Spa Lodging WRITTEN BY BILL ORZELL
S
aratoga Springs has attracted tourists and visitors for centuries. The Queen of the Spas with her mineral waters, along with the spectacle of Thoroughbred racing and attendant sales, has long been a sustaining economic engine. The community is also home to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Many have traveled here, from across the globe, to participate.
The Washburne House on Washington Street in Saratoga Springs. Saratoga Springs souvenir c. 1906. Courtesy of Library of Congress Collection.
Legendary hotels once stood along Broadway to accommodate the summer crowds, large and opulent; it is fascinating to consider their history. Yet also intriguing were the lesser lodgings, situated away from the main thoroughfare, and mostly seasonal. One such location was the Washburne House at 39-41 Washington Street, a federal-style structure which began serving the public in 1878. The proprietor touted the 100 rooms available in a delightful central location surrounded by a fetching lawn, convenient to the Springs, and handsomely furnished with all the modern improvements. Mr. Washburne’s advertisements assured his potential customers that his table and appointments were strictly firstclass. Prominent local philanthropists Spencer and Katrina Trask, just prior to his unexpected 1909 death, purchased the Washburne House and 140 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | SUMMER 2022
The Empire Hotel on Grove Street & Maple Avenye in Saratoga Springs. Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Digital Commonwealth Collection.
made it a gift to the nearby Bethesda Episcopal Church for use as a Parish House and Sunday School. Another “off-the-beaten-path” establishment where many Spa tourists gravitated was the Vermont House operated by Clarissa and Benjamin Dyer, who had relocated from the Green Mountain State to the corner of Grove and Front Streets. These street names do not register on our maps today, as Grove Street is now known as Ellsworth Jones Place, and Front Street was renamed Maple Avenue, the present-day site of the Saratoga Springs City Center. This spot was formerly occupied by the Dyer’s temperance boarding house commencing in 1868. In 1871, the Dyers erected a three story brick building, in a hotel style. This structure was further improved in 1875 by adding a mansard fourth story and roof top solarium. Clarissa, widowed in 1877, continued operation
The Kensington Hotel on Union Avenue at Regent Street in Saratoga Springs. Detroit Publishing Catalogue (1901-1906). Library of Congress Control Number 2106808887
of the Vermont House on her own. A succeeding proprietor, Mr. R.D. McDonald, advertised the hotel as accommodating 100 guests and that “our tables will be as good as any.” Early in the twentieth century the structure was renamed the Empire Hotel. The hotel was close to the Empire, Star and High Rock Springs and would seasonally advertise as “the old Reliable House.” This domicile operated for many years, graciously providing for generations of customers, later offering a kosher kitchen. In the late 1940s the Empire Hotel was one of a number in Saratoga Springs that offered “free entertainment and Jewish theatrical shows for patrons.” In October 1973, the building sustained a damaging fire, and material destruction to the third and fourth floors. The City Center replaced this venerable facility on the same location, and welcomed its first guest in 1984. saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
