Long Island Motor Parkway paved the way for the highways and interstates we know today.
History of the Long Island Motor Parkway
The Long Island Motor Parkway, also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway was the first roadway designed for automobile use only. The parkway was privately built by William Kissam Vanderbilt II with overpasses and bridges to remove most intersections. It officially opened on October 10, 1908. It closed in 1938 when it was taken over by the state of New York in lieu of back taxes. Parts of the parkway survive today, used as sections of other roadways or as a bicycle and walking path in Queens from The Long Island Expressway to Winchester blvd.
The road was originally planned to stretch for 70 miles in and out of New York City as far as Riverhead, the county seat of Suffolk County, and point of division for the north and south forks of Long Island. Only 45 miles (from Queens in New York City to Lake Ronkonkoma) were constructed, at a cost of $6 million. Construction began in June 1908. On October 10, 1908, a 10-mile-long section opened as far as Bethpage, NY. It hosted races in 1908 and on the full road in 1909 and 1910, but an accident in the latter year's Vanderbilt Cup, killing two riding mechanics with additional injuries, caused the New York Legislature to ban racing except on race tracks, ending its career as a racing road.
After the famous races, the roadway went on until the 1930s as a private toll road free of intersections and police. The toll was $1 for day use ($34 today). Annual passes were available for unlimited use (the first toll pass concept).
Please enjoy a handful of LIMP relics below collected over the past 15 years.
Feel free to contact should you have any questions, comments, or would like to suggest edits. We have had great conversations with other enthusiasts!
