.). Don’t you love Queens streets!
From Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap C: The Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows, Queens
Thanks for matchbook cover, Thomas. Haven’t seen that!
Sam - see the article re: midget racing at Cedarhurst Stadium. From Billboard, 1948 but referencing pre-WWII.
From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway in Advertising Part II
Sam - yes about the exits leading to Idle Hour from Ronkonoma - and the realtors used that as a selling point - see pics. 1909 and 1910 ads from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
From Kleiner's Kolumn: The Long Island Motor Parkway in Maps (Part III)
To Al Prete’s comment-
The North Hempstead Tpke that is NY25A is unrelated to the NHT of this story. “Northern Blvd” has had many names, but by 1900, the Queens stretch was mostly known as Broadway, with the name changing to NHT at the Nassau border. That one part you referenced kept this old name.
The NHT in this post extended from the Strongs Causeway area to Queens Road (Hollis Ct. Blvd.) This NHT extended a road, known variously as Ireland/Ireland Mill/Mill Road, that had ended at/near Fresh Meadow Lane to Queens Road (Hollis Ct. Blvd). This NHT was intended to bypass the late 19th century congestion in Flushing on roads that form the modern Northern Blvd. Ironically, that was Horace Harding’s intent, too, in proposing Nassau Blvd., which made this NHT obsolete for long-distance travellers.
The Fresh Meadows development destroyed much of the eastern portion of NHT, but some roadbed, including its eastern terminus still exists. That roadbed is in the woods west of the Clearview Expwy, so, Al there’s still a trace left!
Both roads shared the name NHT, which referred to the long-distance destination the Town of North Hempstead, as I suspect Howard or Al V. have explained elsewhere.
The isolated segment of Hollis Ct. Blvd, between Clearview/73rd and the GCP, was renamed Hollis Hills Terrace to avoid confusion for visitors looking for addresses along this stretch of road in the pre-Google Maps era. (Some people would travel down Hollis Ct. Blvd from the north, only to see it “end” at LIE before encountering the addresses they sought.)
From Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap C: The Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows, Queens
Don’t forget, folks, that the Wheeler Road and Ronk. exits led south to WKV (Sr.)‘s Idle Hour and Frederick Bourne’s Indian Neck Hall, among many other South Shore mansions. There’s still a Vanderbilt Wharf Marina in Oakdale, just east of the Grand Canal. Al V. - what happened to the land purchased SOUTH and EAST of Ronk. (again - please)? Sam, III
From Kleiner's Kolumn: The Long Island Motor Parkway in Maps (Part III)
JF and Art, don’t overlook aviation pioneer George C. Dade, founder off the Cradle of Aviation Museum - see my <http://sbiii.com/aviation.html#dade>. George Dade’s father and uncle, and later George and his brother, owned the northwest corner of Clinton Street and Old Country Road, diagonally across from Curtiss/Roosevelt Field; the Motor Parkway formed the western boundary of their property. Coincidentally, I worked in the basement of the Dade office building there on OCR (long gone now) ca. 1957 - see 16 Jul 2018 Update #3: Mystery Foto #28. JF - please contact me at sbiii at sbiii dot com. Sam, III
From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway in Advertising Part II
*ID seaplane & owner: Sikorsky S - 43 / NC - 16925 ( NC is Navy Curtiss ). Owned by William K Vanderbilt II.
*Location of Foto: Maybe Sands Point Seaplane Base NY
*Kudo ?: Don’t know the full name/type. That’s Howard Hughes in both photos, maybe prior to 1946 ( his near fatal crash ). William Beutenmuller appears around 30 yrs old.
From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K's Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
Thought you’d like this matchbook cover for your collection. My best friend, Tony Carey, and I walked on the Parkway from Mineola to Searingtown when we were kids. (1952ish). Love your column.
From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway in Advertising Part II
Al, Yes, it was North Hempstead Turnpike previously and it’s eastern terminus was at Hollis Court Blvd. prior to the development of Cunningham Park and the coming of the “Cross Island Boulevard”. Ir was around this time the name was changes to Booth Memorial Avenue.
From Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap C: The Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows, Queens
Should have been the “northeast corner of the course”.
From Motor Parkway Survey Bookmap C: The Western Terminus in Fresh Meadows, Queens
Love the unpaved photos!
From Mystery Foto #12 Solved: A View Along the 10-Mile Curve in Dix Hills & the "View" Postcard Series
Thank you for your comments, JF. I’m glad you find the material informative. Yes, lots of aviation history on LI - so glad volunteers like yourself are helping to preserve it.
From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway in Advertising Part II
Attached is a hand drawn map previously featured in August, 2013 from a Sept. 1907 issue of Automobile Topics. Interesting caricatures depicting how politics and economic issues impacted the route of the Motor Parkway. And a rare view of the never to be built route between Lake Ronkonkoma and Riverhead.
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/anatomy_of_a_1907_cartoon_how_the_motor_parkway_becam_kinky
From Kleiner's Kolumn: The Long Island Motor Parkway in Maps (Part III)
Could that be Willie K.‘s Douglas Dolphin “Amphibion” at the Sands Point Seaplane Base on Manhasset Bay? This was the location where the first Trans-Atlantic commercial passenger flight took off on June 28, 1939. It then became Pan-Am’s headquarters during 1939-1940 for regular flights to Europe with the Boeing 314 “Clipper”. It had been Pan-Am’s Executive Airport from 1934 to 1937. Regarding the kudos photo: is that Amelia Earhart standing next to a Sikorsky S-39?
From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K's Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
Mystery Foto#13… The seaplane is William K. Vanderbilt’s Sikorsky S43, registration # NC16925.
The other photo with the tall guy in the white shirt and hat shows Howard Hughes with his Sikorsky S-39C plane.
Can’t determine the location of the first pic.
Could it be at LaGuardia marine air terminal
or at the Port Washington Marine air terminal???
From Mystery Foto #13 Solved: Willie K's Seaplane at Port Washington Marine Base in 1938 & Howard Hughes
Now that I am approaching 70 in June, I have great appreciation for history, especially for automobiles and old automobile advertising; as well as for airplanes and aviation history. Which is fortunate, because I work as a volunteer for the Nassau County Photo Archives at Old Bethpage Village.
Over the last year and a half, I have been archiving photos and documents, which display the history of aviation on Long Island. I note with interest your collection of aviation by way of advertising cards. Some of the info conveyed in your current newsletter, add the names of those early aviators who were active in Mineola and the Hempstead Plains. Thanks for publishing this information, along with the LI Motor Parkway.
JF Purcell
Oceanside, NY
Volunteer, Nassau County Photo Archives
From Kleiner's Korner: The Motor Parkway in Advertising Part II
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