Then & Now: The Motor Parkway near Burrs Lane, Half Hollow Hills
Robbi S: "I work at Five Towns College and understand that the parkway ran through this property. I've looked at the old maps to try to determine where exactly it passed through but to no avail. I've also looked for remnants but have had no luck either. Any ideas?"
Robbi, I am always up for a Motor Parkway challenge! Here is what I found about the Motor Parkway in this section of Half Hollow Hills:
1907 Survey and 1914 Map
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Five Towns College is located in the former property of Jacob Baylis in Half Hollow Hills and later the Burrs Lane Junior High School. As shown in this July 1907 survey by C.P. Darling, the Long Island Motor Parkway, Inc. purchased a 7.021 acre section of the property for the road's right-of-way.
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This 1914 Belcher-Hyde map shows the current location of the Five Towns College in relation to the Motor Parkway.
Then: 1928 Aerial
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The highlighted Baylis property and the Motor Parkway can be seen in relation to Burrs Lane (left) annd Half Hollow Road (across the middle of the aerial).
Then: 1960 Photo
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Remnants of the Motor Parkway could still be seen on the future location of Five Towns College in 1960. School buildings and the playground of the Burrs Lane Junior High School can be seen in the background. The school would become the site of Five Towns College in 1992. It was originally planned that the college would be located in Lawrence (one of the "Five Towns"),
Now: 2011 Current Views
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This December 14, 2011 photo matches the above 1960 image. No remnants of the Motor Parkway were seen on the hill or playing field.
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This Bing Map shows the location of the Motor Parkway through this section of Half Hollow Hills. The row of trees beyond the Five Towns College border, indicate that Motor Parkway remnants may still exist in the backyards of houses on Lone Hill Place, Broadoak Lane, and Fox Lane.
Links to related posts on VanderbiltCupRaces.com:
Archives: Long Island Motor Parkway- Suffolk County
Archives: Then and Now- Long Island Motor Parkway
Index: Archives on VanderbiltCupRaces.com
Archives: Monthly Highlights (2008-2011)
Comments
From Robbi S:
“I’d like to thank you for the work you did! I did take a cursory look at the area nearest the school but have not yet found any remains.”
Howard/Robbi - thanks for the info. What’s funny is that I and another member of the Society had planned to explore that area this Friday for my website. If something is there, I’ll find it!. I’ll definitely send along anything I find.
I love the research and the pictures you found. You made one mistake in a caption. You said, ” The school would become the site of Five Towns College in 1972.” Burr’s Lane was the high school originally from 1956-1963. It was Burr’s Lane from ‘63-‘90. Five towns College had many different locations such as Merrick and Seaford before coming to Dix Hills in 1992. I guess it’s a typo (‘72/‘92) I went to Burr’s Lane from 1980-83, and Five Towns from 1991-95.
Hi Rob:
Good catch. Thanks!
I remember as a little girl my parents taking me to ” the High School” to see “The Pirates of Penzance” in the building that was to become Burr’s Lane Jr. High. I was a student there when it was the Jr. High and I graduated from the HS on Vanderbilt in 1968. I also remember a tiny cemetery that could be seen from some of the classroom windows during the fall….