Morris Park Racecourse
Morris Park Racecourse was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1889 until 1904. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later became known as Morris Park. The racecourse was the site of the Belmont Stakes from 1890 through 1904 as well as the Preakness Stakes in 1890.
History
Morris Park Racecourse was conceived and built by majority shareholder John Albert Morris as a result of the planned closure of the nearby Jerome Park Racetrack, where racing ended in 1894 to make way for the Jerome Park Reservoir. Principal owner John Morris had extensive business interests in Louisiana and the prominent New York businessman and horseracing enthusiast Leonard W. Jerome served as the racecourse's president. African-American Racing Hall of Fame jockey Isaac Murphy rode on opening day at the new facility—August 20, 1889—and Morris Park was described as "the finest race track in the world." Accessible by horse and buggy, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad added a short spur from its main line near the Van Nest station that brought racing fans directly to the new race track from the greater New York City area.
Morris Park
Morris Park may refer to:
Morris Park Facility
The Morris Park facility is a maintenance facility of the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York. 7. It includes two employee-only side platforms on the Atlantic Branch named Boland's Landing. Two wooden platforms each 2 cars long exist on the two-track line, with a flashlight for workers to signal trains to stop.
History
The original Morris Park station, was an 1886-built pedestrian depot located on 120th Street, that served as a replacement for 1878-built Morris Grove station on 124th Street. It was torn down in 1939 as part of a grade elimination project for the Atlantic Branch. The yard's locomotive yard office and engine shops, divided into the front shops and back shops, were built in 1889, at the junction of the Atlantic and Lower Montauk Branches approximately on the opposite side of the former “R” Tower at the latter day Richmond Hill Storage Yard. The yard also featured a turntable for spinning engines. In 2009 part of the back shops (the engine shops not located directly off the turntable) were demolished as part of a reconstruction project, however, the front shops and yard office from 1889 still exist. The yard also contains one of four remaining turntables left on the LIRR, Oyster Bay and Greenport yards have the others, and Riverhead has one on the grounds of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. Nevertheless the Morris Park turntable is the only one of the turntables still functioning; those in Oyster Bay, Riverhead, and Greenport exist purely for historical purposes.
Morris Park (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)
Morris Park is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway served by the 5 train. It is at Paulding Avenue and the Esplanade in Morris Park, Bronx.
History
The station was first placed in service in 1912 as part of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad, a subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford. The line was designed for the weight of the heaviest main line steam trains.
The emblem of the NYW&B, was the caduceus, a staff entwined with serpents that has served as a symbol of commerce since Classical times. It is cast into several locations of the concrete facade facing the Esplanade. The NYW&B offered frequent service between 138th Street in the South Bronx and White Plains and Port Chester in Westchester County. The White Plains and Port Chester branches diverged at Mount Vernon Junction near Columbus Avenue along the boundary between Mount Vernon and Pelham.
The two outer tracks at Morris Park were for trains that made local stops in the Bronx, and went to Port Chester. The two inner tracks were for express trains that made limited stops in The Bronx, and went to White Plains. The trains were powered by 11,000 volt 25 Hz alternating current supplied from overhead catenary. The cut-off stumps of the catenary bridges remain along the right of way and can be seen from the south ends of the platforms.
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