Motordrome Mania 1912

[AdminGuy]

I'm trying to create a map of N. America c.1912 which will show where all the board tracks were located. Can you help me? Please quote this paragraph and add information where you can. Thanks. City, Street address, size 1/3, 1/4 or 1 mile.
Los Angeles, CA; Coliseum Motordrome; 63rd & Main; 3&1/2-laps to the mile; 1909-
Los Angeles, CA; Stadium Motordrome; 35th & Hooper St., 1/3-mile; circular board track; 1912-
Los Angeles, CA; Playa Del Rey; Culver and Jefferson Blvd., 1-mile oval; 20 degrees, first track built by Prince, 1910-1913
Beverly Hills, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1920-1924
Oakland (Elmhurst), CA; 1/2-mile circle; 40 degree, 1911-1912
Culver City, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1924-1927
Fresno, CA; 1-mile; 1920-1927
San Carlos, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1921-1922
Cotati, CA; 1&1/4-miles; 1921-1922
Salt Lake City, UT;
Denver, CO; Lakeside Park,
Springfield, MASS; 1/3-mile; 1909-
Omaha, NB; 1&1/4-miles; 1915-1917
Des Moines, Iowa; 1-mile; 40 degree, 1915-1917 Iowa link
St. Louis MO;
Kansas City, MO, 95th & Holmes Rd., 1&1/4-miles; 35 degrees, 1922-1924
Chicago, IL; Riverview (adjacent to Exposition Park); 1/3-mile circular; 1911-
Chicago (Maywood) NW, IL; 9th Ave. & 12th St., 2-mile; 17 degrees, 1915-1918
Detroit, MI;
Cincinnati, (Sharonville)OH; built by Harry Hake, 2-mile oval; 17 degrees, 1916-1919 Cincinnati link
Akron/Cleveland, OH; built by Paul Turtin, 1/2-mile oval; 45 degrees, 1926-1930
Columbus, OH;
Philadelphia PA, Point Breeze,
Altoona, PA; 1&1/4-miles; 32 degrees, 1923-1931 Atoona link
Uniontown, PA; 1&1/8-miles; 34 degrees, 1916-1922
Bridgeville, PA; 1/2-mile; 35 degrees, built by Paul Tustin,1927-1930
Brooklyn, NY; (Sheepshead Bay) 2-miles; 1915-1919
Atlantic City, N.J.; 1&1/2-miles; 45 degrees, 1926-1928 Atlantic Speedway web site link
Newark, NJ; ?-miles; Great Electric Park, Vailsburg; July 4,1912- September, 1912
Woodbridge, N.J.; Woodbridge High school, 1/2-mile; 38 degrees,1928-1931
Salem, New Hampshire;(Rockingham)1&1/4-mile; 38 degrees, 1925-1928
Laurel, Maryland; 1&1/8-miles; 48 degrees, 1925-1926
Charlotte, North Carolina;(Pineville)1&1/4-miles; 40 degrees, 1924-1927
Atlanta, Georgia;
Fulford, Florida;(Miami-Biscayne Bay)1&1/4-miles; 50 degrees, 1926. Destroyed by hurricane same yr. Stood six months. built by Carl F. Fisher
Omaha, Ne; 1&1/4 mile oval, 41 degrees, 1915-1917

**********************
Tacoma, WA; 7 miles south Voca. school, 2-miles oval; 21 degrees, boards laid flat? 1915-1921
Ludlow, KT; 1/4-mile motordrome;
Houston, TX; 1913 -
How many jobs did Prince have going at the same time? I wonder?

[wfo]

Motordromes

In 1909 a 1/3 mile track was built in Springfield, Mass.

[AdminGuy]

Excellent! Thanks. I'm going to try to get Daniel Statnekov involved in this action.

[Tommo]

Baordtracks

Greetings
Have you considered contacting Stephen Wright as his book American Racer lists quite a few tracks and his research for the book must have netted a lot of facts that didn't get to print.
A quick scan through my copy showed the following that don't appear to be on your list but that may be that they were built outside your time frame.
Ludlow Kentucky
Houston Motodrome
and he locates the track in Philadelphia at Point Breeze.
Keep the site going I really enjoy it and try to visit it every day if possible.
Regards Tommo.

[AdminGuy]

Thanks Tommo,
I don't think Steven Wright is a member of the AMCA? Shocking! He may use another name. I think he said he owns a pub in CA. Anyone: Bug him if you see him. Ask him to participate in this! He can blank out his email if he wants.

I bought the book. It's a goodie.

