Car Race - Racing to get gas 1908
by Mike Savad
Title
Car Race - Racing to get gas 1908
Artist
Mike Savad
Medium
Photograph - Colorized Photo
Description
Colorized photo from 1908 Oct 24
Original Title: WK Vanderbilt Jr. Mercedes taking gasoline
Location: Roughly Alley Pond and Cunningham Parks, between Winchester Blvd. and Clearview Expressway, between 73rd Ave. and Peck Ave., Queens, New York City, NY
Cars were an instant hit for some people. While many used it as a status symbol, others saw a racing potential. Vanderbilt Jr, loved racing so much he made a race track. In 1906, he built a racetrack that went through neighborhoods. People would come out of their houses to watch the race. Naturally cars slid off the road and people 3 were killed.
Death is not a good thing, and neither was the spray of dried manure in their faces. So he decided that he would build an official race track. Something meant only for cars (not horses). He spent 2 years building it, and people still use it today, its called the Long Island Expressway. Each year cars were made safer because of this race, a long with other things like maybe guardrails.
The Vanderbilt race was coveted and everyone wanted that big cup trophy. People would modify their own cars to race, others would custom build them. This car here is Vanderbilt's own car (that car did not win the race however). Here we see them adding gas to it, behind them are glasses of wine to celebrate something.
Uploaded
February 16th, 2018
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