Vanderbilt Cup Races

Bulls Eye, Brian! Nice work.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Nice detective work!

From Update: 12/11/2025: A 17--year old Parkway Inn Lake Ronkonkoma sign mystery likely solved

Hi Frank, If you mean the street than runs east & west just south of the Hotel. that’s 7th Street

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Can anyone spot the street that was not labeled in the photo? It’s barely noticeable under tree cover but it’s there!

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Mystery 59 of 49? The second version of the Garden City Hotel, Motor Parkway Inc’s meeting place to plan the world’s first high-speed highway for automobiles. The hotel was torn down for its third and present version. Unsure of date, maybe in the 30’s

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

I forgot to add the photo of the early mobile starting gate introduced at Roosevelt raceway that became the standard to this day for all harness racing. It looks like a 1940’s era Packard, later they used Cadillac Eldorado because of the front wheel drive Today they use 4wd pick-ups JeRita

From InstaGRAM report: The history behind the 1939 Midget Racing National Championship at Roosevelt Raceway

Happy Holidays to you, Roz and the crew Looking forward to a wonderful year ahead! JeRita

From Upcoming April 2026 Automotive Events on Long Island

Thanks Gram I assumed it was Roosevelt but never knew about this race Great work Jerry and Rita” JeRita”

From InstaGRAM report: The history behind the 1939 Midget Racing National Championship at Roosevelt Raceway

(Old) Garden City Hotel, probably around 1909-10; home of the Race Commission.

Hilton on the right, probably Cherry Valley on the left.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

That is the Garden City Hotel in the center of the photo. The view is to the north. Headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup Races held on Long island. Photo taken most likely in late 1920’s, don’t see the buildings erected in the 1930’s. Also, photo taken in the summer based on the leaf condition on the trees.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Great images and post of the Midget races on the old Roosevelt Raceway track! Until now, I’ve heard or seen little or null about these races. As a child, I dreamt of being the first kid to drive a similar-sized car around the neighborhood : )

From InstaGRAM report: The history behind the 1939 Midget Racing National Championship at Roosevelt Raceway

The third Garden City Hotel, built in 1901 and razed in 1973. It served as headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup race commission from 1904 to 1910. It was located at the center of the 30 mile 1904 Vanderbilt Cup course, which traversed from Floral Park in the west to Hicksville and Jericho in the east. The race distance was 3 laps around the triangular-shaped course.
Before:
Two buildings known as the Garden City Hotel occupied this site. The first was built in 1874. It was replaced by the second Garden City Hotel in 1895. That structure burned down in 1899.
After:
A fourth Garden City Hotel was built on this site and opened in 1983 and is currently in operation.
Picture faces north. Railroad tracks (going left to right) and the Garden City train station can be seen at the bottom of the picture.
Streets shown:
Seventh St. (left to right across the bottom of the picture, north of the railroad tracks).
Cherry Valley Av. (diagonally across the top left corner of the picture).
Cathedral Av. (from the bottom left of the picture going north, intersecting with Cherry Valley Av.).
Hilton Av. (from the bottom right of the picture going north).

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Identify the building- link it to the Vanderbilt Cup Races:
-The Garden City Hotel, which served, for those who could afford it, as the center for the Vanderbilt Cup Races of 1904-1910.
The date of the photo:
-Approximately 1911 - once the hotel was enlarged by extending the sides to allow for additional rooms.
What was at this on this site before and after this building?:
-The site before the photo and after the photo always housed the Garden City Hotel but in different variations.  Originally built in 1874, it was restyled in 1895 and that version was destroyed by fire in 1899.  It was rebuilt and reopened in 1901 and enlarged in 1911.  Currently a modernized Garden City Hotel stands on this site.
Identify as many streets and structures as possible:
The hotel is located at 45 Seventh Avenue.  Across the street is the Garden City train station.  Stewart Avenue, Cathedral Avenue, Hubbell Plaza are all nearby.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Garden City Hotel.  Seventh Street, Hilton Ave. Cathedral Ave, LIRR station, Casino, GC administration office.  The new hotel and condos sit on the site presently, but don’t compare to the grandeur of the old hotel.  Men’s Club Golf Couse in the background.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Garden City Hotel
1920s, 1930 ?
GC Hotel was once the Headquarters for the Vanderbilt Cup races.
Also, Lindbergh stayed at the hotel the evening before his famous trans Atlantic flight out of nearby Roosevelt Field.
Streets include Cherry Valley Avenue, Cathedral Avenue, Hilton Ave and Franklin Ave.
Structures include the GC School Administration building ( was an active school back then) at intersection of Cherry Valley and Cathedral,  GC LIRR station, a few hundred yards in front of hotel, Garden City Casino, on the other side of tracks from LIRR station

My mom lives in an apartment right next door to the hotel and my brother’s wedding ceremony was in the GC Hotel.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

Excellent article. Love hearing about all this all but forgotten history. Thanks for your research and dedication!

From InstaGRAM report: The history behind the 1939 Midget Racing National Championship at Roosevelt Raceway

Garden City Hotel originally built in 1874. The photo appears to be 1940’s. I believe this is the 3rd Hotel built prior to 1948 on 7th St in Garden City. The 4th hotel was built in 1983. The Garden City Hotel was HQ for the Vanderbilt Cup Race commission for all six races from 1904 to 1910.

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel

that is filmed at the corner of Bridge lane and Ocean road , heading toward the start finish line

From Film: 1950 Bridgehampton Sports Car Road Races

Excellent! Superb! Wish I could have experienced all of this in person. As a child my family would pass this raceway as it hosted jam packed trotter events. Old Country Road was filled with cars and buses getting the crowds to this enormously popular horse race track. As a nine year old I was already wishing it was an auto race venue. For many years there remained a Racetrack Parking sign on a eastern border street to the track quite near where Bed Bath and Beyond was until it closed and I’m quite sure that now-gone sign dated to the days of the area’s motorsport history.

From InstaGRAM report: The history behind the 1939 Midget Racing National Championship at Roosevelt Raceway

Garden City Hotel with LIRR station

From Mystery Friday Foto #59 Solved: A Nice Stay at the Garden City Hotel