Vanderbilt Cup Races

And the winner is . . . Roz! 
Oscar material definitely - Oscar Meyer, that is.
This must have been the outtakes from that year’s actual winning film - Rocky!
Nicely done, Howie!  I can’t wait for the sequel! 

From Film of the Week: Krocky (1977)

Interesting story!!

Can you tell me just when the Motor Parkway bridge across Westbury Ave was taken down?

From Kleiner's Korner: 100 Years Ago on the Motor Parkway (Sept., 1924)

From Al Velocci:

Greg, With regard to the Drennan photos, I am a volunteer at the Nassau County Photo Archives based at the Bethpage Village Restoration complex. We have literally hundreds of photos taken by Drennan of Long Island between 1936 and the 1970’s. The Drennan Collection is only part of thousands of the Archive’s photos, most of which have to do with Long Island and all of which is available for the public to view. For a small fee copies can be made. To visit, make an appointment by calling Iris Levin at 516 572-8410.

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Amazing aerial photo of old Carle Place/Westbury over Old Country Rd looking Southeast. Many historic events occurred on this property including WWI’s flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker’s hangar, Charles Lindbergh’s take off ramp to Paris in 1927, to Murray the K’s entertainment venue in the ‘60’s. The double oval race tracks (unseen) in the distance indicate Roosevelt Harness racing in 1948

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Awesomely beautiful, Howard and, as usual, you’re going-about the engine restoration, etc. in all-the-right way!
Can’t wait to see and “hear” the result.

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

Camera aimed east.  Old Country Rd. runs along left side of pic. Three remaining large hangars along south side of road.  Transformation from Roosevelt Field Airport to shopping center has begun - I’d say around 1953.  Eastbound Motor Parkway parallel to and just north of Stewart Ave.  Parkway became the south portion of shopping center perimeter road.  Original Roosevelt Raceway in distance.  No sign yet of Meadowbrook Pky.  Murray The K and his Swingin’ Soiree?  Not a clue as to the connection.  John Drennan took my photo for my “chauffeur’s” license at his studio on First St., Mineola during the 1960’s.  He kindly advised me when I was shopping for a radio scanner in the 1970’s.

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Roosevelt Field, looking due East.  Old Country Road runs top to bottom along the left edge of the first photo while Stewart Ave. parallels it on the far right.  Just to the left of that would be the remains of the LIMP passing by the Polo Grounds immediately next to Stewart. Ave. 

Beyond that, housing at Mitchel Gardens can also be seen. Though difficult to make out in the shot, housing at Mitchel Field can also be observed. 

Not visible in that photo, the Mall would be constructed off screen to the lower right.  Off in the distance, it appears that construction has begun on the extension of the Meadowbrook Parkway, dating it to approximately 1954-55. 

Near the Parkway is Roosevelt Raceway, though the new grandstand does not seem to have been built yet.  It occupied the property that once housed the Vanderbilt Racetrack.  Way off in the distance is Salisbury Park, once the Links at Salisbury. 

In one of the abandoned hangers along Old Country Road adjacent to Roosevelt Field, Murray the K created a short-lived discotheque known as (what else?), ‘Murray the K’s World’.  It would close after losing its liquor license after being busted for serving alcohol to teenagers who were the main clientele for the venture. 

It occupied the same hanger that Lindbergh parked his plane in the night before taking off on his transatlantic flight.  That same space had been used by a low budget motion picture studio who’s greatest claim to fame in 1964 had been the cult classic, ‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’, featuring Pia Zadora as a child actor. 

Another one of the hangers, the one closest to the Parkway would be used for a time as a space oriented attraction known as ‘Spaceland’.  Opening just 8 months after Sputnik, it closed by the early ‘60’s. 

The remaining hangers along Old Country Road were demolished for retail development around 1971. 

https://www.murraythek.com/murrays-bio.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Conquers_the_Martians

https://letterpile.com/memoirs/Long-Island-Spaceland

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Perhaps it will be ready for the Audrain Concours in October! Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

Facing east/ south east over Mineola-Carle Place- Garden City
Old Country Road on right, Long Island MP upper right going from south edge of Roosevelt Field past meadowbrook Polo grounds
Airfields are Roosevelt field in foreground and Mitchell Field in distance, upper right
Links to LIMP- LIMP seen in distance/Several Vanderbilt Cup races run at Roosevelt Raceway seen in distance upper left,
Sporting events/ historic events-several famous polo matches at Meadowbrook polo grounds, dirigible landed at Roosevelt field 1918, Lindberg took off from this end of Roosevelt field on his historic trans Atlantic flight,
Murray the Ks disco, Astroworld was in one of the hangars on Old Country Road
Buildings include Avis World headquarters, east of the hangars at 900 Old Country Road
Date of photo between 1951 and 1954 ( no planes on runways which closed around 1951 but before creation of Meadowbrook parkway)

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

By far the most beautiful car in your collection (IMHO).

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

Can’t wait to hear it roar again !!!!! Thanks for all you do for Long Island’s car culture

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

The photographer is looking east and is over the Roosevelt Field area. The airfields are Roosevelt Field in the foreground and Mitchel Field in the background. That’s Old Country Road on the left. I’m old enough to remember when the three hangars just south of Old Country Road were still standing. One of them housed Murray The K’s World, a short-lived disco, in 1966.

