Vanderbilt Cup Races

Congrats again!  I think that front left quarter down cover shot is the most beautiful photo of your car of any I’ve ever seen!  Sam, III

From Hemmings Classic Car Cover: Mrs. Chrysler's Chrysler - One-Off 1937 Imperial Limousine by LeBaron

For thiose who remember the Pegaso, there’s a similar story under Classic Cars on my Automotive Page 2, <http://sbiii.com/automot2.html#clasicar>; scroll down to Pegaso.  Sam, III

From VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: How Vincent Gardner Saved the Mustang III from Being Destroyed

......Hillside Ave Lodge (1921-1928). Any clue on location?
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From Howard Kroplick

This was a ticket kiosk at the Rocky Hill Lodge location before the lodge was opened in 1928:

http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/toll_lodges_of_the_long_island_motor_parkway

From Long Island Motor Parkway Illustrated Maps (1906-1933)

On the 1930 map, it may be older. It shows the LIMP still terminating at Rocky Hill Rd (1917-1924)
Also, what was that Hillside Ave Lodge on south side of LIMP between Rocky Hill Rd and Great Neck Lodge? I dont think it was proposed being a ~1930 map. Based on its location, it puts it somewhere between Winchester Av and the Queens County Farm. Possibly another kiosk?

From Long Island Motor Parkway Illustrated Maps (1906-1933)

Further research has uncovered the Buckham portfolio of LI aerials to be in the June, 1932 edition of Fortune Magazine.  Finding this edition on microform at Hofstra University I was able to print some aerials and accompanying stories, however the quality of the aerials leaves much to be desired.  I’ll see about going back and taking actual photos of the microform to see if that will help.

in the meantime, here’s some text that accompanied the first picture, titled “Gateway to an Island Paradise,  . .  but also portal to a motorist’s inferno, the Queensboro Bridge” .  “Excellent highways stretch away down Long Island: Northern Boulevard, Jericho Turnpike, Sunrise Highway, and the Merrick Road.  But they tend to come to strange and abrupt ends some miles from the Queensboro Bridge, leaving the motorist to make his way as best he may through an intervening hell of branch factories, ash heaps, row on row of jerry-built houses, cheap radio stores, and unlabeled perplexing avenues.  No one can avoid this ordeal”. 

Interesting that even though the Motor Parkway was the only highway shown on the map, it was not mentioned in the text - no respect!

Hopefully more to come . . . 

From Long Island Motor Parkway Illustrated Maps (1906-1933)

Tin foil maps, interesting. Must be a tedious process. Won’t age like paper I guess, but would probably be set in a frame w/glass. I learned something new today.

From Long Island Motor Parkway Illustrated Maps (1906-1933)

I am writing a book about the Shepard and Vanderbilt families and I’m looking for images of Elliott F Shepard and William K Vanderbilt.  I was wondering where you found the drawing of EFS hitting the spectator - it was a significant moment and I’ve been looking for something like that.  It would be great for my book.  Also, you seem to have some good shots of EFS and WKV racing that I’m also interested in.  I would love to discuss further.
Tom Houston - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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From Howard Kroplick

Tom, I will try to find out the orignal source. Best of luck with the book.

From The 1906 Accident That Changed Long Island Auto Racing

Glad to see that you went to the oyster bay cruise night with the mustang III, sure must have been a crowd pleaser along with all the others, except for it being the only one like it.

From Mustang III a Hit at the Oyster Bay Cruise Night

Here’s a link to a web page showing historical photos of Bethpage golf area.  One picture shows what it says is an aerial view circa 1938 which is very similar to the mystery photo.  Based on answer of the date on this. 

https://www.bethpageproshop.com/history-page-3/chapter/4?zenid=cf7b3ae17f1a6bc4670ccba572f1394e
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From Howard Kroplick

It looks like the same model.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

I think I recognized the place. Is that Shortie parked in front of Oyster Bay Town Hall? If so, that was Teddy Roosevelt’s former residence.
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From Howard Kroplick

You have the right location!

From Mustang III a Hit at the Oyster Bay Cruise Night

Howard, thanks for the help, just came back from Hofstra to view the Drennan collection. They have some great car crash photos. Picture of 1938 helps, just looking for just west of this photo ( blocks ! ) , any suggestions?
FYI, used to play on bridge in early 1970s on old courthouse road, and ride bikes down ( “old motor” ), as we called it, still had some paving at the time, and ran by golf course. Landscapers used to shoot at us with salt shot if we got on the greens!, there was a small lake and bamboo forest, quite adventuresome for a 6 year old.

Again, many thanks!

James

From Then & Now: The Motor Parkway Office in Garden City

James, two Garden City aerials (1933 and 1938) have been posted.

Enjoy,

Howard

From Then & Now: The Motor Parkway Office in Garden City

Thanks Frank. You are so right, this is a very well maintained historical area, this is one of the reasons we moved here, always something going on during the holidays and plenty to see and do at your leisure, not like N.Y.at all, nice people, polite, helpful and friendly.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

Is it a composite of golf courses on Long Island?

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

Howard, I am sure you are swamped with 1964 Mustang III requests, any ideas on photo of east garden city?

Thanks!