I will add your information.
We have a bicycle Velodrome around here. I think I'm going to visit it, just to get a sence of what it was all about.
Velodromes were shorter and were used for M/C in the early days. Not to be confused w/ motordromes.
Which I did for a few yrs...because I'm thick.

I wonder if Jerry Hatfield would participate in this? He knows a thing or two.

[wfo]

The drome in Houston, Texas, was built in 1913. I live in Texas, thus my ability to have researched this location.

[AMCAGREG]

The Antique Motorcycle and Bicycle magagine was a bi-monthly magazine during this time. I am sure that they listed just about
Every track when it opened and probably listed the results of the races held. There is a lot to read through but it would be the most difinative source,
Greg

[AMCAGREG]

I got the name wrong it was something like Bicycle and Motorcycle
illustrated. Obviously the word Antique was a mistake.

[AdminGuy]

So...can anyone use this resourse to help this little research project along? I think the national library of congress is the last place that you can view the collection of the magazines is it not? Greg can you help?

[Perry Ruiter]

I believe there was a board track in Tacoma, Washington
that operated in the teens/early twenties ... Perry

P.S. never mind I see you do have it in your list
(down the bottom)

[Statnekov]

The Chicago boards.

There were two board tracks in Chicago: Riverview Park, a 1/3-mile circular track which opened in July of 1911 and Speedway Park which opened in June of 1915. Speedway was a 2-mile track with long straightaways connected with two banked turns. Speedway Park or "Maywood" (for Maywood, Illinois) was located at the corner of 9th Ave. and 12th Streets; present-day site of Hines Memorial Hospital. From a historical perspective, the most memorable motorcycle race @ Speedway was in Sept. of 1915: 300 miles with Carl Goudy bringing home the bacon for Excelsior and shattering all existing records for a 300-mile motorcycle race. Goudy averaged 85.8 mph for the distance. The Harley-Davidson race gear showed great promise when Otto Walker averaged 90 mph for the first 100 miles to set a new record for the century. At Riverview Park events were held 3 nites a week with crowds of up to 10,000 who paid .25 cents for general addmission and .75 cents for covered seating. A final footnote: The District Attorney's office (Chicago) paid the watchman at Riverview a $25.00 bounty for any corpses which he could pull from the river. This supplemented the watchman's income by as much as $75.00 per week!
Daniel Statnekov
p.s. If you want more of this sort of post, email me at: daniel@statnekov.com

[jonnycola]

I was emailed about a year ago, about Identifying a few motorcycles, and I was given this page. Thought it might help, correct me if I have Identified them incorrectly. http://winfield.50megs.com/4Jul1912.htm

[AdminGuy]

That's great Daniel! My fact finding mission is very dry. It's the colorful stuff that really brings it to life. Great stuff!

Can you help with any of the other tracks? Keep going!

[Statnekov]

Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey

Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey

Work began on the Los Angeles Motordrome at Playa del Rey in February of
1910 with the 1-mile circular track opening for its first race on the 8th of
April. The huge saucer (Sports writers immediately dubbed the place "the
pie pan.") rose just above Culver Blvd. and the present Los Angeles County
Drainage and Flood Control Channel. Built for automobile racing, the wooden
oval was 45 feet wide, banked at an angle of 20 degrees, 25 feet above
ground level at its perimeter. Joining the lower edge of the 45 foot banking
was a 30-foot-wide freeboard that encircled a belt of crushed stone, a
feature designed to function as a brake should a competitor leave the wood at speed. Five rows deep, the grandstands were constructed four feet above the perimeter and wrapped around the track for almost
three-quarters of a mile. To enhance safety, a dual guard rail was erected
on the upper edge of the track, separating the racers from the spectators.The most famous motorcycle accomplishment at Play del Rey was achieved on December 30th, 1912 when Lee Humiston circled the banked 1-mile oval on his direct-drive Excelsior in 36 seconds flat, to become the first motorcyclist in the world "officially" timed at 100 mph. Even Barney Oldfield never achieved the magic century at Playa del Rey, his best time (36.1 seconds or 99.72 mph) set in a match race against Terrible Teddy Tetzlaff in January of 1913 shortly before the track burned to the ground. The light from the board track in flames lit the sky for miles around, and while nationally known sports writer Damon Runyon wasn't present at the moment, it still didn't prevent him from penning his immortal line: "Playa del Rey burned down last night, with a great savings of lives."
Much of this information comes from Dick Wallen's wonderful book: "Board Track: Guts, Gold & Glory."
Thank you Dick.
Daniel Statnekov
email: daniel@statnekov.com

[Andy]

Theres a banked bicycle track at Kissena Park in Queens, NY I've snuck on with my motorcycle a few times about 20 years ago, it still may be there, I probably hold the track record.