Enter Garden State Racetreack - Cherry Hill, NJ
N 39° 55.340 W 075° 02.418
18S E 496556 N 4419137
Once upon a time these beautiful and historic gates let in the people who loved horses and loved to watch them race at the Garden State Park. Today all that remains of the racetrack is this gatehouse and the well-preserved gates.
Waymark Code: WMGNQ2
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 03/25/2013
Views: 6
I can remember as a boy in the 1970s driving through these gates with my mom and dad to watch the horse races. The gates are just as impressive today as they are back then and a sad reminder of what once was. If not for the casinos and other more enticing venues, we'd still have racing in Cherry Hill.
The gates are black, wrought iron and go from one end of the gatehouse to the other. They are remarkably well-preserved. Garden State Park opened on July 7, 1942 after delays caused by raw material rationing at the United States' entry into World War II. Due to the seizure of 30,000 tons of structural steel by war authorities, developer Eugene Mori mostly constructed Garden State Park's ornate Georgian-style grandstand of wood. Limited amounts of steel came from the demolition of New York City's elevated railways. Despite this inauspicious start, 'the Garden,' as it was known, was officially 'out of the gate.' SOURCE
On May 3, 2001, 2,000 fans came to see the last racing program at Garden State Park. After 58 years, the Garden ran its last race. On October 30, 2003, with the property sold to Realen-Turnberry for a mixed-use 'town center' redevelopment, demolition started on the grandstand often referred to as a masterpiece. By late March 2004, all that remained of the racecourse was the original 1942 gatehouse on Route 70. The gatehouse still stands and is slated to be renovated as part of a planned off-track betting facility at the site. Today, I often shop here and daydream about what once was and remember how much I miss Dad.