Vanderbilt Cup Races

Looks like Bethpage to me.

Identify the Mystery Foto location, the lodge and orientation of the photographer.
On the LIMP looking East at Round Swamp Rd in Bethpage, next to the Bethpage lodge.

What was the approximate date of the Foto? Provide a rationale.
Bethpage Lodge under construction. September 1908

Identify the automobile and its owner
Buick, owned by the photographer of the photo, his assistant in the driver’s seat.

The “For Sale” sign behind the automobile was located on what road?
Round Swamp Rd

See the special below Kudos Foto.
...this one needs further investigation! Let’s see what we come up with over the weekend!

I believe the kudos photo are the first early 1920’s models of taxis made by the Yellow Cab Manufacturing company.

Mystery photo #37
This is the Bethpage Lodge under construction in 1908, looking east, even though the bridge over Round Swamp Rd. has yet to be built.  The tree line in the background proves it couldn’t be Massapequa Lodge.  The “For Sale” sign was by Round Swamp Rd.  I then checked the VCR Blog of 3/13/2017 which shows this photo with the date of September of 1908. 
Mystery bonus photo
This is a Willys Knight 7-passenger Limousine.  Based on the ads of the RVC Yellow Taxi / Cab Co. probably a 1923 Model 67.  The first ad mentioning all new heated cars was November 1923, and the company was sold in 1928.  This postcard also proves how mistaken we can be in assuming colors based on a B&W photo.  Close examination of the postcard view versus the ad shows the subtle differences which were at first not noticed.

Looks like the Bethpage Lodge at Round Swamp Road under costruction about 1908 looking east.  The bridge had not yet been built (1910)!so the roadway in front of the lodge is still flat and showing no elevation.  The Auto looks like the official photographer’s Buick.
The sign looks to be on Round Swamp Road.

Interesting. The auto driving along the LIMP has the steering wheel on the driver’s right hand side while the cabs’ in the Kudos photo are on the left. Were early autos not standardized or was there a switch at a certain time that made the left side the standard in the US?

I think the photographer was facing approximately north-east when he took this photo of the Bethpage Lodge. Since the lodge looks almost complete, I’m guessing the photo was taken around September, 1908 just prior to the grand opening of the LIMP and October’s Vanderbilt Cup Race. The car is a Buick, seen in several photos taken of the LIMP around this time. I’m guessing it could have been owned by the photographers Spooner & Wells. The “For Sale” sign is on Round Swamp Road.

Identify the Mystery Foto location, the lodge and orientation of the photographer.
Round Swamp Road, Bethpage - Bethpage Lodge, looking west.

What was the approximate date of the Foto? Provide a rationale.
Sept. 1908 - lodge being built (actually I found the digital picture and it was captioned with the date

Identify the automobile and its owner: Buick - Willie K.

The “For Sale” sign behind the automobile was located on what road?
Manetto Hill Road

Taking a wild guess on this at 36k feet. Bethpage lodge looking NE around 1910. The bridge over Round Swamp Rd still needs to be built on the curve. Bethpage lodge 1910-1960s. Forgot the photographers name in the Buick. For Sale sign is on Round Swamp Rd. SFO or Bust!

Mystery Foto #37… This Foto shows the Bethpage Motor Lodge in 1908. The Auto is a 1908 Buick Model 10. Driver unknown.
As for Alene Scobete’s question about the line of taxis… I believe that they are Commonwealth Mogul Taxicabs probably 1918. This Commonwealth company was purchased by Checker Taxi in 1919 after which the cars were named Mogul Checkers. Can’t identify the road near the For Sale sign.

