Vanderbilt Cup Races

It’s clearly not the 55 TF that was at the Packard show May 15.  I’m not including a photo because I don’t have the owner’s permission to.  Color appears to be black, condition very good (to my eyes).

From Update Mystery Friday Foto #24: The 1955 MG TF-1500 #9052's owner in 2000.

I’m back
  I think I have this one. The one that you have, of course, the Black Beast, the 2 time winner of the Vanderbilt Cup Races on Long Island in 1909-10 with the driver Harry Grant and his mechanician Frank Lee
                                                                Take care Ted

From Mystery Friday Foto #26 Solved: The 1909 Alco Black Beast on the "Meadowbrook" Motor Parkway Bridge (Newbridge Avenue) in East Meadow in 1910

This is a picture of Harry Grant (driver) and Frank Lee (mechanic) racing the Alco black beast.  The date of the photo is October 1st 1910.  This is Harry Grant’s 2nd consecutive win at the VCR.  I’m still working on the location of this picture.  I’m pretty stumped so far.  I’m gonna just guess and say that the photographer is facing west and the racers just crossed over the bridge that carries the LIMP over Wantagh ave.

From Mystery Friday Foto #26 Solved: The 1909 Alco Black Beast on the "Meadowbrook" Motor Parkway Bridge (Newbridge Avenue) in East Meadow in 1910

I think that’s driver Harry Grant with mechanician Frank Lee in the ALCO Black Beast heading east on the LIMP during the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race on October 1, 1910. Not 100% sure but the photographer could be facing west at a position between the Newbridge Avenue (Bellmore Rd.) bridge and the Stewart Avenue bridge in East Meadow. Rationale: the curve of the bridge in the background seems to fit.

From Mystery Friday Foto #26 Solved: The 1909 Alco Black Beast on the "Meadowbrook" Motor Parkway Bridge (Newbridge Avenue) in East Meadow in 1910

That Tucker event in the last picture, I was there, the group were on a dais and Dr. Simeone was the moderator, I asked “why the was the Tucker air cool engine like most rear engine of the time was converted to water cool’? Mark Liberman answered in a long reply that went over my head, oh well. Later outside in the rear of the building a demo of the Tucker being driven around. At some point I toured the museum collection, impressive! What will happen to the museum now that Dr. Simone had pass on?

From Update: Sad news- The loss of a hero- Dr. Fred Simeone

The photo was taken on my mom’s 20th birthday!

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

No problem, Howard. I remember seeing a YouTube video of construction scenes in Levittown. Wonder if there’s any footage of The Bloomingdale Rd HWY being demolished? That would be neat to see!

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Brian, thanks so much! Howard

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Late to this Mystery, but here’s the Foto marked up.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

i said northwest.  i meant northeast.  a bit late for that now,  had i reread the pot before i typed i would have caught it.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

At the bottom left of the photo are Hempstead Tpke. and the Wantagh State Parkway. Looking north east. Aviation Country Club at top left with the Motor Parkway ROW running along the southern boundary of the airfield.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Looking northeast over parts of Levittown and Island Trees. 
Hempstead Turnpike, Wantagh Parkway, Division Avenue, Jerusalem Avenue, Orchard Road, Motor Parkway, Wolcott Road
Division High School, West Village Green, LI Aviation Club
1949-1950 - early Levittown showing minimal trees and shrub growth,  church on Wolcott Road already built (1949), Division HS built (1948), LI Aviation Club still shown.
Similar aerial photo of the area is from the Nassau Tax Assessor’s website dated 1950.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Enjoyed the stories. I read a few years ago that contrary to popular opinion, Ty Cobb was a good man.

