The Motor Parkway House in Central Park (Bethpage) Updated: June 25, 2014
This rare 1908 photo from the Garden City Archives shows the Motor Parkway House located on Powell Avenue in Central Park (now Bethpage)during the construction of the parkway.
The big unknown is: What was the Motor Parkway House? Was it a hotel, the construction workers' sleeping quarters, or something else? Another LIMP mystery!
Update: Gary Hammond has solved the mystery of this building. As published in the July 4, 1908 issue of The Long Island Enterprise, the building on Powell Avenue was a hotel:
July 4, 1908 The Long Island Enterprise
" M. Romscho has opened a new Motor Park Way Hotel and will soon be a competing factor for the vast business. His location is on Powell Avenue, bordering the Great White Way. Mr. Romscho's high local social and political antecedents are a guarantee of the future standing of the new caravansary. "
Gary Hammond Notes: [1910 Census states: Mathias Romscho, age 42, born Germany, married 18 years, w/3 children, immigrated to U.S. in 1888, naturalized citizen, occupation - mason, general jobbing, owned home free (no mortgage); in 1911 Mathias Romscho was listed as having a hotel on Jerusalem & Central Ave.; in 1915 listed at Central Ave. as Hotelkeeper]
Comments
Howard, fascinating as usual! Any chance that you can identify the letters that are partly hidden by the trees? That could give a clue. How high-res is your scan?
Mitch:
I tried!! We need CSI to take this mystery.
Howard
Nice sleuthing Gary! Didn’t know that magazine even existed.
I tried to find more info about the Motor Parkway House and Mathias Romscho. Below are articles - In 1941, he’s being awarded with a 25 year badge as a member & commissioner of the Bethpage Fire Department, the shorter of the 2 in the photo. He passed away in January 1949.
Can I please grumble and gripe about something here on our blog for a moment? For years I was able to attend the Greenwich Concours at a fair price. For the first couple of years it was $5.00 for admission and they handed out box lunches to all attendees. The ticket price went up over the years but was still doable. Now the auction guys have taken over and it cost $75 to get in or $150 with my wife!!! No I didn’t go this time (went to Old Westbury gardens instead) The concours tickets around the country are outrageous. $75 at Greenwich, $150 at Amelia Island, $425 at Pebble Beach, but at Pebble if you don’t buy till August it is $525!!!!
I know some of this money goes to charity BUT really why are excluding your average income car guy or like me a fixed income retiree? Is this troubling anyone else?