An Ode to Rockingham Park Race Track - Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Salem, New Hampshire.

You can see this weathervane from Rockingham Park Boulevard, heading east from Exit 1 off Route 93 towards Route 28 in Salem, New Hampshire.  As you pass Mall Road and head towards the new Tuscan Village development, look to your left just as you pass the intersection with Tuscan Boulevard.  Above the Nike "swoosh" is a roof with this small weathervane.  

This weathervane is small in proportion to the large roof and building it sits above, so it is difficult to see this weathervane without looking for it from Rockingham Park Boulevard.  It is more difficult to see from inside the mall looking from the parking area in front of the Nike store or Pottery Barn.  

This three dimensional race horse and jockey are reminiscent of the Rockingham Park Race Track that stood on this parcel of land before the Tuscan Village was built.   The horse racing area was built in 1906, first for gambling, and then for horse racing.  There was a large racetrack, a clubhouse and stands, stables, paddocks, and training areas.  Rockingham Park also hosted automobile racing and aviation events such as the first aviation meet in New England in 1911.  During World War I it was a base for the 14th US Army Corps of Engineers. 

The history of the Rockingham Park goes back to the early 20th century and some famous horse races including the horse "Seabiscuit" who raced there in 1935 and 1936.  The last horserace held at Rockingham was in 2009.  On July 29, 1980 there was a fire in the clubhouse at Rockingham which destroyed the grandstand.  It reopened in 1984 with a smaller facility often referred to as "The New Rock".  Most of the original parking area was developed in the indoor Mall at Rockingham Park in 1991.  After a long decline the racetrack was demolished in 2017 and is being developed into a multi use residential, hotel, business, and retail area by The Tuscan Village. 

I was hoping that the new Tuscan Village would incorporate more art and historical artifacts from the race track into the newly designed development, but this is the only reminder of the horse racing I could find. 

The old Rockingham Park grandstands and oval race track

For the truly curious:

WMUR "After 110 years, Rockingham Park closes its doors", 1 September 2016:   https://www.wmur.com/article/after-110-years-rockingham-park-closes-its-doors-1/5214632#  

The Boston Globe, "Rockingham Park to close its doors for a final time Wednesday", 30 August 2016,   https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/30/rockingham-park-close-its-doors-for-final-time-wednesday/C5IvlMeEy0zyR0r3ffjWqL/story.html   

Click here to see over 475 other weathervanes featured in my blog posts:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "An Ode to Rockingham Park Race Track - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 6, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/an-ode-to-rockingham-park-race-track.html: accessed [access date]).