Map of the Motor Parkway


The Long Island Motor Parkway was initially promoted as “The World’s Modern Appian Way,” a moniker first presented to the public in a Harper’s Weekly article written by A.R. Pardington in March 1907. Vanderbilt and his associates were careful to position the Motor Parkway as not primarily a speedway for race cars, but a modern convenience to all automobile enthusiasts. They extolled the virtues of economic development and the efficiency of quickly retreating from the city to the calm and healthful benefits the fresh country air of Long Island had to offer.