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Saratoga Springs NY

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About Saratoga Springs NY

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,186 at the 2000 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American place name, authorities disagree on what the exact word was, and hence what it meant. The city is near the center of Saratoga County in upstate New York.

Fort Saratoga was built in 1691 on the west bank of the Hudson River about a mile south of the current village of Schuylerville, New York, which was settled shortly thereafter, and was known as Saratoga until 1831.

In 1767, Sir William Johnson, British soldier and a hero of the French and Indian Wars, was brought about ten miles west of the village, to what would become the city of Saratoga Springs, by Native American friends, to treat war wounds at a spring thought to have medicinal properties. The spring is now known as High Rock Spring, and may be visited today.

The first permanent settler at the springs arrived around 1776, and a tourist trade swiftly grew, with hotels being constructed by such Revolutionary War luminaries as Gideon Putnam.

Saratoga Springs was established as a town in 1819 from a western portion of the Town of Saratoga. Its principal community was incorporated as a village in 1826 and the entire region became a city in 1915.

In the 19th century, the famed doctor Simon Baruch encouraged bringing European style spas to the US, and thus Saratoga Springs, with its wealth of mineral waters developed as a spa, seeing many hotels built, including the colossal Grand Union Hotel that was in its day, the largest hotel in the world, and the famed United States Hotel.

In 1863, Saratoga Race Course opened and moved to its current location the following year, greatly expanding the city's reputation as a tourist destination. In addition, the Saratoga Springs 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.

After the closing and demolition of many of the famed hotels, including the Grand Union and United States, in the 1940s and 1950s, Saratoga Springs experienced a significant economic downturn. During the 1950s, the famed gambling houses were also shut down, which hurt Saratoga Springs' popularity even more.

The city's rebirth began in the 1960s with the completion of the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87), which allowed visitors from the New York City area much easier access. In addition, the construction of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, which features classical and popular music, and dance, in the late 1960s furthered the city's renaissance.

The famous Battle of Saratoga, the turning point of the Revolutionary War, did not take place in Saratoga Springs. Rather, the battlefield is 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast in the town of Stillwater. There is a museum dedicated to these two battles located on the fields where the battles were fought. The British encampment before the surrender at Saratoga took place 10 miles east of the city, in Schuylerville, and there are several historical markers delineating points of interest. The surrender of the sword took place where Fort Saratoga had been, south of Schuylerville."

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Saratoga Racing and Mineral Springs

"The city is perhaps most famous for the Saratoga Race Course which opened on August 3, 1863. The initial track was located across Union Avenue from the present Saratoga Race Course, which opened the following year. Founded by John Hunter and William R. Travers, the thoroughbred track is the oldest continuously-operating sporting event of any kind in the United States.

The track holds a summer meet lasting six weeks, from late July to Labor Day, that attracts the top horses, jockeys, and trainers in America. The meet features a number of major stakes races, with the Travers Stakes, a Grade I race, being the most important of America's summer horseraces. Known as the "Summer Derby," the 2008 Travers was won by Colonel John who earlier had won the Santa Anita Derby. The track season sees a dramatic influx of people into the city. Hotels fill to capacity, and many Saratogians rent out their homes.

Also located in the city is the Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, a harness (Standardbred) racetrack that includes a video gaming facility, the Racino.

Before racing began in Saratoga, the area's natural mineral springs had been attracting summertime visitors for many decades. These springs were believed to have healing powers. The Lincoln Baths was one such place people would go to be treated with the waters. The bath house has since been transformed into an office building, but still exists and can be visited to this day.

The spa treatments also are being continued in a new bath house in the Spa State Park called the Roosevelt Baths. Springs can be found all over town. Most of the springs are covered by small pavilions and marked by plaques; others, however, are less conspicuous, sometimes just a spigot in a rock.

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. There is a sulfur odor but mineral analysis of the water consistently shows almost no presence of dissolved sulfur, because the sulfur is in the form of the gas H2S, which degases from the water very quickly. Visitors are welcome to bottle the spring water for personal consumption."

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Places of Interest in Saratoga Springs NY:

"Superhorse, one of 34 fiberglass horses on display around downtown Saratoga Springs in the 2007 Horses, Saratoga Style street display.
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (known by its acronym "SPAC," rhymes with "snack") is a covered outdoor amphitheater located on the grounds of the Saratoga Spa State Park, with a capacity of 5,000 in reserved seating and 20,000+ on its general admission lawn area. SPAC is the summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Ballet, and has hosted a weekend-long jazz festival for several decades. 2007 marks the second year of the annual Saratoga Native American Festival held on the grounds of SPAC. It is a stop for touring national recording artists: over 20 popular bands grace the stage every summer. Steps away on State Park grounds, the Spa Little Theater hosts the Home Made Theater as well as the geographically-misdescriptive Lake George Opera during the summer.
There are several museums in the area, including the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame, and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. There are more than 20 golf courses.
The city is also notable for its vibrant night life. Caffè Lena was one of the first venues in the Eastern US at which Bob Dylan performed, in 1961. Arlo Guthrie played the Caffè early in his career and has returned for occasional benefit concerts. Singer Don McLean is said to have composed his "American Pie" sitting at a table in the Tin & Lint, a bar on Caroline Street. A plaque marks the table today. Numerous other establishments exist on Broadway, Caroline Street, and the redeveloped Putnam Street.
Recently, Beekman Street (four blocks west of Broadway), once the center of a lower class residential neighborhood, has become an art district, housing four galleries, a restaurant, a pub and teahouse, and a bistro. Artists live and work in co-ops and arrange social events. While many congratulate themselves on "revitalizing" a "deteriorating" area, others consider such declarations an insult to the generations of Saratogians of marginalized ethnicities that toiled in support of the tourism economy of the city, and were traditionally segregated to this once-remote quarter.
Saratoga Springs is also home to Yaddo, a 400-acre (1.62 km2; 0.62 sq mi) 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, Truman Capote, and David Sedaris have all been artists-in-residence. The Yaddo grounds are adjacent to the backstretch of the Saratoga Race Course."

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