Vanderbilt Cup Races

-What is the location and the orientation of the photographer?
Over Farmingdale looking North

-Identify the school.
Farmingdale State College/SUNY Farmingdale, known then as, The New York State School Of Agriculture on Long Island.  The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of applied agriculture.

-Identify the major roads.
In the upper right, the vertical road is Broadhollow, the LIMP is the horizontal and a small sliver of Spagnoli. Melville road is in the lower portion of the photo.

-What is the approximate date of the Mystery Foto? Provide a rationale.
Trolley absence, new Huntington Lodge replacing the previous kiosk, and some of the vehicles I can make out make me want to guess sometime around 1922-1924

-Identify the Motor Parkway structure(s).  What is unusual about the structure(s)?
Broad Hollow Road Bridge (This was the second Motor Parkway bridge built over a road and trolley track) and the Huntington Lodge, a pre-cut four room bungalow, for the Mineola, Huntington and Ronkonkoma Lodges.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

Can’t get enough of these photos! Thank you Howard for displaying these. Looking beyond into the field at the Mineola kiosk with Chief and crew, the Mineola boundary ends in just 3 blocks from Jericho Tpke (850 feet). With no obstructions in the field, we are looking well into East Williston. Could that be the Hillside Ave Parkway bridge in the distance, over the Chief’s left shoulder? If so, that would be a distance of almost 1900 feet (0.4 miles). Howard, is it possible to zoom into those two mounds? Fantastic Fotos!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Looking northeast over the old Farmingdale Agricultural College (now the NY State Farmingdale College) about 1930.  Across the bottom diagonally to the right is Melville
Road.  At the top right corner appears to be the Broad Hollow Road bridge, distinguished looking having both an auto and a trolley opening (Huntington to Amityville) and to the right of the bridge it looks like the Huntington Lodge.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

I Think ,  Farmingdale State College,    At Melville Rd.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

Amazing ....

Are there any details on the person who bought it for $20.00? Did he have a connection with this site?
_____________________________________________________

Howard Kroplick

The lucky $20 person found the album in a New Jersey flea market. He is a collector of vintage photos and postcards. After visiting VanderbiltCupRaces.com, he realized the importance of the construction photos and placed the album on Ebay.

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Bright Beginnings child care center in Queens Village, Inc. is located on the grounds of Creedmoor Community Campus in Queens Village between Winchester Blvd. and the cross island parkway, just south of Creedmoor hospital. The photographer is looking north west the motor parkway is in the upper right in the photo. The bridge over Winchester Blvd. or one where Creedmoor hospital now stands is also there. Union turnpike has not been extended as of yet in this part of queens so I would put the time of the photo at 1920.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us, it is so fortunate that the album exists but just as fortunate that all of us have someone so generous to share this with us. I am not sure of the reason but some historians, collectors, researchers, authors are “hoarders” and bask in the glow that they know something or have something   ( information, photographs, images) that no one else does, but they know would want to see. They refuse to share and just want to let people know “what I have and you don’t”. I have met and knowsome like that over my decades of research and writing and can just say that I have absolutely no respect for those people - what I really would like to say would not look good in print! History belongs to all of us, some are more interested then others. I guess it is the lifelong teacher in me that just enjoys sharing the knowledge with any and all. THANK YOU HOWARD for sharing this with us. A true treasure to see.
Walt

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Looks like The Creedmore facility off of Commonwealth Blvd in Queens,NY

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

This is a fantastic map! Great job - thanks.

From Femenias Findings: A New Interactive Online Map of the Long Island Motor Parkway

I’m still amazed at how sleek Tuckers are, a look that was way ahead of its time, and still looks good today.

From Hold the Date- October 27, 2018: Tucker 1044 Open House at Ida Automotive in Marlboro, New Jersey

Hey, Howard, if you can’t locate that photo booklet Willie produced, this is sure a close second!  Thanks so much for sharing this.  Can hardly wait for more.  Sam, III

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Hello…I am Robert Lyttle neighbors. He is a Herb Lytle’s son and is 97 years young. He is writing a book about his his life story and would be happy to make contact with you. He is at p.o. box 692 Lomita CA 90717. He was very happy to see the pictures that we found that you have posted of his father races on the internet…thank you.

P.S. The box you found was probably the one that Vic Lytle sent to Claude while Robert was in the navy.
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Howard Kroplick

Thanks so much for the contact! 97 years ,wow!!!

From Herb Lytle's Great-Great-Grandson Takes a Ride in the Alco Black Beast

Surveyor Clinton Robertson is the hero of this batch of photos. He preserved the photos for some time before someone else continued the tradition. And here they are perfectly preserved after 109 years!

I was once the “pole guy” recently, for a local surveyor here in Franklin Square (Clinton holding the pole in his right hand). The technology today is more advanced using lasers with computers, but the concept is still the same using pole and main unit on tripod. I was praised at least three times by the surveyor for holding the pole so steady to 1/1000 of an inch accuracy. The computer actually notifies the surveyor!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Amazing shot of Jericho Tpke, and the village of Mineola behind the “Chief” and crew at the kiosk. Fantastic find Howard!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

*Location/Orientation: Excellent bird’s eye view of East Farmingdale and Melville in a northwest direction.

*Major Rds.: Broad Hollow Rd and LIMP

*School: SUNY Farmingdale

*LIMP structures: Pkwy/Trolley Bridge over Broad Hollow Rd. The Huntington Lodge is at it’s original location.

*Aerial Date/Rationale: I’ll say 1930. College was established 1912. Believe the trolley service ended early 1920’s, I see dirt paths on the ROW north and south of the bridge.
Tough to say if Broad Hollow Rd is paved, but read this was done in the early 1930’s. The lodge is active on the north side of the LIMP.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

Lindsay Bergin:

• What is the location and the orientation of the photographer? East Farmingdale South of rt 110 (Broadhollow Rd) facing north.
• Identify the school. Farmingdale State College (State University of New York at Farmingdale in 1912)
• Identify the major roads. Broadhollow Rd (upper right), Melville Rd (lower portion)
• What is the approximate date of the Mystery Foto? Provide a rationale. Around 1914. The Hicks and Cutler Halls were built around then. Here’s a link with info: https://www.flickr.com/photos/farmingdalestate/5937836130
• Identify the Motor Parkway structure(s).  What is unusual about the structure(s)? Broadhollow Rd bridge and Huntington Lodge. There’s also a billboard. I’m new at this so I’m not sure what’s unusual about them.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

Farmingdale College (the agricultural college of earlier years) looking north east sometime in the 1930s, in the distance is the Broad Hollow Road and its LIMP bridge with a trolley line underneath and off to the right, The Toll lodge and Ruland Road off to the right.

From Mystery Foto #42 Solved: "Farmingdale State College" and the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1924

I wonder if some dude named Kroplick bought this!??
________________________________

Howard Kroplick

It must have been one crazy dude!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

W O W!!! Jackpot! Speechless and hypnotized. Please don’t disturb while entranced in these photos. Holy moly, many firsts here!
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Howard Kroplick

More to come in future posts!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album

Wow. Great pics. Love the old Long Island stuff.

The payday pic made me laugh. Imagine waiting on line for your paycheck like this??

So Art fill us in, someone bought this for $20 at a flea market and then sold it for how much??
_____________________________________

Howard Kroplick

A lot of $!

From Exclusive: Surveyor Clinton Robertson's Long Island Motor Parkway Construction Photo Album