A Hotel Savoy Glidden Tour Mystery

This is most definitely Auburn, NY, my hometown. The Hotel Savoy was across from the Osborne House Hotel on State Street, just down the street from Auburn Prison.

Pretty sure that's Billy Durant in a Buick, same photo can be found in Beverley Kimes book, I could go and look and see where it says it was taken, but I'm sure some more knowledgeable soul will do it for me?

Per the 1905 and 1906 Buffalo, New York city directories, there was not a Hotel Savoy, or Savoy Hotel, in Buffalo at the time.

Note that the comment of "Peter" below is not his own. Most of his text was lifted from the Vintage Motor Car Club of America website without attribution. See: https://vmcca.org/1906-glidden-tour/

Indeed the second A.A.A.-Glidden tour of 1906 from Buffalo to Quebec. The Buick with No.30 had the following official participants: W.C. Durant, A. Woodworth, W.A. Losey and George Wright. Maxwell No.41 had officially two participants: I.C. Kirkham and Louis Lazarnick, so there seems to be one extra. If Louis Lazarnick was related to Nathan Lazarnick, the famous photographer, seems likely, but is unconfirmed.
The location of both photos is unknown to me, though I found another one with the same background as the Maxwell. I don't bet, but if I would I would put my money on Buffalo.

Maybe the Hotel Savoy is along the route somewhere! The second Glidden 1906 Tour became an international event traveling north into Canada from Buffalo, New York. The tour started on July 9 with a deceptively easy first day of touring. The sixty-five entrants reached the check points ahead of time giving the drivers and passengers an opportunity to look over their vehicles, add gas, and have a bite to eat since no lunchtime was figured into the official tour schedule. On the second day, the Glidden tourists had to complete the seventy-six miles from Auburn to Utica in four hours and twenty minutes. This task was made difficult by roads that were terrible in the extreme, and many drivers expressed the sentiment that they hoped never again to drive in New York State. The road from Utica to Saratoga was described as "vile" and eliminated several entrants on the third day. Cars broke axles and got lost in dust so dense that a search light was necessary to see. On Schwartz's hill, near Amsterdam, cars got stuck on the thirty percent, three-quarter-mile long grade. The delayed motorists helped others out so that everyone made it over, and many cars enhanced their reputation by handling the hill with ease. One man did nothing to improve his reputation when "he took the road and held it at a fifteen-mile gait, refusing to give up to delayed tourists who had just escaped the hills. He drove fast only when a car wanted to pass." When he arrived at Saratoga Springs he was given a cold shoulder by all for his uncouth behavior. The Glidden Tour continued on to Plattsburg, crossed the border into Canada and on to Montreal, Three Rivers, and finally Quebec. Of the fifty contestants who started, thirteen finished with perfect scores. Some of these, of course, did not make the full tour, only going part way and leaving the tour. Others joined the tour as it progressed along. Percy P. Pierce was voted the winner for the second year in a row, as his only adjustment or repair was cleaning one spark plug.

It is believed to be the Hotel Savoy in Buffalo NY - location known. I have begun the research and will post an update shortly. Reading all of the comments - especially the structure style would place this photo in New England. No, the structure represents the gilded/progressive era. Many of the structures built in Buffalo between 1865-1910 were of this style. Thanks for the photo - I'll post an update soon.

Automobile Quarterly issue 30-3 (Spring 1992) has an illustrated article on Glidden Tours. 1905 and 1906 seem to have used number placards of this type, while in 1907 and 1908 a "bib" stretching over the hood (bonnet) was the style of numbering. Hoods were also numbered in 1910, and in 1911 numbers were painted on radiators. This argues for 1905 or '06 in this photo. 1905 was a New England tour, and 1906 went from Buffalo, NY, to Bretton Woods, NH.

Looks like that well-known photo of Billy Durant in his Buick days? In which case Flint Michigan?

The location of the hotel is likely Buffalo NY or possibly Portland Maine. I think these were taken at the start of the 1906 event, as the participants all look clean and well rested. This is of course a guess. The buildings look more New England.

Car #41 is a Maxwell and looks to be a 1905 model. Car #30 I don't know but it has a distinctive foldaway steering column which should make it easy to identify. As it has no front crank handle I guess it has an underfloor engine. I did find this link - http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1905-glidden-tour-pics-brass-era-cars-%2B-auto - maybe someone has a copy?

30: Buick F Touring 1906
44: Maxwell

Well, the 1909 Glidden Tour went from Detroit to Kansas City. There's a Hotel Savoy in Kansas City to this day, but it doesn't look quite like the hotel in the Walter Miller photo.

http://www.madmeatgenius.com/2010/10/savoy-hotel.html