Saratoga Springs
By Dick & Ellie Moody
www.townmapsusa.com
www.poshnosh.com
Horse racing, Mineral Spas and Baths, Victorian houses, Museums, Restaurants, Music, Shopping, Skidmore College,
Spring water, Home of the Potato chip, Entertainment and Gambling.
Museums of Saratoga
1. Congress Park in Saratoga and its museum in the former gambling 1870's gambling Casino. The museum
focuses on the history of Saratoga Springs, shows the restored high-stakes gaming rooms.
2. Saratoga Automobile Museum preserves and exhibits automobiles. It celebrates the automobile and educates
the public regarding the role of the automobile and society.
3. Saratoga Horse Racing Museum - Explains the history and illustrates the excitement of Thoroughbred racing
in America. Visitors are provided access to the art, artifacts, memorabilia and film, as well as, the stories of
the famous jockeys and horses.
4. The National Museum of Dance & Hall of Fame is the only museum in the nation dedicated entirely to dance.
Located in the former Washington Bath House—a spacious, airy 1918 Arts and Crafts-style building—in the
Saratoga Spa State Park.
5. New York State Military Museum formed in 1991 for the purpose of preservation, expansion, and
interpretation of New York’s military history collection.
Victorian Homes… of Saratoga
This was the place for the wealthy - and their Victorian homes show it. Travel north through town or east on Union
Ave. to see some of the most imposing Victorian mansions. Saratoga was in the late 19th century one of the most
prominent destinations in America.
Horse Racing
In 1863 the race track was built by William R. Travers. He founded what would become the oldest organized
sporting event of any kind in the U.S. and William Travers' name became the namesake of the Travers Stakes. It is
the oldest major thoroughbred race in U.S. history. The track would see mighty legends such as Man O’ War and
Secretariat. Man O’ War lost his only race in 21 starts to a horse named Upset at Saratoga Race Track, and
Secretariat lost a race there right after his Triple Crown triumph. When another Triple Crown victor, Gallant Fox,
was defeated by a horse with 100-1 odds, Saratoga gained the ominous nickname “Graveyard of Champions." When
the track opens in July, the locals have learned to avoid downtown, as the congestion and prices are just too high.
History
Native Americans told the early pioneers of the mineral springs and of their the curative powers. This resulted in the
early growth of the Spa City. In the 19th century, the grand hotels of Saratoga attracted the wealthy and the
powerful. Gambling flourished in the late 1800s, with the opening of at least a dozen casinos. Near by, the turning
point of the American Revolutionary War took place, the Battle of Saratoga. The decisive victory of the colonists
convinced the French to come to our aid and ensure the ultimate outcome of our independence.
Air Force Academy
In the early 1950's, a neighboring village, Ballston Spa, was a leading candidate for the location of the Air Force
Academy. Unfortunately, for the area, Saratoga's seamy reputation for being a wild and wicked place doomed that
proposal. "America's finest young men were not to be exposed to that kind of environment."
Mineral Springs and Baths
The springs are famous for their varied and distinct tastes: some are clear freshwater, others are saltier, and some
taste strongly of a certain mineral such as sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride. Because the water is free for the
taking and bubbly, during the Depression many parents told their children that the Springs were "soda water". As a
result some people have developed a "taste" for the water. This fizz is caused by carbon dioxide which was used to
making ice cream sodas. These mineral Springs can be found through out the area. Most of the springs are covered
by small pavilions and marked by signs. Others, however, are less obvious, sometimes just an opening in a rock.
Often there is a sulfur odor associated with the springs. Because the gas, hydrogen sulfide (oh so stinky!), is quickly
released from the water when it emerges from the spigot. The Saratoga State Park, south of town, (location of our
resort, Gideon Putnam) has many springs you can visit. The mineral baths are a popular attraction. Built in the 1930's
when Saratoga was striving to be like a European spa city, the baths still operate today. You can visit a spa and
experience Saratoga Springs water. Treatment includes being dunked in a deep soothing tub of warm naturally
carbonated water. Relax as you are wrapped in warm sheets and left to meditate. End with an optional massage.
Potato Chip Legend
The potato chip was born at Moon’s Lake House on Saratoga Lake. The story is that an unhappy patron kept
sending his fried potatoes back to the kitchen, claiming that they were too thick. For many years these thin sliced
fried potatoes were called Saratoga chips. George Crum, an African-American chef at the Resort in 1853 is credited
for this wonderful creation.
Films in and around Saratoga : The Saratoga Racecourse has made a little name for itself in pop culture as well.
Footage for the 2003 movie “Seabiscuit” was filmed at the track, and an early scene in Diamonds are Forever, a James
Bond novel by Ian Fleming, took place at Saratoga Race Track.
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2003 - "Seabiscuit" - Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges
1998 - "The Horse Whisperer" - Robert Redford
1991 - "Billy Bathgate" - Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Loren Dean
1981 - "Ghost Story" - Fred Astaire, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Patricia Neal
1973 - "The Way We Were" - Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford
1971 - "Diamonds are Forever" - Sean Connery, Jill St. John
1937- "Saratoga" - Clark Gable, Lionel Barrymore
Other Notable Items
1. Don McLean's song "American Pie" debuted here, at Cafe Lena in 1972 and it was one of the first venues in the
Eastern US at which Bob Dylan performed, in 1961
2. The Grand Union Hotel was located on Broadway. It began as a boarding house, but grew into the world's
largest hotel, before it was demolished in 1953.
3. The Saratoga area was known for its gambling, which after the first years of the 20th century was illegal, but still
widespread. Most gambling facilities were located on Saratoga Lake, on the southeast side of the city.
4. The construction of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC, rhymes with "snack")) in the late 1960s, which
features classical, ballet and popular music and dance helped bring Saratoga back from decline.
5. The Battle of Saratoga, the turning point of the Revolutionary War, did not take place in Saratoga Springs, but
nearby.
6. Charles Dowd, of Saratoga Springs, first in country to propose the use of time zones.
Yaddo
Yaddo is a 400-acre artists' community, founded by the great Wall Street financier, Spencer Trask and his wife, the
author Katrina Trask. Since its inception in 1900, Yaddo has been home to 60 Pulitzer Prize winning authors and one
Nobel Prize winner. Sylvia Plath and Truman Capote have been artists-in-residence. The Yaddo grounds are adjacent
to the backstretch of the Saratoga Race Course. Edgar Allan Poe is said to have written at least part of "The Raven"
on a visit there. Collectively, artists who have worked at Yaddo have won 66 Pulitzer Prizes.
Vibrant Downtown
Start with the Visitor Center - across from Congress Park - in a "Beaux Art" style building. The personnel there will
answer all questions about the "Queen of the Spas." The center is part of New York State's Heritage Area System.
Restaurants, shopping, and cultural sites are all within an easy 10-minute walking distance of each other. Skidmore
College is found at the north end of the city.
Luminaries
Starting in the mid 1800's, and for the next 100 years, Saratoga was the place to be and be seen. The Vanderbilts, the
Whitneys, JP Morgan, "Diamond Jim" Brady, actress Lillian Russell, and Sophie Tucker were frequent visitors and
performers. That tradition continues today - during racing season you may spot a notable on the downtown streets.