Vanderbilt Cup Races

Hi Howard,

One that always fascinated me and which is now in the Smithsonian (thank goodness).  Hey - just thought - President Elect Trump could use it for his inauguration.  Beats a Cadillac any day!

It’s the Dudgeon steam carriage.  Built in 1866 by engineer Richard Dudgeon who owned a farm on Long Island and he also drove it on the streets of New York.

Think I’ve answered the questions posed.

Great diversion for a Friday lunchtime (here in the UK anyway!)  Great website and very entertaining

Ian

From Mystery Foto #46 Solved: The Dudgeon Steam Wagon- The Earliest Road Vehicle Ever Seen on Long Island

Ugh! Can’t keep up with you guys, you’re too much.

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

So when you went down the steps were you able to open the door? Did anyone go in? Did you go over to the south side?

Did you find any other LIMP relevant items at the facility in general while there?

I was thinking on the south side of Union Tpk where the original LIMP was there might be some road remnants/posts in the weeds/trees that are near the south tunnel entry. I’ll have to investigate further one day.

Sorry we couldn’t be with you for this….kids schedules these days never end!!!

From Raiders of Lost Underpass

Fabulous photos. Thank you for sharing them.

From John E. Roosevelt Family Photo Album: The 1909 Vanderbilt Cup Race at the Massapequa Turn

Howard, are both sides still in existence and can you walk thru to the other side?
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From Howard Kroplick:

Michael, the underpass is completely intact but closed off in the north by a door and a gated top on the south.

From Raiders of Lost Underpass

Looks like great fun.  Sorry I missed this.

From Raiders of Lost Underpass

Could also be Willy K’s Idelhour residence in Oakdale L.I.

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

Taking a shot in the dark here… The passenger is Fredrick Gilbert Bourne a president of Singer Manufacturing Corp. And the car may be a 1903 Ford Model A. The first Model A, not the later ones.

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

Nice shot and difficult mystery, so Ill test my luck, 1901-1903 based on the earlier model horseless carriage, Harry Payne Whitney passenger in car, Clarence H. Mackay standing left on the porch at the Mackay estate in Roslyn. Looking forward to Areijan’s description of the car

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

Identify the Long Island Motor Parkway director who is sitting in the passenger’s seat. See below hint.: Frederick Bourne

Identify the year and make of the automobile:  (A very big guess here) - 1910 Mercedes

Where was this photo taken and the approximate year?: South Side Sportsman’s Club, Oakdale.  1910-1915

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

Hopefully, thanks to a helpful hint given to me by Steve Lucas, I’ll correctly guess this as Frederick G. Bourne in front of the South Side Sportsmans Club in Oakdale.

Looks to be around circa 1900 or so, but further research and looking around is needed for dates and the automobile (Daimler?)

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

That looks like Frederick G. Bourne who, at the time, was the president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company and a member of the South Side Sportsmen’s Club in Oakdale. I believe the photo was taken in front of the main building at the club which is currently on the grounds of the Connetquot River State Park Preserve. I think Bourne had some connection with Mercedes Benz so I’ll guess that’s what the car is. It could be a 1902 or 1903 model which is probably about when the photo was taken. Probably not coincidentally, Bourne and Willie K. were next door neighbors, with Bourne’s estate slightly east of Idlehour.

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

This is simply amazing stuff,never know what we’ll get from you,and thanks to the Helck Family.I mailed you a pictures from the newspaper that I get,that I thought you would like,I mailed it yesterday

From Helck Family Collection: The 1894 Paris-Rouen Race- The First "Road Wagon" Contest

Some parts of this mystery I could solve: the car is a 1901 Winton, standing right in front of the main entrance of the South Side Sportsmen’s Club (Connetquot River State Park Preserve, Oakdale, LI, NY). The person on the passenger’s seat however will be a wild guess: Frederick G. Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Co. Still, there is some logic in this. Bourne had his residence Indian Neck Hall in Oakdale and had joined the South Side Sportsman’s Club in September 1890. William K. Vanderbilt was one of the founders of this Sportsman’s Club (aimed at fishing and hunting) already in 1866, when he was only 17! And the Vanderbilt family had of course also a residence there, Idle Hour. This house burnt down during Willie K. and Virginia Fair’s honeymoon stay in 1899, but was rebuilt immediately.