From Kleiner's Korner: Baseball Great Ty Cobb's Connection to the Vanderbilt Cup Race

- Looks like East Meadow/Levittown border looking northeast.
- Looks like the Wantagh Parkway crossing over Hempstead Turnpike on the bottom.
- The white rectangle on the right might be the Bluegrass Lane pool. A little further up the Turnpike would be St. Bernard’s. The building in the top center of the photo would be Division Ave. High School. U-shaped street is Horseshoe Lane, so a little further up might be Dalton Funeral Home.
- By the look of the in-progress look of the high school, it would be around 1945-1947. The Levittown Baptist Church is visible too, so it might be 1947-1948.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Looks like we’re over Levittown looking northeast towards Hicksville. Roads and buildings include Hempstead Turnpike, Wantagh Parkway, Jerusalem Avenue, the old right-of-way for the LIMP, Division Avenue and the High School of the same name. The Aviation Country Club can also be seen. I’ll estimate the date around 1955. The LIMP in this area was part of the course for the 1908, 1909, and 1910 V. C. Races. This section of Hempstead Turnpike was part of the 1904 Vanderbilt Race Course.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

Thank you Howard for bringing Dr. Simeone to the attention of those who did not know of him or his beautiful automobile collection and museum. I had been there a few times before the pandemic as a vendor for the Philly area model car club’s annual March shows. I was fortunate enough to have a brief handshake and a few words of thanks to Dr. Simeone. Such a nice gentleman and expert in the fields of medicine and vintage racing automobiles.
The fact that his museum presents vintage racing cars (for the most part) and actually stages demonstration runs makes this a unique place for automotive enthusiasts to visit.
The first time l was there working the model car show, the museum presented their Daytona Cobra, Ford GT Mk. Il and Mk. lV in the back lot. I couldn’t have been more thrilled, as the Ford GT program has been very special to me since the age of 10, when l first starting reading news of the cars as they were being developed. Then, this past June 4th, l spent the better part of the day attending a wonderful program at the museum entitled “Birth of the Ford GT”—WOW! My brother and two of our motorsports friends left Long Island early that morning, and we were NOT disappointed! I would have taken the trip alone, just to see, for the first time in my life, an actual Lola Mk. 6, Eric Broadly’s successful little GT racer that the Ford GT Mk. I was based on. The bonus was that the current owner of this car (Prototype #1!), was a gentleman named Allen Grant, a early Shelby team driver and later mechanic on the iconic Mk. IV Le Mans cars. He was a pleasure to speak to, and answered many questions about a car of which models were my very first successful slot car racers in the 1960s! There were three other speakers as well, afterwhich all four cars, the Lola Mk.6, and Ford GTs Mk l, Mk. Il, and Mk. IV were fired up and driven right out onto the backlot for everyone to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of these beautiful racers as they were slowly lapped around!
All this was made possible by the passion and vision of Dr. Simeone and his terrific museum staff. And it was a shame he wasn’t able to attend that day, a foreshadowing of the sad news that followed the next week. He will be greatly missed not only by friends and family, but by his extended family of motorsport enthusiasts whose lives he touched. I will continue to visit this wonderful place many more times in the future.
Thank you so very much Dr. Simeone, rest in peace.
Ernie Finamore

From Update: Sad news- The loss of a hero- Dr. Fred Simeone

WOW!~ seeing these excerpts reminded me how Pietro Tesio was on the cutting edge of all that and how his fascination for technology shaped his vision of the world. Thanks for posting, Howard!

From Greg O's Garage: The first Automobile Publication; The Horseless Age Part 3

Levittown. The photographer is facing northeast. The Wantagh Parkway runs along bottom of photo and Hempstead Tpke is running east/west. Division Ave High School is just above center of photo and Village Green is visible. This picture was probably taken sometime between 1949 and 1953. LIMP ROW is running east/west towards the top.

From Mystery Friday Foto #25 Solved: A 1949 Fairchild Aerial Survey over Levittown

I remember noticing the slope along the west side of the LIMP extending into the backyards of Bell Terrace, the rise towards the former Westbury Ave bridge. Figured this section was offered to the homes initially, like in Garden City & Williston Park. Encroaching is significant north of the sump, maybe those homes weren’t approached by the town? Hopefully, the square foot cost was negotiated lower. Now I know why the east side of the ROW always looked eroded, became a washout plain.

From Kleiner’s Korner: Nassau County Surveys of Motor Parkway Property Transferred or Released (Mineola)

Howard,

Sorry about the loss of your friend and the impact it will have as collectors.  Thank you for sharing Fred’s values..

Mark Thomas

From Update: Sad news- The loss of a hero- Dr. Fred Simeone