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New York - Saratoga Springs - Points of Interest HIGH ROCK SPRING, High Rock Ave. opposite Rock St., now inactive, was the first Saratoga mineral spring known to white men. According to tradition, in 1767, when Sir William Johnson was desperately ill, his friends, the Mohawk Indians, carried him to this 'Medicine Spring of the Great Spirit' to be cured. At that time the spring appeared a few feet down in the hollow core of a truncated cone-shaped rock, which still stands within a wired enclosure. Geologists have estimated that it took about 4,000 years for the cone to be formed by the precipitation of salts from the highly mineralized water. George Washington, Philip Schuyler, and Alexander Hamilton visited High Rock Spring in 1783 with the possibility of its exploitation in mind. The UNITED STATES HOTEL, Broadway and Division St., erected in 1875, is an imposing historic souvenir of the heyday of Saratoga. Occupying a site of several acres, the building, designed in the manner of the General Grant period, is a five-story brick structure laid out in the form of an irregular pentagon. The exterior is enriched by an elaborately bracketed three-story porch. The large interior court is ornamented with shade trees, fountains, and walks. The elegance of the period in which it was built is reflected in the marble fireplaces, the massive mirrors, the carved woodwork, and the highly polished wainscoting. The GRAND UNION HOTEL, Broadway between Washington and Congress Sts., occupies almost an entire city block. Similar in style to the United States Hotel, it has pavilions, towers, and mansard roofs. A graceful piazza, three stories high, extends across the entire Broadway front. The interior courtyard has a promenade veranda running along three of its sides. The original structure, called Union Hall, a much smaller building but so pretentious for its day as to be labeled 'Putnam's Folly,' was erected by Gideon Putnam in 1802. In 1872 the property was purchased by A.T.Stewart of New York, who enlarged and renovated the building and gave it its present name. Once the center of Saratoga's social and political life, where Victor Herbert conducted daily concerts, the hotel still preserves an imposing appearance, though, like the United States Hotel, it represents an outmoded era. The STATE DRINK HALL, corner of Spring and Putnam Sts., a high, one-story frame building, contains a public drinking room with free water and table service. CONGRESS PARK, Broadway between Circular and Spring Sts., is approximately 10 acres in area. The Spencer Trask Memorial Fountain was erected by the citizens of Saratoga in tribute to Spencer Trask ( 1844-1909), broker and banker who after his retirement from business became chairman of the Saratoga Springs Reservation. The statue is by Daniel Chester French. Standing on a granite pedestal in an oblong pool against a background of evergreens, a winged bronze figure holding a cup of healing waters typifies the spirit of awakened life in the waters of the springs. The Katrina Trask Peabody Memorial, a granite stairway, is in memory of Katrina Trask, wife of Spencer Trask, who married George Foster Peabody after Trask's death. She died in 1922. The memorial was given by her family and the household of Yaddo. The Casino is a conspicuous red brick building near the center of the park. Formerly owned by Richard Canfield and famed as a gambling house, it now provides quarters for the Saratoga County Historical Society. The middle section, originally a fashionable restaurant, has been converted into a convention hall; the adornments are elaborate, with columns, carvings, and fixtures. The Casino dates to 1870, when John Morrissey ( 1831-78) erected it as an adjunct to the racing attractions and named it the Saratoga Club. Morrissey spent his boyhood in Troy. In his early twenties, he married and moved to New York, where he became a runner for a boarding house, his duty being to entice immigrants to his employer's establishment. Competition was keen, fist-fights were frequent, and Morrissey soon became adept as a rough-and-tumble fighter. He joined the ranks of professional boxers and in 1858 won the American bare-knuckle heavyweight championship by defeating J.C.Heenan in 11 rounds at Long Point, Canada. He retired undefeated. In 1866 Morrissey was elected to Congress from the sixth New York district and served two terms, 1867-71. During his last year as Congressman he opened his clubhouse in Samtoga. In 1875, despite the opposition of the antigambling group, he was elected State senator from the fourth New York district; in 1877 he was reelected from the seventh district. In 1894 Richard Canfield ( 1865-1914) purchased the Saratoga Club for $450,000 and changed its name to the Casino. In renovating the building Canfield outdid himself in lavish and ostentatious decoration. One room, its curved white ceiling flanked by stained glass windows and reflecting the light of a thousand carbon bulbs, is said to have been the world's first example of indirect lighting. Stanford White landscaped the grounds, for which Italian garden accessories were imported. In the Casino fabulous sums were won and lost in 'sky-limit' games, and many 'Monte Carlo suicides' are said to have occurred. Canfield solitaire was originated in the Casino's gaming rooms, and the club sandwich in its kitchen. Public disapproval and politics closed the