Vanderbilt Cup Races

Thank you Ron Ridolph for that great presentation.  I still remember our boy scout leader taking us for hikes on a section of the Motor Parkway that started just east of Hicksville Road about a half mile(I think) north of Hempstead Turnpike(this was in the early 1950’s).  It was accessed by going into a housing development on the east side of Hicksville road and north on one of its dead end streets that ended at the parkway.  We then hiked on it in an easterly direction.

From From the Ron Ridolph Collection: A Long Island Motor Parkway Fan's 70-Year Timeline

Ron,

I’m very appreciative that you shared your memories. It is a good read. Thanks Howard for including it in this weeks newsletter….

Regards, Lou

From From the Ron Ridolph Collection: A Long Island Motor Parkway Fan's 70-Year Timeline

Happy New Year Sam, Dave, and All! Awesome adventure you guys accomplished and a nice find of the concrete posts by Caroline Street. But those posts are indeed peculiar. Had to look back at Wayne’s online map for the right-of-way and compare with mine. I recall this was a tricky section of LIMP to sketch as the roadway in this area had been removed entirely (or buried) from the construction of the expressway (135). As it turns out, the two maps are nearly identical. (sending Howard pics for comparison). Dave, I believe Wayne’s got it right, or very, very close. At Caroline Street, the LIMP ran on the southbound lanes of present day Rt 135. That would place the Caroline posts at nearly 190ft away from the right-of-way. So what are they doing there? Any ideas are welcome.
Thank you Sam and Dave for sharing the exploration. 

Art came across this site in ’07. 
http://www.freewebs.com/limparkway/bethpagesob.htm

From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure" VIX: On to Bethpage State Park Updated 1/14/16

Hi Howard:

    Again and Again,  Thanks and Blessings to you always !!!!

                  Cheers !!!!  Ron Ridolph

From From the Ron Ridolph Collection: A Long Island Motor Parkway Fan's 70-Year Timeline

Hi Dave and Sam. I don’t know why the concrete posts are spaced so close together at that point. For my own curiosity, I “compared” a current aerial view along with a 1953 aerial view using the “slider tool” within the HistoricAerials website. The LIMP is well defined on the 1953 map. I never ventured in this area say N/O Powells up to the easterly curve into BSP, but I’m fairly sure it’s ravined.

I have a memory of the bridge abutments in BSP while working in the area around 1985. The foreman told me it was the motor pkwy. That’s when the LIMP bug bit me.

From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure" VIX: On to Bethpage State Park Updated 1/14/16

The driver is Camille Jenatzy of Belgium who participated in both the 1905 and 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Races. The racer is the Jamais Contente, which translates as “Never Satisfied”. It is a battery powered electric car that was designed by Jenatzy who was an electrical engineer before he became a race car driver. The body is made of an early alloy of aluminum, tungsten, and magnesium and was built by Rheims & Auscher. It is generally accepted that it was the first car specifically built for racing. With Jenatzy driving, it was the first land vehicle to exceed 100 KPH in 1899. It actually went 105 KPH or 65.9 MPH.

From Mystery Foto #1 Solved: Camille Jenatzy in the Historic La Jamais Contente Updated 1/5/16

HAPPY NEW YEAR health and happiness to all

From The Top Twenty 2015 Posts on VanderbiltCupRaces.com

The fill behind the eastern abutment of the Botto bridge is still there on the right heading north, ‘way up near the Schoolhouse Road fence.  It’s so heavily covered with brush that it’s hard to spot but there’s a dirt scramble path up to the top from the base on the southeastern corner at a bicycle cross-trail.  If I recall correctly, it’s about 200’ southwest from the corner of Schoolhouse Road and JoAnn Drive.  Go back!  [Also, see Howard’s 08 Jan 2010 blog.]  Sam, III

From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure" VIX: On to Bethpage State Park Updated 1/14/16

I’m really interested to see if anyone has any feedback on the Caroline Street posts. The frequency of the posts is one thing that’s puzzling. Any thoughts?

But according to Wayne’s map page we are also quite far away from the Parkway at this location. I think the Parkway was a bit more over to the west at this point, closer to the posts. Why would they put the posts that far away? There were many locations along the way where the map didn’t precisely line up with road.

Don’t get me wrong, Wayne’s map is the single greatest tool for Motor Parkway exploration but slightly off in some spots we found.

According to his map after Sportset the Parkway turns east (across 135 now) and then bends back west to proceed north along today’s 135. I’ve never explored east of 135 in this location. Has anyone found any remnants here? The power lines are west of 135 and I’m wondering why the lines would have deviated from the Parkway at this point. That along with the Caroline western post location, I think the Parkway was slightly west of his map.

