Mystery Friday Foto #51 Solved: Widening of the Southern State Parkway near the toll booths around 1954
Did you solve this weekend's Mystery aerial?
Answers to the Mystery Foto questions:
- The location and orientation of the photographer
View looking west over Southern State Parkway in north Valley Stream between exits 13 and 14.
- The road and structures under construction
The new bridge for Fletcher Avenue can be seen at the bottom of the Foto. The Southern State Parkway toll booths can be seen in the middle of the Foto.
- The approximate date
The toll booths open in July 1, 1954.
The date is late 1ate 1953, Spring 1954 or shortly after.
Beginning in 1954, and continuing through 1963, construction crews built a new roadway separated from the original by a variable median. However, it was not as simple as adding a roadway parallel to the existing one. Engineers used the original underpasses for the westbound lanes in some locations and the eastbound lanes in others, and in the process gave the parkway a slightly straighter alignment. The Jones Beach State Parkway Authority financed the $14 million parkway expansion project....In July 1978, one year after the NYSDOT took over maintenance of the parkway from the LISPC, the Valley Stream tollbooths located between EXIT 13 and EXIT 14 were removed. This closure came after a 20-year battle for their removal, and three years after a toll hike from 10 cents to 25 cents that angered parkway users. When signs were posted crediting Democratic Governor Hugh Carey for the removal of the booths, Long Island Republicans, who lobbied many years for their removal, were incensed.
- Identify other roads in the aerial
Greenway Boulevard to the right. Southern drive to the left behind the tree line.
Comments (12)
Congrats to Al Prete, John Erb, David Miller, Mark Lanase,Wayne Woodbury,Vin R, Roy Warner, Chuck, Steve Lucas, Frank Femenias and Frank Tedesco.
Kudos to Frank Femenias and John Erb for the vintage toll booth jpegs.
Enjoy,
Greg O. and Howard Kroplick
Close-Ups
Southern State Parkway Toll Booths
Pay 10 cents Toll.
Forwarded by John Erb and Frank Femenias.
The building to the north of the toll booths was the station for the Long Island division of the New York State Police known as Troop L.
The abandoned station is still standing and marks the location for the toll booths. The new East Meadow station for Troop L was built in 2018
Google Earth views today
Comments
I recognize the Foto as an aerial of the Southern State Parkway during its widening. The photographer is in North Valley Stream, looking west. The original parkway (lower left), with E-bound and W-bound lanes now separated by a concrete barrier, became the E-bound parkway, while the new roadway became the W-bound parkway.
The widening project started in 1954, so the Foto must have been taken then, or shortly thereafter.
I recognize Fletcher Avenue (overpass, bottom of Foto) and Greenway Boulevard (right), but not any other roads. Central Avenue would be in the distance, but I can’t see it.
The toll booths on the wide future median are what actually gave it away for me. I was unaware that they were built during the widening project, but I remember when they were there. My dad used to use Greenway Boulevard to bypass the toll. I also remember when the tolls were removed (and a sign was erected that read: “Welcome to Long Island / Toll Free / Mario Cuomo, Governor”).
Im thinking this is the construction of the toll booths on the Southern State Pkwy. We are in Valley Stream, looking west, with the Fletcher Ave (Henry St.). bridge in the foreground. The exit and entrance ramps are nearly completed. The roads on the right, roughly paralleling the parkway are Southern Dr (closest to the cluster of trees) and then Greenway Blvd. The Cross Island may be visible in the distance.
The toll booths are obviously being constructed near the center of the photo. They would be demolished in 1978 (after a public outcry for raising the toll from 10 cents to 25 cents), a year after the state took over control and maintenance of the parkway from the Long Island State Parks Commission. This stretch was constructed between 1925 and 1927, so I would place the photo in that time period.
This looks like the Southern State Parkway facing east at exit 13. The overpass in the foreground carries Elmont rd over the parkway. In the distance the toll plaza is being constructed shortly before its opening on July 1st 1954. So, maybe this is May or June of 1954. I’m typing this just a few hours after traversing this nightmare of a road. Imagine if this toll plaza was still there? Paying and being delayed even more to attempt to drive through the so called “blood alley”? Nassau county’s deadliest parkway.
The photographer is over North valley Stream looking west at the widening of the Southern State Parkway. The north/south road at the bottom is Fletcher Ave. going over the Parkway. The dreaded toll plaza is under construction as well. The tollbooths opened on July 1, 1954. It’s likely that this picture was taken in 1953. The toll was 10 cents and increased to 25 cents in 1975. The toll booths were removed on July 1,1978.
It looks like the construction of the Southern State Parkway toll plaza in Valley Stream. The photographer is facing west with the new Fletcher Ave bridge in the foreground as the parkway is widened in this area. The “V” jog of Southern Drive and Greenway Bldv. along the north side confirms this. I recall that the toll was 10 cents in the beginning. Given the buildup in the area I would put the date as the mid fifties.
Westbound Southern state Valley Stream, widening at old toll plaza. 1940s-1950.
A guess. Based upon what appear to be the Ravenswood smokestacks of the ConEd plant in LIC and the Elmhurst gas tanks (well before they were torn down), the view is looking northwest from the Southern State Parkway when the toll booths were being constructed as part of the financing of the 4th lane heading eastbound to Eagle Ave/Peninsula Blvd. Probably taken in the during the early/mid ‘50s.
Southern State Pkwy looking east at Valley Stream. Toll booths under construction about 1953. Fletcher Ave in foreground.
That looks like the western end of the Southern State Parkway with the photographer over Elmont / Valley Stream looking west toward Springfield Gardens. Under construction are the toll booths and the north extension of the Central Avenue bridge over the widened parkway. Since the tool booths opened in June of 1954, this photo probably dates from late 1953 or early 1954. Another road in the picture is Linden Blvd.
Looks like NYC skyline in the background… 3 smokestacks near Astoria. If so, then possibly early days of the LIE construction. Congestion with housing also suggests Queens, possibly at the turn heading east prior to Queens Blvd. Problem with this guess is that clearance from that overpass is way too low for trucks (unless those seen in the photo were updated later on). One of the more interesting Mystery photos.
Expansion of the Southern State Pkwy in Valley Stream, including construction of the 10 cent toll booths to help pay for the project. This 1954 photo is looking west. That’s the Fletcher Ave overpass at the bottom. The backstreet on the right is Greenway Blvd where disgruntled motorist would travel to avoid the toll. Same practice occurred on the south side. It’s reported that traffic at times would back up all the way to East Meadow! After a brief toll increase to 25 cents, frustrated Long Islanders revolted, resulting in the removal of the toll plaza sometime in the late ‘70’s
Ten years earlier, this was all farmland
I believe this is the Southern State parkway facing west. Corona Avenue exit/Bridge is in the foreground. Central Avenue would be next westbound exit.
No one has mentioned the 10 cents toll was used to fund construction of the Meadowbrook Parkway extension, construction of which commenced in December, 1954 and was completed by mid 1956.
See New York Times article dated 12/20/52. Snapshot from March, 1978, shortly before the toll booth’s demolition.