From Then & Now: The Motor Parkway Office in Garden City

Since everyone else has creative titles should I be calling my answers Hammond’s Historical Happenings? 
    It appears to be a WPA built diorama of the proposed Bethpage State Park, done in the 1930’s.  It is somewhat similar to one in the Nassau County Courthouse showing all of LI.  It appears to have a label in the lower right corner stating it is a WPA project. 
    Around 1905 a Texas railroad tycoon named Benjamin Franklin Yoakum (1859-1929) started buying up property in the Farmingdale / Central Park / Bethpage area, and creating an estate which when completed amounted to over a thousand acres.
    Yoakum raised prize cattle, chickens and pigs, and used the name Tywacana Farms Poultry Company to sell eggs, chicks, breeding stock, and patented boxes for shipping eggs and chicks.  He wrote articles for popular magazines, and lectured promoting modern agricultural methods and railways.  He also invested in local business, and helped establish the N.Y.S. Institute of Applied Agriculture, the “Aggie” school in 1912.
    Yoakum also established on his property the private Lenox Hills Golf Club, which was an 18-hole golf course, designed by well-known golf course architect Devereux Emmett.  Complete with a clubhouse it opened on Decoration Day, May 30, 1923.  He also built a building for the Boys Club of Farmingdale in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Bennett Yoakum,  in 1926. 
    After his death in 1929 the estate became the center of a controversy as to its fate.  This wouldn’t be resolved until 1934 when it became Bethpage State Park.  Yoakum’s property was ideal for Robert Moses’ purpose as a state park.  Besides the existing golf course, the property was hilly, and wooded, with a pond, had service buildings left over from the estate era, it even had a private water system with a 100,000 gallon elevated water tank.  It could be developed into a complete recreational facility for golf, tennis, polo, horseback riding, baseball, and picnicking. 
    The problem was the money needed for acquisition, as the country was in the midst of a depression.  The property straddles the Nassau/Suffolk County line, is located in the Towns of Oyster Bay and Babylon, geographically in Farmingdale, Bethpage, and Old Bethpage, although technically its post office address is Farmingdale.  A unique proposition arose when it was suggested that New York State, the Town of Oyster Bay, and Suffolk County join forces to acquire the site.  Oyster Bay and Suffolk both gave monies to secure an option to hold the property and allow the public access as of the Spring of 1932.  Of course the question was what to name the new park.  Fortunately, Nassau County Historian and Farmingdale resident Jesse Merritt had suggested back in 1931 naming it Bethpage Park, a suggestion that was accepted by the Long Island State Park Commission in April 1932 just prior to its opening. 
    On August 26, 1933, Chapter 801 Laws of New York creating the Bethpage Park Authority became a law.  It was specifically designed so as to allow the Authority to issue bonds for the acquisition, improvement and operation of the state park.  Considered the largest piece of property under one private ownership in Nassau County, the cost for the 1,368 acres was $1,000,000, with the title closing on May 18, 1934 – thus Bethpage State Park was officially born! 
    Through the WPA, a new clubhouse was built, three additional golf courses were built, also the polo field was constructed.  An idle furniture factory in New York City was taken over and produced all the furniture for the clubhouse, while steam tables, plate warmers, coffee urns and other kitchen equipment was turned out at the Park Commission shops in Babylon.  The old Lenox Hills golf course became the Green Course, while A. W. Tillinghast designed the new Blue, Red, and Black courses.  The new clubhouse and three of the golf courses opened on August 10, 1935.  Hundreds of workers were given employment by the many phases of construction, both on and off site, including the building of Bethpage State Parkway with its five ornamental stone-faced concrete bridges. Designed to connect Southern State Parkway to the state park it was dedicated November 14, 1936. 
I say that this is a proposed layout because some of the roads did then exist (and still exist today) such as Quaker Meetinghouse Road, and Round Swamp Road.  However it shows the proposed extension of the Bethpage State Parkway north which didn’t happen.  It does also show the LIMP running on the top or north side of the “map”, just above the Polo field.  In addition it shows the bridal trails and the “service yard” of the Park, those buildings formerly being part of Benjamin F. Yoakum’s estate.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

I live on Ferncroft Road.  Thats a good place to start.

From Mystery Foto #26 Solved: Nassau County Gildersleeve Inspecting the 1906 Vanderbilt Cup Race Course

It sure looks like a lot of golf course or courses in the image so I’ll guess that it’s some kind of mock-up or diagram for Bethpage State Park from around 1957 that was prepared for the addition of the yellow course. This was about the same time that Robert Moses was designing the nearby Wantagh (later Seaford) Oyster Bay Expressway so that could be connected. If I’m close to being accurate, then we’re in the vicinity of Dead Man’s Curve of the LIMP on the left side of the image.

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

Identify the location - Bethpage Golf Course

How is this image related to the Long Island Motor Parkway? - Motor Parkway runs along the left side (bottom to top) and then diagonally from left to right and then north again.

What is the approximate date of this image? 1938

What is this image? It is not an aerial.  Cartography map created by the Cartographic Program of the Works Program Administration (WPA). 

“All of the work on these four courses (Black, Red, Blue and Green) was performed by a WPA (Works Progress Administration) labor force of over 1,000 men who completed the Red, Blue and Green courses in 1935 and the Black course in 1936.”

“Part of Cartographic Study, Work Projects Administration project number 665-97-3-27, a research, map and model making project designed to facilitate architecture, education, engineering planning, publicity and other city, state and federal level projects.”

From Mystery Foto #27 Solved:Model of the Proposed Golf Courses of Bethpage State Park Golf (Circa 1933)

From Ron Richer:

Fabulous Mustang story, Howard.  Amazing that Gardner wasn’t prosecuted.  I wonder if he ever did any additional work for Ford.
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From Howard Kroplick:
Ron, I believe Gardner was still doing contract work for Dearborn Steel Tubing. They refused to prosecute him.

From VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: How Vincent Gardner Saved the Mustang III from Being Destroyed