Lake Success

Great Neck School Complex (Phipps Estate)

Hagstrom Map - 1952

The above map from a Queen's - Nassau Hagstrom Atlas shows the Motor Parkway crossing east into Nassau County from Queens. The Parkway ran north near Lake Success, crossing the Northern State Parkway and turning east across Lakeville Road, bordering the Phipps Estate to the north. Today, the estate is the Great Neck School Complex housing middle and high schools and admininstrative buildings. The Motor Parkway is obvious today as the roadway leading from a fence on Lakeville Road, south of the school entrance, east towards the athletic fields. Photos were taken in Feb., 2006. The first pictures below show a post almost completely buried on the northern part of the current road (right past the entrance to the Parwkay as shown on the map). Another shot shows the view east and west on the road, with other pictures showing a series of posts that were found about 50 yards past the athletic fields, on the south side of the roadway. The roadway extended east until it crossed the Northern State once again - the last two pictures show what might be part of the bridge abutment and a piece of original roadway. Won't say they are, but worth further investigation.

Arial Photography

Here are three arial photographs provided by HistoricArials.com of the area shown in the above map.

The second is from 1980 and clearly shows the Motor Parkway going north from the bottom left of the picture (to the left of Lakeville Road, north of the Northern State Parkway), then curving east (to the right) just above the Northern State Parkway and then continuing as the boundary between the Phipps Estate and the property of the Tanners Pond Corp. as indicated on the above map. In each of these photos you can see the Great Neck School complex where the Phipps Estate was and the homes built by the Tanners Pond Corp. Even though the 1966 photo is an earlier one of the same location, the Motor Parkway is clearer in the 1980 shot, probably due it having been taken when the foliage was not as grown.

All the way to the right in the 1966 photo, a bridge carrying the Motor Parkway over the Northern State Parkway is shown; I'll discuss later on this page with a close-up shown.

Partially buried post on the northern side of the Motor Parkway. Fence is the maitenance facility of the school complex.

Same post, with the Motor Parkway in the background, looking west.

Looking West

This is the Parkway looking west from beyond the athletic fields (to the left of the picture and also further up on the right, behind the blue shacks). The posts are further up this road, behind where the camera is situated. The next picture shows posts in relation to the road and dumpster with the North Shore Towers straight ahead.

Posts on South Side of Roadway

Looking East

Past the athletic fields, looking east. A post is lying diaganol on the right, between the two trees and before the pile of wood (next picture shows it better). A sign for the Northern State Parkway looms in the background.

Looking West Once Again

Northern State Parkway Sign

Lakeville Road sign on the westbound Northern State Parkway. Taken looking south from close to the Motor Parkway roadway.

Possible Second Northern State Bridge Abutment

Looking south towards the Northern State Parkway, about 20 yards past the last posts shown, there is what might be a bridge abutment that would have supported the bridge across the Northern State Parkway that I discussed near the beginning of this page. A metal fence kept me from proceeding but I hope to get a closer view for more clues in the near future. The three arial photos shown is the location of where this bridge might have been - the first, from 1966, actually shows the bridge over the Northern State Parkway, the second is a close-up, and the third, from 2006 shows the area today. This definitely needs more investigation.

Possible Original Roadway?

This was shot near where the above bridge was located, albeit on my side of the metal fence. Not sure if its original roadway, but will spend more time checking it out next time around.