to its great citizen, it is now proposed to add to the sum already 

 raised by private contributions sufficient money from the state 

 to complete the park at once. In order to provide an adequate 

 and dignified approach the Eoosevelt Memorial Parkway is 

 proposed, which will follow existing roads from Oyster Bay 

 to the New York City line, some sixteen miles distant. 



Each week thousands of automobilists throng the route oi 

 the proposed parkway endeavoring to visit Oyster Bay and 

 reach the beautiful open country extending for many miles to 

 the eastward, and at this time it is difficult for them to do so 

 because the road congestion is so great that it becomes very 

 difficult to reach either Oyster Bay or the country beyond 

 quickly enough to allow sufficient time for recreation. 



Perhaps the best way to describe the Eoosevelt Memorial 

 Park and Parkway scenically is to follow the route from the 

 New York City line where it will connect with a boulevard al- 

 ready partially completed in and by New York City. 



Travelling east one drives past the Great Neck Peninsula 

 over a tree-lined road through open country and then drops 

 swiftly into Manhasset at the head of Manhasset Bay, thence 

 climbing rapidly after passing a small and attractive lake to 

 the highlands of Manhasset Neck, from which an extended view 

 is obtained northward to Hempstead Harbor and Long Island 

 Sound. 



Hugging the side of an almost clifflike hill the route is fol- 

 lowed down to the headwaters of Hempstead Harbor and 

 through the beautiful village of Roslyn with its three lakes 

 and the well-preserved home of William CuUen Bryant, and 

 then, after a climb of 200 feet to a plateau, through Brookville 

 to East Norwich. This section is high and a broad view of 

 wooded and open country is obtained. From East Norwich it 

 is possible to leave the parkway and continue directly east 

 for many miles along the north shore of Long Island with its 

 numerous and beautiful harbors and recreational spots. 



At East Norwich a turn to the left opens up a beautiful 

 descending road which suddenly terminates at the edge of 

 Oyster Bay, at the site of the Memorial Park, from which a 

 panorama extends in three directions from Bayville on the 

 Sound, past Centre Island to Sagamore Hill and the simple 

 cemetery where Roosevelt sleeps. 



The thousands from New York City and the rest of the state 

 who make this pilgrimage often pass along the route just de- 

 scribed at the rate of 800 to 1,000 automobiles per hour. 



It is necessary to provide the park not only as a memorial 

 but to care for the thousands of visitors who already throng 

 the vicinity and who are rapidly increasing in number. 



71 