From Mystery Foto #45 Solved: Frederick G. Bourne at the South Side Sportsman's Club in a 1901 Winton

Comment #25, lol. Frank and I will be there and square for the tour, etc. Look forward to finally meet all in person. Is the Creedmoor facility actually allowing access thru the tunnel? And I speak for Frank as well, definitely want to take a good look around the Creedmoor property for LIMP remnants. The more eyes, the better.

From The Union Turnpike/Long Island Motor Parkway Pedestrian Underpass

Thank you for posting coverage of the cleanup event as well as all the material you have provided over the years; I have learned quite a lot about the LIMP from you and your colleagues.

Possible errata: the bridge views above titled “Then: 1972” and “Now: October 29, 2016” indicate “looking west”, however, the direction appears to be eastward.
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From Howard Kroplick:

Jim. good catch. Thanks!

From Update: The Continuing Amazing Restoration of the Historic Old Courthouse Road Motor Parkway Bridge

Hi Sam III, the underpass on north side is right on, but south side should be located slightly more towards the west. I had to use different satellite image dates to locate each staircase. GPS tracks were also recorded on the site and matched up with both satellite images (see above) - sending Howard some pics. Both staircases are two tier and run straight towards the west. The underpass is located on the west side of both landings. Hope to see you all on Sat for this fantastic tour. Amazing stuff guys!

From The Union Turnpike/Long Island Motor Parkway Pedestrian Underpass

Those Midtown Tunnel construction photos are amazing; what a massive project it was to build.

From Update: Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The Hollis Court Boulevard Motor Parkway Bridge in 1940

Hi Howard, I was quite surprised to learn that was taken from Hollis Court Blvd as the road is clearly macadam and Hollis Court Boulevard is a 30 foot concrete roadway.  If you look at the NYC Archives Records with the following hyperlink, you will see the picture.  I don’t doubt the correctness of the response being the 73rd ave bridge, but how does one explain the macamized surface of hollis court blvd (as opposed to concrete) in the photo?

http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~32~32~1205401~130170:bpq_7051-g?qvq=q:hollis+court;lc:RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~7~7,NYCMA~2~2,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~31~31,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~22~22,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~33~33,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~29~29,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~30~30,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~32~32,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~13~13,NYCMA~1~1,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~17~17,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~6~6,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~8~8,RECORDSPHOTOUNITBRO~4~4,RECORDSPHOTOUNITBRK~1~1,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAN~2~2,RECORDSPHOTOUNITQUE~1~1,RECORDSPHOTOUNITSTA~1~1,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~36~36,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~20~20,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~35~35,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~16~16,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~1~1,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~5~5,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~2~2,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~6~6,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~15~15,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~24~24,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~9~9,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~19~19,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~21~21,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~34~34,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~5~5,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~9~9,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~4~4,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~26~26,RECORDSPHOTOUNITMAY~3~3,RECORDSPHOTOUNITARC~25~25&mi=0&trs=248

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From Howard Kroplick

Michael, excellent point. The caption in the photo is very clear and indicates it is associated with additional parcels to Cunningham Park.

From Update: Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The Hollis Court Boulevard Motor Parkway Bridge in 1940

From Michael Dickson:

I incorrectly indicated Springfield Blvd in the first picture. It is Union Tpk, 25C looking east toward the Grand Central Parkway and Creedmore.  Cambridge Hall Apartments are at the location in the right side of the photo from the 1930s, during the Union Tpk widening project in the 30s.

From Update: Mystery Foto #44 Solved: The Hollis Court Boulevard Motor Parkway Bridge in 1940