Vanderbilt Cup Races

In 1926 the Meadowbrook Country Club acquired land adjacent to the Motor parkway on the North side and had planned for 3 new polo fields.. Their club, located on the south side of the parkway, would be in need of a dedicated bridge directly on the west side of the then current Roosevelt Field bridge to connect the new polo fields to their south side property.

This letter, dated January 7th, 1926, proposes the idea of a bridge to Willie K. Vanderbilt.

These original October 1928 plans came from Bill Cruickshank's grandfather, Meadowbrook lodge keeper, Otto McCamish, and are greatly appreciated.

The following are the details that went along with the bridge plans to describe construction, materials and labor for bridge construction.

At this time, it is unclear who paid for this bridge, but there is a clue in these detail plans stating; "The site of the work together with any permission or franchise that may be necessary, to be provided by the purchaser." This likely means bridge construction costs would be covered by the Meadowbrook Country Club making it possibly the only bridge not paid for by The Motor Parkway Corp. or New York State.

"The bridge will have a clear span of 30 feet...have a headroom clearance at 12 feet."

Bridge approaches will be 26 feet wide and 200 feet long from the centerline of the parkway. The northerly approach will be fanned out in a west and northern direction for entrance from the west and north. Confirmation that bridge was indeed to the west of the Roosevelt Field bridge.

Higher approach railings for the horses were necessary and constructed of cement and 2x6 boards. A hand written notation on the side states 12 foot long boards were used. Not 2, not 4, but 3 'good' coats of white paint were also specified for the railings.

Page 3 details concrete mixing proportions "1 volume cement, 2 volumes of sand, and 4 volumes of gravel." Careful attention was made to the cement consistency and making sure coarse aggregate was away from the face of the forms. Equal attention to the quality of the Portland cement, sand and gravel was also paramount. Reading these plans it becomes clear why these bridges were difficult to remove when they finally came down.

Water was supplied from the country club's supply to which the contractor had to run pipes to the building site.

Concrete form detail stating the forms needed to be very strong to bear the weight of the concrete.

All exposed concrete will be 'rubbed down with a suitable abrasive substance" and a mixture of fine sand and white cement ground into the exposed surfaces, with the exception of the underside of the bridges' floor slab.

Billet stock steel reinforcement was used throughout and can be seen below in the photo of the bridge being removed.

Six 'reasonably rust-free' 'I' beams will rest upon the steel bearing plates of the abutments.

Again here, exposed steel was painted and the plans clearly specify 3 coats. Two coats of red and a final coat of Graphite paint.

The last paragraph details the need for the least interference of parkway traffic, signage, lighting and flag men.

A big question with these plans is; Why did a lodge keeper, Otto McCamish have these plans in the first place? A clue can be found hand-written at the bottom of the last page; "O. McCamish Sup." possibly meaning that Otto McCamish was a supervisor on the project for the country club. Bill Cruickshank was unsure about his grandfather's role in the construction of the bridge.

While these plans compiled by Art Kleiner, were for the 1944 removal of the bridge, they do contain some of the same information as described for the construction plans.

During construction of the Meadowbrook Country Club Bridge courtesy of Bill Cruickshank and the McCamish collection showing 'I' beams before they were covered and the large cement mixer on the south east side.

A north east view of the twin bridges as they appeared during use. The newer Meadowbrook Bridge closer on the left.

Originally thought to be a photo during construction, further examination points to this being more likely during demolition. Exposed steel reinforcement seen as the abutments were removed in layers.