Vanderbilt Cup Races

The name Ericson immediately made me think of the Ronkonkoma lodge. Below is a “1920s photograph shows the Ronkonkoma Lodge porte cochere in the background. The young lady is Evelyn Ericson, the daughter of Eric Ericson, the Ronkonkoma lodgekeeper.The Erickson family continued to live in the lodge into the 1960s. (Photo courtesy of Evelyn Miller).”

https://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/the_motor_parkway_toll_collection_structures19_and_20_the_ronkonkoma_toll_g

From Kleiner's Korner - "Speeders, Wrecks and Cows!" or A Day in the Life of Motor Parkway Officers Zinzi and Ericson

Mystery Foto #14… The race car is a 1905 Christie front wheel drive. The driver in this photo is probably George Robertson because this image was taken on a practice day and the race numbers were not yet applied. George drove it in practice only. In the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup Race J. Walter Christie himself was the driver. The mechanician for Christie was Nicolas Leichtener. The date of the photo was probably October 13, 1905 which was a practice day prior to race day.
And as I said above Christie drove the race car in the 1905 Vanderbilt Cup.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

Nice bald tire on that motorcycle!  Not too safe, chasing those “speedsters”

From Kleiner's Korner - "Speeders, Wrecks and Cows!" or A Day in the Life of Motor Parkway Officers Zinzi and Ericson

A Christie race car. J.W.Christie also built at least one passenger car and one taxi. The hood for the taxi was in the loft of the Long Island Auto Museum for decades and in good shape. Austin had no idea where the rest of the car was or if it even existed. I al;ways thought I should buy that hood but was faced with the problem of where to store it once I got it home.
Austin also had a good collection of sales catalogs issued by the Christie company that he had borrowed from someone whose relatives had invested in the company or knew J.W. Christie. All memories from decades ago.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

Thanks for the additional info. on Ericson, Gary!

From Kleiner's Korner - "Speeders, Wrecks and Cows!" or A Day in the Life of Motor Parkway Officers Zinzi and Ericson

A little bit more on Gustaf Eric Ericson.  He was born June 10, 1895 and died February 9, 1984.  In the 1930 Census he was listed as living on Rose Street, Ronkonkoma, as Lodge Keeper, Motor Parkway, age 34.  Also in 1940 still at the Motor Parkway, Ronkonkoma.  He also served in the Army in WWI, and was working at Grumman Aircraft Eng. Corp. in 1942.  In 1942 he was described as 5’11” tall, blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion, and weighing 195 lbs.

From Kleiner's Korner - "Speeders, Wrecks and Cows!" or A Day in the Life of Motor Parkway Officers Zinzi and Ericson

Your postcard made me look through my collection where I found this undated triple card of Felice’ on the Island which might be of interest.

From Family Photos of Henry Schmidt's Meadowbrook Hotel in Westbury

This is John Walter Christie passing the Bulls Head Hotel in his Christie front wheel drive race car.  The photo is in the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library.  This is an odd photo, notice the car shows neither it’s Elimination Race number 6 or it’s Vanderbilt Cup race number 11.  Walter is driving without his usual leather cap, you can see his hair in the photo.  The passenger is unknown to me, perhaps he gave a ride to one of his investors (H.H.Tredwell) or a journalist?  It is not George Robertson, who drove the Christie in the Elimination Race. George never seemed to get the hang on driving a front wheel drive car, so Walter put himself back behind the wheel for the main race. The date of the photo could be anywhere from Sept 22 to Oct 13, 1905.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

Just going to go off the top of my head with a guess this weekend and see how I do.

I’ll say this is Walter Christie in his front wheel drive racer during the Sept. 23rd 1905 American Elimination Trials with George Robertson as mechanician. This looks to be on the Bull’s Head turn at Northern and Glen Cove Rd.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

This is amazing Howard, thank you for forwarding. We’re witnessing every mode of transportation at once. Sam III would love this one.

From Film of the week: A trip through New York City (1911)

My submissions below, sorry about any redundancies.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

A remarkable film. My observations about 1911 life in NYC:

Everyone is wearing a hat (observed in a previous post).
All men are wearing suits, and all women are wearing long dresses and, presumably, corsets underneath.
A lot of the women are carrying umbrellas, even though it doesn’t appear to be raining. To keep their faces pure white?
The only Black person in the video is the chauffeur.
Lots of motorcars, but no motor trucks - those are still horse-drawn.
All the cars have right-hand drive, even though the rule of the road is to drive on the right. I think it was Henry Ford who switched the driving position to the left, in the Model T.

From Film of the week: A trip through New York City (1911)

The second picture at the Museum looks like a hand-made creation!

From Favorite Website: Walt Gosden's AACA Forum-Period images to relieve some of the stress

An amazing movie, with almost too much to see! The EMF is a 1911 model, so must have been almost new. The car is followed by a Darracq cab, which was omnipresent in New York. Interesting is the Maxwell cab, which passes the Flatiron Building at 3:03. I didn’t know that Maxwell had built taxis.

From Film of the week: A trip through New York City (1911)

Proprietor Anton Smith of the Motor Parkway Garage had an automobile accident while returning from watching the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race.

From Mystery Foto #77 Solved: The Motor Parkway Garage in Floral Park

Looks like the front wheel drive Christie. Looks closer to the 1905 model during the American Elimination Trial (23Sep1905) driven by George Robertson/Nicholas Leichtener team, taking the turn by Bulls Head Hotel at Glen Cove Rd and Northern Blvd in Greenvale.

George Robertson was the first American to win the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race with Alco Old 16

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

That’s John Walter Christie driving his own front wheel drive Christie Race with Nicholas Leichtener as his mechanician. Since there is no assigned number on the car, I think this was probably a practice run for the American Elimination Trials scheduled for September 23, 1905 prior to the actual Vanderbilt Cup Race. Therefore, I’ll guess the date to be a day or two before that. The location could be the intersection of Glen Cove Road and Northern Blvd. with the Bull’s Head Hotel in the background.

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run

Art !!!! ... You are not going to believe this coincidence.  I happened on the same scene just a little bit later, The young man was relieving himself a short distance from his automobile,  I asked him if he knew he was on the Motor Parkway, his answer… NO WONDER !  he thought he was on either the Meadowbrook or Wantagh Parkway,  trying to get to Jones Beach the night before.

From Kleiner's Korner: Mineola and the Motor Parkway, 1908

Funny story Art. Perhaps this location was suggested by his ancestors that traveled the LIMP ( :

From Kleiner's Korner: Mineola and the Motor Parkway, 1908

Driver and Auto Builder J. Walter Christie’s Front Wheel Drive Christie Racer 1905-1906. Lewis Strang Riding Mechanic and Race Car Driver. Keeping American Automotive Racing History Alive!

From Mystery Foto #14 Solved: Walter Christie making the Bull's Head Turn during a practice run