Vanderbilt Cup Races

From Greg O.

Dave- The house in the 1906 photos is at #1 Wheatley at Wheatley Rd &Old; Westbury Rd., torn down on 2017. There may have been a similar house at the location you’re asserting, but it is not the hairpin landmark. Hopefully my post tonight clears it up when Howard makes it live later.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

That’s the whole point Mark. I thought the picture/house was at the intersection of Post and Wheatley. I think the location you are talking about is not correct. The house that looked exactly like the house in the pics was at the intersection of Post and Wheatley.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Dave. If the house in the picture is indeed the one that was torn down and we know that it was a few hundred feet from the intersection of Wheatley and Old Westbury Roads, how could it have been at the intersection of Wheatley and Post.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

I have no idea what the 1906 course route was, but I do know Old Westbury and I always thought from the pics of the hairpin turn that spot seemed to be exactly at the location of present dayWheatley and Post Road. 

And the house that was in all the old pics, that was there until a few years ago right at that spot.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Sounds good, Greg. Looking forward to the blog : )

Mark - I screenshot those maps from websites - Course Maps are here on the site, of course. NassauCounty.gov website - LRV ( Land Record Viewer ) has 1926 & 1950 aerials, as well current property maps. HistoricMapWorks website - has Atlases for just about everywhere. I also like SuffolkCounty.gov - GIS Aerial maps from 1947 till now, also shows property data. Tried looking at GIS maps yesterday, but it looks the website is reconfigured. Look again soon.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

From Greg O.

Brian- you are correct. Tonight’s post should clear it up.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Brian. Interesting how many roads got reconfigured through the years because of LIE ect. The 1939 map shows Hastings merging into Wheatley Rd. Do you have these actual maps or is this off a website?

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Mark - I became creative with the course southeast of Red Ground Rd. Here’s a couple of maps from 1914 and 1939. 1914 map shows Red Ground Rd extending southeast towards Wheatley and Old Westbury Rd. That seems to be the course route. 1939 map shows Red Ground as it’s today. Hastings La connects with Wheatley Rd, unofficially on the map.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

This shows the interchange at the Meadowbrook and what is now Merchant’s Concourse. The straight road on the left is is Stewart Avenue, and we are looking essentially west. The Motor Parkway is barely visible west of the interchange, but can be seen as a dark line (of trees?) which separates the developed and undeveloped areas in the lower right of the pic. I’d date this as 1956 because it looks like some Roosevelt Field buildings are complete.

From Mystery Friday Foto #1 Solved: A 1956 aerial over the Meadowbrook Parkway Extension

I can see that the race course turned south onto Glen Cove Road then branched onto Red Ground Road and somehow weaved through Old Westbury towards the hairpin turn. Anyone know if there was a connecting road that is long gone now?

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Wanted to leave these “marked maps” that show the 1906 course, this course on a 1926 aerial and a today map. Trying to show all the roads described in the comments : )

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Photographer is up in the air over Stuart Avenue slightly west of the current day entrance to Eisenhower Park, and a couple of hundred yards south of what was the location of the Meadowbrook Lodge of the LIMP.  This photo looks so neat and clean. 
We see the new Meadowbrook parkway and the area around it looks like it has been groomed like a major league infield.  Leading me to believe the Meadowbrook parkway is brand spanking new.  We see the LIMP coming from about the 4 O’clock position on the right.  Traveling at the edge of what is left of Mitchell Gardens.  And ending at today’s Merchants Concourse.  Two bridges, one next to the other had crossed the LIMP at this point.  On the far side of the picture, the LIMP continues toward the Clinton Rd bridge.  But it is too far to away to see anything.  Steward Ave and the Meadowbrook Parkway are the main roads we see.  Along with Roosevelt Field in the background.  We can faintly see an oval where the racetrack will one day be.  A stunningly beautifully clear picture.

From Mystery Friday Foto #1 Solved: A 1956 aerial over the Meadowbrook Parkway Extension

This is the interchange of the Meadowbrook pkwy where it crosses under Stewart ave and directly above that to the right it crosses under Merchants Concourse.  The photographer is facing west.  Stewart ave runs straight up the left side of the picture and to the left is the military housing near mitchell field.  Also, in the distance to the left of Stewart is the old LILCO gas tank.  At the near bottom right was additional housing that is now the location of a recycling plant.  Way out, top center you can see a rectangular white building that is Macy’s which was part of the newly opened Roosevelt field mall.  The right of way for the LIMP is behind the last row of houses starting at the bottom right of the photograph.  It runs along the briefly straight (between bends) part of the Meadowbrook parkway, then runs parallel to Stewart ave as you go west before it blends in with the south part of Ring round by Roosevelt field.  The Cradle of Aviation was out doing aerial photographs in February of 1957 over Roosevelt field during the release of “The Spirit of St. Louis” movie and conference with Jimmy Stewart as Lindeberg.  So maybe this picture was taken along with those shots.

