I went upstate NY to visit my parents in Saratoga Springs, NY this Thanksgiving. It was good to meet up with my immediate and extended family. During my trip I remarked at how Saratoga had changed in the last few years. Saratoga is a wonderful town/city to grow up in and it still has an aesthetic appeal that is hard to match anywhere. Like Hoboken, Saratoga Springs has a vibrant night life and high real esate appeal and property values to match. Both cities have gone through a substantial period of gentrification and development yet still seem to have issues with their municipal budgets. More on that later. For those of you who are not familiar with Saratoga here is a very brief primer.....
A Litttle History:
Saratoga Springs was established as a city in 1915, originally formed from part of the Town of Saratoga, which still exists today as a separate municipality. During the 19th century the area's fame as a city of spas significantly increased. In order to accommodate the substantial increase in tourists, more hotels were built including the huge Grand Union Hotel which was demolished some time back. The main drivers for the town's tourism and development have been the the Saratoga Race Course currently and the spas and baths in the 19th Century.
Main Attractions:
The Saratoga Race Course is recognized as the oldest continually operated thoroughbred horse racing course in the country and holds one of the most prestigious racing meets for six weeks from the end of July to Labor Day. The track hosts the prominent Travers Stakes also known as the Midsummer Derby. During the month of August, tens of thousands flock to the track and in the evening the streets of the city teem with restaurant and club goers.
The city is also home to Saratoga Raceway, a separate, smaller race track facility for harness racing which generally operates in the evenings for several months of the year. A casino (also known as the racino) has recently been added to the grounds and houses over 1000 video gaming machines.
Saratoga Spa State Park is situated on more than 2,000 acres. The park is very popular with tourists. The Saratoga Spa State Park includes mineral springs, a spa, automobile museum, reflecting pools,a golf course and other attractions. Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located on the grounds of the park, is the summer home of the New York City Ballet and also hosts top tier symphony and popular music concerts.
Other Attractions:
Numerous golf Courses including the Saratoga National Golf Club.
More than ten museums including three national museums.
Numerous natural mineral springs.
Treatments at local spas.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Saratoga Springs History Museum.
New York State Military Museum
Yaddo Gardens.
Roosevelt Mineral Baths.
Saratoga Lake.
For even more information on Saratoga Springs click on the link below courtesy of http://www.city-data.com/:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Saratoga-Springs-New-York.html
Below are some photos taken during my walk-about on Friday and Saturday in the wonderful city of Saratoga Springs, NY:
I, like Beth Mason may have humble beginnings but at least
I have my own alley way! (Just kidding) The Gardiner this street was
named after is of no relation to me.
Here are just a few shots of Saratoga Springs main street Broadway
Saratoga Springs City Hall
The Historic Adelphi Hotel
This is for "Da Horsey" over at Mile Square View Blog. Given Saratoga's rich horse racing history there are many of these throughout town
Saratoga Springs loves condo developments too.
A Starbucks in a Gentrified city like Saratoga Springs? Go figure.
Entrance to Congress Park
A view of the greens within Congress Park. Nice Fall colors!
Congress Park - The former Canfield Casino
North Broadway - Presigious Homes (out of my price range)
All these new condos and problems with the budget and fire and safety layoffs?
Where have I heard this before?
Where have I heard this before?
For a city of about 28,000 people (as of 2005) and a municipal budget of around $35 million it is amazing that Saratoga Springs is having issues with their budget. With all those new condos and property values still very high ( Saratoga Springs still remains a pretty hot real estate market in this recesssion) it confounds me that development has not solved these fiscal issues. Dave Roberts and Anthony Russo please take note! Oops, too late! :).
I wish Hoboken only had the problems that Saratoga Springs has. At least they have parks and a solvent hospital. We as Hobokenites would be in a lot better shape. Still Hoboken has a lot to offer and some of those similarities to my home town are why I chose to move to Hoboken.
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