place in 1907. SKIDMORE COLLEGE, Circular St. between Union Ave. and Spring St., one of the younger colleges for women, was incorporated under its present name in 1922, but its origin can be traced back to 1903 when its founder, Lucy Skidmore Scribner, began her activities in the interest of creative education for women. The college combines liberal arts with specialized courses in the fields of fine and applied arts, health and physical education, home economics, music, nursing, and secretarial science. The campus covers about 10 acres and has 26 buildings. The enrollment averages 750 students. In the Studio Building are exhibits of etchings, prints, pottery, and glass. The SARATOGA RACE TRACK, Union Ave. between Nelson and East Aves., is the scene of internationally famous horse races during August. The flower-decked krandstand, sprawling in the center of a 45-acre landscaped park, extends from the clubhouse to the 'Field' enclosure. The long arcade beneath the long rows of seats contains telegraph offices, refreshment stands, a bar, and a restaurant. A top-deck promenade extends along the upper level. Betting is by pari-mutuel machines. Beyond the lawn, which extends the full length of the grandstand, is the racing strip, a 1 1/8-mile oval. Within the main track is a steeplechase course that includes brush and water jumps. The infield contains an artificial lake on which swans glide beneath the high-arching spray of a fountain. Beyond the track and the trees bordering it is a large group of stables. Across Union Avenue is Horse Haven, a small village of stables and training quarters. The roadways here carry. the names of famous past champions. There are Man O'War Avenue, Roamer Place, and Campfire Court, in memory of the 'departed great whose hoofs have drummed the ancient turf of this testing ground for thoroughbreds.' Beyond Horse Haven is the Oklahoma training track, which is used for morning workouts and which also contains a jumping course. Directly across East Avenue are the sales stables of the Fasig Tipton Company, scene of the annual yearling auctions. Held several evenings during the race meeting, the auctions bring together a heterogeneous gathering ranging from socialites in evening dress to racetrack 'swipes,' come to witness the bidding on future champions and 'also-tans.' Most colorful feature of the Saratoga track is the custom of watching the thoroughbreds being saddled just before post time under towering elms in a large natural paddock. Among annual renewals of traditional races run each August are the Travers, dating back to 1869 and known as the 'laurel wreath of the turf,' and the Hopeful, a $60,000 futurity test for two-year-olds. The colors of practically every prominent racing stable in the United States and Canada are represented in stake events. YADDO, Union Ave., 1/4 mile SE. of the race track, is a private estate dedicated to hospitality for creative artists. The land was first settled by Jacobus Barhyte in 1784. The increasing number of guests who came to partake of his notable trout dinners made necessary the erection of more commodious quarters in 1820. Edgar Allan Poe was a visitor at Barhyte's in 1843 and is said to have written the first draft of The Raven during his sojourn. The estate, which includes 500 acres of land and four lakes, was later purchased and occupied by the Spencer Trasks; it was their young daughter Christina who gave it its name, which she said rhymed with shadow and 'made poetry.' The landscaped grounds, hidden from the road by a dense wood, are ornamented with memorial statues, fountains, and a columned pergola. An Italian garden with more than 100 varieties of roses is at its best in June and early July. On a gentle slope in the background are sequestered studios and the Spencer Trask Mansion, a bulky, rock-cut stone building with tower and parapet suggestive of Norman architecture. After the death of their children, Mr. and Mrs. Trask established the estate as a place where creative artists might 'find the Sacred Fire and light their torches at its flame.' The corporation of Yaddo was formed in 1922 and the first group of artists came in 1926. Among contemporary writers who have worked at Yaddo are Josephine Herbst, Lola Ridge, Evelyn Scott, Albert Halper, Newton Arvin, Raymond Holden, Louis Adamic, and Malcolm Cowley. The SARATOGA SPRINGS RESERVATION, a 1,300-acre tract between South Broadway and Ballston Ave., south of the Avenue of Pines, comprises the Washington and Lincoln Baths, a newer group of Georgian Colonial buildings completed in 1935-6, and Geyser Park. The WASHINGTON BATHS, S.Broadway at the Avenue of Pines, were among the first to provide facilities for mineral water treatments. The single-story structure of halftimber and stucco marks the northern boundary of the Reservation. The wings are equipped with electric bath cabinets, Turkish baths, and Baruch control tables. There are 108 rooms for natural mineral water baths. The LINCOLN BATHS, S.Broadway directly S. of the Washington Baths, were erected in 1930. The two-story building is designed in a modified Renaissance style. The grounds are uniformly landscaped with evergreens, shrubs, and walks. There are 10 electric bath cabinets and four Baruch control tables, as well as extensive facilities for mineral water baths. The AVENUE OF PINES, a one-mile stretch of macadamized road flanked by a thick canopy of pine trees, leads from S.Broadway to the