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Saratoga Springs, New York, circa 1908. "Congress Hall and Broadway." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
I lived in Saratoga for 12 years, beautiful place. Some of Broadway still looks like this as the town refuses to let the likes of Wal-Mart in to keep the old world charm. Beautiful place in the summer when the horse races are in town.
Dave,
I love you. This site, and the pictures are magnificent.
Thank you!!
On the left side of Broadway is the porch-lined facade of the Grand Union Hotel, first built in 1802 and demolished in 1953. This hotel was the scene of the celebrated "Second Battle of Saratoga" in 1877. Joseph Seligman, the Wall Street banker, was refused accommodations when he arrived because the hotel's new owner, Judge Henry Hilton, had decided to bar Jews from his establishment. This became a major scandal and the first major incident of social anti-Semitism in America.
Those other plants with the palms are rubber trees (Ficus elastica). Don't get too close to them or they can make the back of your knee itchy.
What on earth are they selling in the Novelty Shop? The fellow walking through the door appears to be hiding his face, while the elderly gent outside is straining his neck to get a peek at the Novelty Shop merchandise without being spotted by the employees.
It seems that at the turn of the 20th century, palms of some kind or another were de rigueur for hotels and even office buildings. We have a lovely example of this here on the long porch of Congress Hall. I see that there are also what look like some rhododendrons thrown in for good measure as well.
Interesting Corinthian columns and arches as well.
Is the architectural feature on the front referred to as a portico? It is a grand looking element of the building.
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