New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Skidmore College

Saratoga’s Charles Dowd & The Origin of Eastern Standard Time

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Charles Ferdinand Dowd portrait (courtesy Library of Congress)Time is often referred to as a human construct, but time zones are definitely man-made, and they have a direct connection to Charles Dowd of Saratoga Springs and the month of November, when standard time began in 1883, and 21 years later when time ran out for Charles.

Local time once was set by the noon mark. Noon was defined to be the time at which the sun was directly overhead. This meant, for every approximately 69 miles traveled west, the moment of noon differed by four minutes. For example, the clocks in Boston were set about three minutes ahead of clocks in Worcester, MA. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Charles Dowd & The Origin of Eastern Standard Time

Saratoga’s Kensington Hotel: From Sanitarium to Skidmore

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The Kensington Hotel on the north side of Union Avenue between Circular and Regent Streets. Lucien R. Burleigh 1888 bird’s-eye-view map of Saratoga Springs.Visitors from every part of the world have made their way to Saratoga Springs for myriad reasons, but mainly for their health or their hippic interest.

They have been accommodated in fabulous structures, but unfortunately most of these great hotels have been lost. In their time they established a superior level of service, dedicated to sybarite satisfaction which help make Saratoga a resort destination. They mainly stood along Broadway.

The Kensington Hotel however, stood away from the others. Its location was on fashionable Union Avenue, the splendid thoroughfare which reaches from the village to Saratoga Lake, with the race track in between. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Kensington Hotel: From Sanitarium to Skidmore

Saratoga Tour of Early Skidmore College Sites Sunday

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104 Union Avenue SaratogaThe Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is set to host its final Summer Stroll of the season, Queen Annes: Circular Street and Union Avenue, on Sunday, September 1st at 10:30 am.

Debbie Studwell will lead the tour of the area formerly home to the Young Women’s Industrial Club of Saratoga, today known as Skidmore College. [Read more…] about Saratoga Tour of Early Skidmore College Sites Sunday

Solomon Northup Day Planned For Saturday, July 19th

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Solomon Northup in a Sketch from Twelve Years a SlaveThe 16th annual Solomon Northup Day, an afternoon of activities inspired by a powerful memoir of enslavement and eventual freedom, will take place on Saturday, July 19, from 12:30 to 6 pm in Filene Recital Hall at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY.

The story of Solomon Northup, an African-American man abducted into slavery in 1841 and transported to Louisiana, is now known internationally thanks to the acclaimed 2013 film based on Northup’s autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave. But a grassroots effort to raise awareness of this compelling story has been going on for the past 15 years, in particular through Solomon Northup Day, an annual event launched in 1999 by Saratoga Springs resident and Skidmore College alumna Renee Moore. [Read more…] about Solomon Northup Day Planned For Saturday, July 19th

2009 Conference on New York State History

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The 29th Conference on New York State History will begin on Thursday, June 5th at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.

Among the presenters will be the Brooklyn Historical Society’s Oral History folks who will discuss their current exhibit In Our Own Words: Portraits of Brooklyn Vietnam Veterans. [Read more…] about 2009 Conference on New York State History