newer section of the spa. Bridle paths parallel the road. The BOTTLING PLANT, corner of Marrin and Ballston Aves., is of red brick in the Georgian Colonial style. Here are bottled the four most widely used waters, Hathorn, Coesa, Geyser, and State Seal. The first three are sparkling and highly mineralized: Hathorn is highly laxative, Coesa less so but valuable in mild cases of catarrh of the digestive tract; Geyser, a table water, is anti-acid and a digestive aid. State Seal is non-sparkling, non-mineral, and approximates distilled water. Visitors watch the bottling processes from a platform. The SIMON BARUCH RESEARCH INSTITUTE, S. of Marrin Ave. at traffic oval, was named for Dr. Simon Baruch, developer of the Saratoga system of cardiac therapy, and houses the laboratories, a library, a little theater, an auditorium, and the administration offices of the entire spa. It is here that experiments are conducted in an effort to discover new ways to utilize mineral waters in the treatment of disease, as well as to explain the origin and efficacy of the waters. Built of Harvard brick with limestone trim and high, steep slate hipped roofs, the structure is Georgian in style. The dominant feature is a Roman Doric portico with pediment. Open arcades lead to end pavilions on both sides. The group of buildings facing the esplanade, of which the institute is one, was designed by Joseph H. Freedlander. The HALL OF SPRINGS, directly across the esplanade, balances the Baruch Institute and harmonizes in exterior design. In the interior, the limestone walls are broken by 16 Casota limestone columns rising from the main floor to the mezzanine. From the ceiling of the main hall are suspended three great silver and crystal chandeliers. At the fountains, Geyser, Hathorn, and Coesa waters are served. Concerts are given during the summer season. The ROOSEVELT BATHS, S. of the Institute and the Hall of Springs, complete the group along the esplanade. Georgian in style, with entrance loggias, the two one-story red brick buildings embody the most modern advances in curative work, and are so planned that wings can be added to increase their capacity to any desired extent. The East House has 20 private mineral bathrooms. Some of the rooms have especially designed apparatus with which crippled patients are lifted in and out of tubs. Besides the usual hydrotherapy and electrotherapy sections, the East House has a mudpack section, in which mud of exceptional properties and heat-retaining quality found on the reservation is used for baths. The West House contains 40 mineral bathrooms; in the south wing are the inhalation and mechanotherapy sections. The RECREATION UNIT, S. of Marrin Ave., is a symmetrical group of four buildings in the Georgian Colonial style surrounding an interior court 150 feet by 220 feet. The swimming pool contains filtered and heated water. A water sports program is presented occasionally during the season. Directly across from the administration building is a gymnasium, with complete units for men and women. On the north side is the bathhouse. There are also eight tennis courts, facilities for archery, and a nine-hole therapeutic golf course designed to provide medically approved exercise. The GIDEON PUTNAM HOTEL, Markin Ave. N. of the Recreation Unit, named in honor of Saratoga's pioneer hotel builder, was erected by the Saratoga Springs Authority but is privately operated. It comprises fewer than 100 rooms. Designed in the Georgian Colonial style by Marcus T. Reynolds, the structure is of red brick with white wood trim. Its main feature is the front loggia with six Corinthian columns rising three stories and supporting a roof terrace. Murals depict early Saratoga events and scenes from the spa; the style of the furnishings and decorations is extremely modern. The GEYSER PARK section of the spa lies south of the bottling plant. The park is skillfully landscaped without formality. Its beauty is enhanced by the tumbling waters of Geyser Creek, which winds through growths of conifers and birches. Miles of shaded walks'and bridle paths lead through groves and vales and past spouting springs. HAYES SPRING and ISLAND SPOUTER are west of the concrete bridge spanning Geyser Creek. On the knoll above the fountain is a summer house available for luncheon parties. A footpath leads to the Champion Geyser and the falls of Geyser Creek. ORINDA SPRING, N. of Hayes Spring, with covered picnic site opposite, is a secluded spot in a rustic setting. The water of KARISTA SPRING, S. of Hayes Spring, tastes somewhat of iron and is not highly gaseous. FERNDALE GLEN, on the east bank of Geyser Brook, is a winding lane with small rustic bridges crossing the narrow brooklet which the path follows. It ends at a natural non-mineralized spring at the summit of a knoll. The path is shaded by a canopy of giant trees and bordered with ferns and flowers. The NEW YORK STATE TREE NURSERY, Marrin Ave. E. of the Gideon Putnam Hotel, is the largest nursery of its type in the United States. The project, started under the auspices of the New York State Conservation Department at Coesa Spring in 1910, now embraces a 230-acre plot with an average of 65,000,000 seedlings annually, which are marketed commercially and used to reforest idle lands in the State. Young trees can be obtained for the reforestation of private lands in the State at little or no cost. City Park, Saratoga Springs, New York Art Print Buy at AllPosters.com