Location - LIMP Plainview/ Bethpage, Bethpage lodge
            photo looking to the east
Date- September 1908, Survey was done in June 1908 (photo#1)
        Building of lodge July, August 1908
        driveway of lodge (photo #2) taken August 0f 1908, the driveway in the mystery photo was not complete next to the lodge when taken in September of 1908 The entrance to Round Swap Rd appears complete in the August 1908 photo

Auto - Buick, driver and photographer took many photo of the completed LIMP in September 1908 ( Meadowbrook Lodge to Bethpage Lodge) for the 1st race on the new parkway.
For Sale sign - Round Swamp Rd

Regarding the taxi cab question asked by Alene Scobete… My feeling, based on some research is that the Rockville Centre cabs were the Commonwealth Mogul Taxicabs and not the Willys Knight Limo. Here’s why. When you look at the sepia photo sent by Alene you will see that the cabs had solid disk wheels, not the wooden artillery wheels used on the Willys. And if you look at the ad it should be read in two parts. The top half of the ad mentions 8 yellow cabs for village and station calls. The bottom half of the ad mentions Willys Knight 7 passenger limousines for weddings, beach parties and touring, etc. Two different cars for two different purposes. Also if you look at the clipping showing the Commonwealth Mogul you will see that it matches the cars in library photo in every aspect. The top rear of the Commonwealth roof has a sharp corner whereas the Willys is rounded off. I am attaching pics to help illustrate these differences. I am sending three additional photos in a second comment box.

Below more pics regarding the Taxi cab question asked by Alene Scobete. The last pic is a 1920 Willys Limo

Regarding the Taxicab photo sent in by Librarian Alene Scobete. You saw my notes earlier regarding this subject BUT NOW I SEE YET ANOTHER POSSIBILITY regarding the manufacturer of those cabs seen in Alene’s library photo.
These cars could very well be manufactured by the Yellow Cab Company which was one of the taxi manufacturers back in the day. See attached. The Rockville Centre cab ad called them Yellow Cabs which I guess is a much a clue as it is a color.

Yet another photo of a cab by the Yellow Cab manufacturing company.

It sure does look like the 1923 Yellow Cab Model A-2!
https://www.conceptcarz.com/z24520/yellow-cab-model-a-2.aspx

I saw those particular photos online myself, hence my assumption they were Yellow Cab manufactured.

GREAT taxi restorations, and the photos of these original yellow cabs for hire 96 years later! I’m guessing the yellow Checker car was the next reliable model to continue the service. After that I’ve lost track. Uber has now made it a free-for-all.

The 1908 Buick Model 10 is on the cover of Arcadia Publishing book ‘The Long Island Motor Parkway’ Howard Kroplick and Al Velocci. Copyright 2008. The Buick sitting on LIMP with the photo taken from the Carman Ave. Bridge at East Meadow looking west of the Hempstead Plains, Sept. 1908

It must have been nice on a frigid January morning to get into a heated cab!

Absolutely Tom, warmth no doubt was considered luxury then in the NE, New England states, even in taxi cabs transporting the populace. On the other side, the A/C during the warmer months would not appear until much later. This lodge never experienced A/C luxuries but it could have if still standing today.  Still wishing it was preserved and still standing.

To Dick and Gary, those taxis at the Rockville Centre Yellow Cab Co. are 1921 Yellow taxi cabs, manufactured by Yellow Taxi Co. A John R. Hertz Co. until 1925. If you go on Google Search, ‘1921 Yellow Taxi’, You’ll will see lots of taxi photos, one or two will be the same identical model shown in the Rockville Centre Taxi photo posted by Dick. The other recent color photos shown are later ‘22/‘23 or later, the ‘21 has a sloping cowl area to the hood, a 1920 model has spoke wheels.

I run the Internet Checker Taxicab Archive (ICTA) the first five cars depicted in the postcards are Commonwealth Moguls produced in Jolliet, Illinois.  They are not Yellow Cabs produced by John Hertz. The bodies are similar, but Mogul cowl is more curved than the flatter Yellow Cab cowl. The Mogul and renamed Checker Cab of this type was produced until 1928.
______________________________________
Howard Kroplick

Joe, Thanks!