From Mystery Friday Foto #1 Solved: A 1956 aerial over the Meadowbrook Parkway Extension

Another year of intriguing Mystery Fotos. Happy New Year!

Location: Over the Meadowbrook Parkway in the Uniondale/Westbury area. The photographer is looking NW.

Roads: Meadowbrook Parkway (middle), Stewart Avenue (left). The ramp from E-bound Stewart to S-bound Meadowbrook can be seen. Also the interchange from the Meadowbrook to what today is known as Merchants Concourse (I think it used to be called Avenue “C”), and past that, the ramp to Dibblee Drive and East Gate Blvd. Beyond that, the interchange with the road that goes to present-day Roosevelt Field shopping center.

The LIMP ran right over the section of the Meadowbrook that runs E-W (parallel to Stewart).

Also visible: The LILCO gas tank (center left) and the Mitchel Gardens housing complex (lower right). The Covanta plant has replaced Mitchel Gardens.

I can only place the date as some time in the 1940s, after Mitchel Gardens was built, and before Roosevelt Field airport was closed.

From Mystery Friday Foto #1 Solved: A 1956 aerial over the Meadowbrook Parkway Extension

Wow, what a great time in America.

From Kleiner's Korner: "Automobile" Magazine's 1907 Motor Parkway News

No it wasn’t a private road but I’ve read several articles about Old Westbury and it talked about this basically being the driveway. The Wheatly estate was built between 1890-1900 btw.

This is from the Old Long Island web site:

There is a great story somewhere on the ‘Lost Village of Wheatly’. It talks about how there used to be this very tiny little enclave between Old Westbury and Brookville called Wheatly from a term the Natives had used. ED Morgan and WC Whitney wound up buying the vast majority of the little village when they built their estates.

The current configuration of Post Road as it is with it’s S curve as it ascends the hill is that way because the original Post Road ran right through what became Morgan’s estate. He and Whitney paid to have the road moved between their estates and had it planted (which is why it is one of the nicer stretches of road through Old Westbury). I think current day Morgan Drive is roughly the route the original Post Road would have taken you.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Dave. Are you saying that this section of what we now know as Wheatley Road between the North Service Road of the LIE and Post Road (roughly 1 mile north) was a private road that was used for the race?

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

Happy new year everyone.

You guys always mess this up! This is the intersection of Wheatley and Post Road. Not Old Westbury road, which is not close to this location.

Wheatley road was basically the former driveway of “Wheatley” which was the estate of E.D. Morgan, portions of which still remain.

Yeah unfortunately this house was torn down a few years ago. I hate when historical houses are ripped down to be replaced with McMansions. Old Westbury still has plenty of amazing spots though.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury

‘Willle K.’ Vanderbilt arrived at his Eagle’s Nest in Centerport in 1910, the same year Arthur R. Pardington, chief engineer of the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, moved into his’ Oakwell’ (demolished) just west of the present-day Bull in Smithtown. ‘1910’ also was the year Fred Wagner, five-time Vanderbilt Cup Race starter, bought land near A.R., and in 1912, was building his Sunnybrook Farm residence (National Register 2019), designed by Gustav Stickley, with a ‘stuccoed’ facade reminiscent of Vanderbilt’s Eagle’s Nest. During the second of Fred’s 12 annual picnics held for the auto industry and famous race car drivers at his Smithtown property, A.R. took the attached photo (Arcadia cover) of the nearby Riverside Garage diagonally east and within sight of his ‘Oakwell.’ The centermost and last surviving Riverside Garage building is planned for demolition shortly by the Town of Smithtown – for a parking lot. Too bad the town isn’t considering moving it, or saving the façade for (new and classic auto) photo ops similar to Pardington’s photo seen here on the cover of Arcadia’s ‘Smithtown,’ illustrating my article (with second images’ column continued in third attachment) this week in The Smithtown News. For Fred’s home, see Vanderbilt Cup Races at https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/the_residence_of_the_starter_of_five_vanderbilt_cup_races_rediscovered_in_s

From Video of the Week: Vanderbilt Manison Tour

This would be the Hairpin Curve at the intersection of Old Wheatley Road and Old Westbury Roads in Old Westbury.  The artist appears to be looking at the point at which the racers turn right going west (slightly north).  Car is the FIAT driven by Felix Nazzaro.  Date would be approx. the last week of October, 1906 as the date of the race was October 30.  No spectators would indicate the racer doing a practice run on the course prior to the race.

From Mystery Friday Foto #53 Solved: The #8 FIAT driven by Felice Nazzaro practicing at the 1906 Hairpin Turn in Old Westbury