| Aerial Photo of Somerton In 1928 |
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| At the top left, the racetrack you see is the Philadelphia Fairgrounds, a now forgotten place. |
The Philadelphia Fairgrounds existed between 1912 and 1930 in Somerton, Pa. Fairs and horse races were held there until 1925, and auto races continued until 1930. I haven't been able to find out much more than that so far, though I am in the midst of some further research.
I find it rather disgraceful that this place has been completely forgotten. I wanted to go there and see the remains for myself.
Here are some photos of the place during its heyday.
Here is an aerial photo from 1995. You can still see the outline of the track very clearly. This photo, a compass, and two art chicks was all I needed to find the remains of the grandstands and some other buildings.
| Remains of the Grandstands |
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| Here is what is left of the foundation of the grandstands, lost in the woods. |
Houses have now been built on the western section of the track as you can see on the photo above.
| Your Fearless Leader |
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| Grandstands and me. The track's berm (raised outer lip) can still be discerned on the left. |
Of course you're thinking. Why should I fucking care about some stupid old racetrack? Well the picture below explains it all. In the midst of our search we encountered the foundations of about 6 old buildings, concluding our day here. Here was the remains of an old building now converted to an area where local idiots drink shitty canned beer and litter all over the fucking place. There is no regard for the forest here, much less for a place with some history. God Bless America.
| Why We Should Give A Shit |
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