The world moved much slower before the automobile. So for thrills, Philadelphia “drivers” would saddle up and race down Chamounix Speedway, named for Chamounix Mansion in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Soon after the horse speedway opened, the Quaker City Motor Club modified the horse track for automobile races.
An article from The Horse Review (1900)1 published in New York mentions an alternate proposal to create the speedway on West River Drive because the soil on the banks of the Schuylkill River is level and smooth. New York equestrians used the Harlem River Driveway from West 155th Street to West 208th Street, “created at a cost of 7,000,000” until it too was given over to the new “gas wagons” in 1902.
Chamounix Mansion and Gothic Carriage House are located in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania.
