Vanderbilt Cup Races

- Bella Riviera
- Buick Riviera
- George Barris
- The Lively Set

From Mystery Auto #33 Solved: George Barris' 1963 Buick Villa Riviera

Thanks Brian,  another site to check out!

From Update: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent 2019 Vanderbilt Day”- #11 Bethpage #2

I forgot to include, this IS the best photo of the Western Terminus to date. Thank you Sam for clarifying the truth.

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Also, those parking stalls at the LIMP entrance ramp. For who were these parking stalls assigned to, the golf crowd? I have no clue on this. Help, anyone!

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Sam - I now believe you are correct. I was under the impression Nassau Blvd (HHB), though undivided,  was too congested to allow a left turn from LIMP. But that extra wide LIMP exit lane in your aerial suggests both exit turns were likely permitted. It also appears motorists were executing u-turns on the north side of HHB. I’m guessing this temporary turn-around was created by HHB westbound traffic to safely access the single-lane LIMP entrance ramp. As we all know this roadway remains one of the busiest in the city.

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Speaking of posts, I just remembered a stretch of LIMPISH concrete posts that are in the extreme r/o #600 Broadway - Bethpage Worship Center, near Cherry Ave. Know this is well outside the parkway row, but directly north. The posts are arranged along the north east side of this property. Just looked at this location on street view, able to zoom into the wooded area where I seen them. No doubt the posts were set with purpose. If I had a camera or iPhone in the early 1990’s, would’ve took a photo. Posts are likely still there.

From Update: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent 2019 Vanderbilt Day”- #11 Bethpage #2

Great find Art. Looking at the 1907 survey, Windhorst Av., Hermann Av., and Pine St. appear equally spaced, so I measured them to be 250’ apart. That puts a tiny corner of Pine Street’s west side to just clear the LIMP roadway at Hermann Av. Not sure but I think this corner was destroyed when building the LIMP. A street view photo shows a Camaro blocking the view. This will require a personal visit for any remnants.

From Kleiner's Kolumn: Investigating a Lost Road in Bethpage

The car was nicknamed the “Villa Riviera.” It began life as a 1963 Buick Riviera, and was customized by George Barris. It starred in a movie called “For Those Who Think Young,” starring James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Nancy Sinatra, and Bob Denver. I admit to feeding a few keywords into a search engine to get this one.

From Mystery Auto #33 Solved: George Barris' 1963 Buick Villa Riviera

Frank, HHB wasn’t divided then; why wouldn’t W/B motorists simply make a left turn?  Sam, III

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Great questions Sam! I’m sure those odd maneuvers were attempted/challenged by the locals at least. In either scenario, a u-turn would’ve resulted in multiple reverses at the plaza, just to execute the turn, with the limited turning radius of the cars of those days. On the other hand, executing this maneuver in front of the gate keeper would be deemed cheating the roadway, especially with non-existent toll booths in between the two points. And I’m also sure the locals knew when the gatekeeper was not present at the booth, so to execute the “quick” shortcut. But one main problem still remains. When exiting the LIMP at HHB westbound, only eastbound traffic access was available, not westbound. I believe most travelers (not all) would’ve been seeking eastbound instead to head towards the city.

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Mystery Foto #33… This pretty custom car is a 1963 Buick Riviera with the nickname of “Villa Riviera”. This car was given to famed customizer George Barris by Buick to do with what he liked. He customized and used it as his personal car for a while. The Buick starred in the movie ” For Those Who Think Young”. It also appeared in the TV series ‘The Outer Limits”.

From Mystery Auto #33 Solved: George Barris' 1963 Buick Villa Riviera

George Barris’ 1963 Buick Riviera of Encino, California. George, who owned and operated Barris Kustom City in North Hollywood, California, designed the car himself. Known as “The Villa Riviera Buick,” the build was completed in 1963. In 1964 a white iteration of the car appeared in the popular Surf-movie “For Those Who Think Young”.

From Mystery Auto #33 Solved: George Barris' 1963 Buick Villa Riviera

What a great shot looking down the ramps!  Now why didn’t I think to do that (or did I)?  It shows just how the ramps were arranged better than any plan or map.  I now remember questioning in an early blog post how one entered or exited from an opposing ramp; I still wonder - sounds awfully dangerous.  Just for examples, how did you go west from RHR or exit E/B on the LIMP to RHR?  U-turns?  Sam, III

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Audrain is the name of the Auto Museum in a town known for sailing….and it was raining! Over at nearby Ft Adams were three Herreshoff S Boats tied to a dock. There used to be three S boats in Hempstead Harbor years ago. They used to race with the Larchmont Fleet. Sufi, Tern and Hornpipe were their names. Tern was the newest in the series The 28’ wood boat with it’s signature curved mast, running backstays and mainsail with self tending jib was built in 1941. The reason it was called an S boat was because it was a a scaled down version of the America Cup J boats.

From Audrain Exhibit Concept Car #1: The 1938 Buick Y-Job: The First Concept Car

The survey depicting the single two-lane ramp was likely a proposal before finalising on the two ramp system. How chaotic it would have been to squeeze two vehicles on that narrow ramp which is still evident today, especially when the entrance once served as the western terminus.

From Malverne Treasure #5: Survey of "Toll Box" and Entrance/Exit Lanes at Rocky Hill Road (April 1914)

Thanks Sam! Those posts north of the circle are quite a distance from the LIMP (0.33 miles, ~1700 ft). I don’t disagree with your friend’s findings but could indeed also show how construction debris was distributed in the area, even to the east side. There were many posts uplifted here where some no doubt survived the onslaught. There’s one right now on the west side fully intact!
You are correct with proposed construction. Clearly remembering the old Hagstrom maps, dashed or dotted lines meant proposed roadways. That’s what appears here on the ‘47-54 maps as well.

From Update: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent 2019 Vanderbilt Day”- #11 Bethpage #2

Whoops!  Completely forgot to mention that, many years back (ca. 2000?), an old-timer whose veracity I never had any reason to question, insisted that there were a set of closely-spaced LIMP posts in a W-to-E line in the brush immediately N of the BSP circle, i.e. - directly across the questioned RoW, perhaps as marked on attached aerial.  A detailed search of that spot at that time never did turn up any such but I throw this in the pot just for the record, for whatever it’s worth.  Sam, III

From Update: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent 2019 Vanderbilt Day”- #11 Bethpage #2

We stopped at the show yesterday and did not expect to see much at the small museum next to the tennis stadium but we discovered that there were two totally fascinating exhibits, the GM design show and your Vanderbuilt display with race car number 16. That wind vane model of 16 was a treat to see. You did a nice job putting that show together.

From Audrain Exhibit Concept Car #1: The 1938 Buick Y-Job: The First Concept Car

Art Kleiner:
I have a contact who used to work at the Nassau County Planning Commission and still has some contacts there and other related agencies.  He’s asked around however things are a bit more formal these days.  As such I’ll be submitting a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for whatever documents the NYDOT has pertaining to the building of the SOB and related areas of construction. 

These are the records it pertains to:
“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

We can only hope some useful information will be uncovered.

From Update: Sam & Dave’s “Excellent 2019 Vanderbilt Day”- #11 Bethpage #2

Howard, In the Belcourt photo… on the right side, are those sections of a marble column lying on their sides? And if they are, any idea if they still exist, possibly erected. Al.

From Mystery Foto #32 Solved: Willie K. Going for an Early Ride in his 1899 Locomobile Runabout