From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure" VIX: On to Bethpage State Park Updated 1/14/16

This Stymus Farm Cemetery in this article is right in my neighborhood, it is located right up the street from me Howard and I walk my dog in the area frequently. We also walk up near Caroline Street as well interesting that you should post this tonight we were just up just past Caroline St today on our daily walk.

From Sam & Dave's "Excellent Motor Parkway Adventure" VIX: On to Bethpage State Park Updated 1/14/16

From Florence Ogg:

Photo 52 is in the photo collection at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum. Alva V,WKV Jr and Sr and Consuela on a Nile cruise
If I remember correctly Oliver Belmont is sitting on the floor.

From Mystery Foto #52 Solved: Willie K. and the Vanderbilt Family Cruising on the Nile River in 1888

This photo was taken in 1887 during a Vanderbilt family cruise on the Nile River in Egypt. Willie K. Jr. (then 9 years old) is the young boy standing near the center of the photo. His mother, Alva, is seated at the right. Alva’s husband, William K. Vanderbilt, is seated in the white suit near the left side of the photo with Willie K.‘s sister, Consuelo, at his side. Family friend O. H. P. Belmont is seated at the far left smoking a cigarette. Nine years after this photo was taken, Alva married the “family friend” (Belmont), having divorced Willie K.‘s father the year before. Maybe this cruise is where the new romance began.

From Mystery Foto #52 Solved: Willie K. and the Vanderbilt Family Cruising on the Nile River in 1888

Where is the property located, specifically? Does someone have a pic of the home? I own a JT Cantrell bodied ‘48 dodge truck mounted woodie. Hence the interest in this info. Thanks.

From Updated: Walter McCarthy Collection: Then & Now- The Long Island Automotive Museum

Happy New Year to all my LIMP friends!!!

Identify the four Vanderbilts.
Alva Vanderbilt (can’t miss her), husband William K. Vanderbilt, 10 year old daughter Consuelo, and Willie K., Jr. at age 9.
Identfy any other people in the photo.
Oliver Hazard Perry (O.H.P.) Belmont

When and where was the photo taken?  Nile river trip in 1887.

What event occurred nine years after this photo was taken?
Alva married O.H.P. Belmont.

From Mystery Foto #52 Solved: Willie K. and the Vanderbilt Family Cruising on the Nile River in 1888

After college in the early 1980’s I rented a house in East Hampton with 14 other college friends. I passed the building often but had missed its glory days. Thanks to Hemmings and others for keeping Austins legacy alive. As posted earlier, maybe we set up a crowd funding site and see if we can buy it back and return it to its former glory. Anybody up for that??
__________________________________________________
From Howard Kroplick:

FYI, the property is still owned by the Clark family

From Updated: Walter McCarthy Collection: Then & Now- The Long Island Automotive Museum

They should restore the place privately or with govt. funding to make it a historical site. too bad they usually waste money on projects like the improvement of rt 25 (jericho tpke) in new hyde park. instead of improving it they ruined the road by eliminating a center turning lane and installed greenery that needs maintaince and inhibits saftey and created traffic jams and accidents. also the water collects on the corners instead of draining due to flawed design and construction with no one taking responsibility for such a boondoggle. that was the last straw for me so i left ny for good.lots of money in ny but most of it is wasted when it comes to community needs when administered by local,state and federal govt.

From Updated: Walter McCarthy Collection: Then & Now- The Long Island Automotive Museum

Hard to recall from so long ago, but I don’t think I took pics of the interior. It may be ‘cause it was too rough, or there was too much glare. I’ll check when I find the negatives, but it was right on the cusp of restore vs. preserve.

From Rare Photos of Chrysler's Chrysler at the Vanderbilt Museum in 1986

Once again I’m asking why was the front license plate moved from the passenger’s
side to the driver’s side?

From Rare Photos of Chrysler's Chrysler at the Vanderbilt Museum in 1986

Was the car running in 1986?
________________________

From Howard Kroplick

Yes, it was!

From Rare Photos of Chrysler's Chrysler at the Vanderbilt Museum in 1986

Bwana Teddy Roosevelt Vanderbilt, Bwana Teddy Roosevelt Vanderbilt, Bwana Teddy Roosevelt Vanderbilt, and Bwana Teddy Roosevelt Vanderbilt; Ungawa (page); when the shutter clicked, in Darkest Africa; the NY CentRal RR was run through the Panama Canal.  Hee, hee, III

From Mystery Foto #52 Solved: Willie K. and the Vanderbilt Family Cruising on the Nile River in 1888