| Author | Message | ||
     Don Sands Moderator Username: admin Post Number: 432 Registered: 05-2006 |
1896, Salem, Oregon  "1896 A photograph of Willson park taken from the capitol dome, looking west. The Marion County Courthouse, a quarter-mile bicycle racing track, and several fine residences show prominently. The racing track marks the site where the U.S. Post Office, now the Oregon Executive Department building, was to be constructed in 1903. Salem City Hall, at Chemeketa and High Streets, is under construction in the center background. The bicycle track reflects the popularity of the bicycle and the poor quality of streets and roads. Organized bicycle racing began in New York's Madison Square Garden where as many as 100,000 spectators paid to watch six-day races in which winning riders covered as much as 2,759 miles. The first six-day bicycle race for women began on Jan. 6, 1896 at Madison Square Garden. The New York races were discontinued after 1939." . |