A previous Mystery Foto has five hangars and is dated 1951, so this Foto was taken between 1951 and 1955, as there’s no Meadowbrook Parkway just west of the hangars. I’m going to say 1953.

The LIMP ran south of this location. The 1936 VCR was run on a track just east of here.

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

We are looking east (or maybe slightly southeast) over Carle Place, Westbury, and East Garden City. Major roads include Old Country Road, Stewart Avenue, LIMP, and Merrick Avenue way in the distance. Other roads are the early incarnations of East Gate Blvd and Zeckendorf Blvd. The two airfields are Roosevelt (foreground; apparently closed) and Mitchel Field in the distance. The LIMP links are the remnants of the road in the distance along with its bridge into Roosevelt Field. Events include the following Vanderbilt Cup races: 1908, 1909, 1910, 1936, 1937, 1960. Buildings include the Mason Mint and Renwal Plastics factories. Murray the K’s “World”, a disco venue, was established in the hanger that’s closest to the bottom of the photo on Old Country Road. I think the date should be about 1953 because of the existence of East Gate Blvd. but no evidence of any construction for Meadow Brook Pkwy.

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Incredible process for recommissioning the Deusy!

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

Looks like great work Howard. Looking forward to seeing it drive again.

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

Incredible car Howard. Good luck with the restoration. It’s gonna look fantastic.

From Restoration Update #2: 1930 Duesenberg J Murphy Convertible Sedan Berline #2448 J-399 (1/17/2025)

The location is Roosevelt airfield, the photo is facing east, taken on November 6th, 1953. Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located in Westbury, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazelhurst Field) for the Air Service, United States Army during World War I.
In 1919, it was renamed in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt’s son, Quentin, who was killed in air combat during World War I.
The Hempstead Plains Aerodrome originally encompassed 900–1,000 acres (364–405 ha) east of and abutting Clinton Road, south of and adjacent to Old Country Road, and west of Merrick Avenue.
Hazelhurst Field No. 2 was renamed Mitchel Field on July 16, 1918, to commemorate John Purroy Mitchel, the former mayor of New York killed in a flying accident on July 6, 1918, while training with the U.S. Air Service in Louisiana. On September 24, 1918, the Army dedicated the eastern portion of Hazelhurst Field No. 1 as Roosevelt Field.
Once in civilian hands, the owners sold portions along the southern edge of the field and split the remainder of the property into two separate areas. Curtiss Field, a 300-acre (120 ha) airport on the original site of Hazelhurst Field, occupied half of the western portion along Clinton Road. Roosevelt Field occupied the remainder, consisting of seven hangars and a large parking ramp adjacent to Curtiss Field, and an east–west packed clay runway 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in length on the bluff. The area between Curtiss Field and the Long Island Motor Parkway, which ran north of and parallel to Stewart Avenue
Both fields were bought in 1929 by Roosevelt Field, Inc. The western field, called “Unit 2”, and the runway atop the bluff, called “Unit 1”, were connected by a broad earthen taxi ramp and the consolidated property was named Roosevelt Field. Unit 1 was sold in 1936 and became the Roosevelt Raceway, while Unit 2 continued to operate as an aviation center under the name Roosevelt Field. At its peak in the 1930s, it was America’s busiest civilian airfield.
In 1966, Murray collaborated with media art collective USCO to design and produce the psychedelic multimedia event The World, which took place in the Roosevelt Field abandoned airplane hangar in Long Island and was dubbed the first discotheque.[10][11][12] Live and recorded music played while slides and film were projected onto the crowd. Music acts that performed included The Young Rascals, The Hollies, Del Shannon, The Isley Brothers, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.[11] The World was featured on the cover of Life magazine in May 1966.
The grandstand for the 1936 and 1937 Vanderbilt Cup Races. After the 1937 Vanderbilt Cup Race, no major road race was ever held again at Roosevelt Raceway.
The track was soon used for midget racing and then harness horse racing.
Roosevelt was the premier Golden Age airfield of the eastern U.S., enjoying many on-site operators. Among them were Bird, Lockheed, Monocoupe, Kittyhawk, Stearman, Stinson, Waco, Aeronca, Fairchild, Fleet, Standard, Travel Air, Kellett, Curtiss-Wright and Rearwin aircraft sales and service. It housed service hangars and flight training facilities, as well as repair services including aviation welding, sheet metal, engine and instrument companies.
It hosted aircraft manufacturers including Fleetwings, Loening, and Amphibions, Inc. The Roosevelt Flying Corp provided short haul air transport, and Plane Speaker Corp., Skywriters, Inc. and Air News, Inc. provided aerial advertising services. A branch office of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) was on the field

From Friday Mystery Foto #4 Solved: Newly Discovered 1953 Drennan Aerials of Roosevelt Field

Fresh Meadows aerial above is a Fairchild aerial photo from Sept 5, 1951

From Update with Aerials: Video of the Week: Robert Moses: Long Island's Master Builder

Roy Warner - Here’s a high resolution aerial of Fresh Meadows including 51st Ave and 199 St. See above.

From Update with Aerials: Video of the Week: Robert Moses: Long Island's Master Builder

The first time I saw this Mustang was at the engineering building in Dearborn, Michigan before you even owned it Howard. It is so gratifying to know that it is in your safe hands along with all of your other treasures. Thank you.

From MSM and Motor Junkie- 20 Ford Mustang Prototypes That Didn’t Make It To Production