The United States Hotel in Saratoga Springs, built in 1824 on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street, grew over the years to have more than 500 rooms. On Sunday, June 18, 1865, the guests were preparing to take carriage rides out to Saratoga Lake, a favorite diversion of the time, when a fire broke out. The flames spread quickly, devouring the hotel in a spectacular blaze. A year later the community’s other massive hotel, Congress Hall was also destroyed by fire. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Other Grand Hotel, The Clarendon
Architecture
Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell
Long after people die, the buildings where they made their lives often remain. Many visitors to the Saranac Laboratory Museum follow the footsteps of a family member who came to Saranac Lake with tuberculosis.
Often the only trace that remains is the address of a cure cottage and a porch where their relative once took the fresh air. [Read more…] about Saranac Lake’s Famous Cure Porches Have Stories To Tell
Nominations Sought For Adirondack Preservation Awards
Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), the historic preservation organization for the Adirondack Park region, has opened nominations for its 2020 Preservation Awards.
For over 25 years, this annual awards program has recognized the sensitive restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of historic structures throughout the region, and highlighted individuals who have promoted historic preservation revitalization efforts in their communities. The awards honor the preservation work of organizations, municipalities, and individuals who make the Adirondack region a better place to live, work, and visit. [Read more…] about Nominations Sought For Adirondack Preservation Awards
A Modernist Merry-Go-Round
Said to be born somewhere in “America” on September 11, 1905, Kathryn Hamill is an intriguing figure whose presence has been strangely ignored.
Typically mentioned in the context of her fling with novelist Patricia Highsmith, little else is known about her. Even photographic images appear to be missing. A one-time Ziegfeld dancer, she married a British publisher, studied medicine in Cambridge, lived in one of London’s iconic modernist houses, and committed suicide. A biographer’s challenge. Surely. [Read more…] about A Modernist Merry-Go-Round
Capturing the Life in the Historic House (Podcast)
Home isolation does not mean we can’t experience that thrill of curiosity and discovery that comes with a visit to an historic house.
Kendra Gaylord, creator and host of the Someone Lived Here podcast, does just that. From Steepletop in Austerlitz, New York, to Sailors’ Snug Harbor in Staten Island, each episode weaves an on-site visit with the story of who lived there. On our latest episode, you’ll hear why Kendra created the series, how she does it, and who had the best gift shop. [Read more…] about Capturing the Life in the Historic House (Podcast)
Beacon Oil: New York’s Lighthouse Gas Stations
The Beacon Oil Company was formed in 1919 in Boston, and named for the city’s Beacon Hill.
In 1922, a standard service station design, called the “Watertown” used elements of the 1700s Massachusetts State House, designed by noted architect Charles Bullfinch. [Read more…] about Beacon Oil: New York’s Lighthouse Gas Stations
Board-n-Batten Siding: Carpenter’s Gothic Architecture
The Goths, Visagoths, and Vandals were the infamous three tribes that sacked Rome. More than a thousand years later, during the rebuilding of London after their great fire of 1666, Christopher Wren sought to introduce the latest styles from Italy. He termed that what had burned “Gothic,” a disparaging term, similar to “vandalism” from the name of the other tribe, as a way to promote his new designs. [Read more…] about Board-n-Batten Siding: Carpenter’s Gothic Architecture
Historic Preservation Office Hours, Tax Credit Webinars Planned
The Preservation League of New York State is offering free webinars to assist New York homeowners and commercial property owners better understand how Historic Tax Credits can benefit their preservation projects. The “Road Map to Historic Tax Credits” series will go in depth on the tax credit program. [Read more…] about Historic Preservation Office Hours, Tax Credit Webinars Planned
F. C. Moore’s Big Moose Lake Retreat
In the late 19th century, the Adirondacks became a prime summer destination for sportsmen and their families who enjoyed the region’s hunting, fishing, and fresh air. By the 1880s, wealthy businessmen were building permanent camps on even the remotest lakes, including Big Moose, near Old Forge.
Sometime after 1880 local guides Jack Sheppard and Richard C. Crego built a summer camp on South Bay of Big Moose Lake for F. C. Moore of New York City. [Read more…] about F. C. Moore’s Big Moose Lake Retreat
Dumb Waiters to Skyscrapers: Evolution of the Elevators
With the dawn of the 20th century came the race to build the tallest skyscrapers. Such wonders were made possible in part by the new technologies afforded by steel girders.
This was part of a trend which had its roots half a century earlier, in such behemoths as the record-breaking hotels of Saratoga Springs. The United States Hotel, seen in these photos, was the world’s largest structure when completed in 1871. This was surpassed only a few years later when the Grand Union was constructed next door. [Read more…] about Dumb Waiters to Skyscrapers: Evolution of the Elevators