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For well over a century, SARATOGA SPRINGS
, just 42 miles north of Albany on I-87, was very much the place
to be seen for the northeast's richest and most glittering names.
At first, the town's curative waters were the main attraction;
then John Morrisey, an Irish boxer, transformed things by opening
a racecourse and casino during
the 1860s. At one time, the Morgans, Vanderbilts and Whitneys
all had houses in the town, and Diamond Jim Brady, the flashiest
among the 1920s nouveau riche, was one of its most ostentatious
visitors. Saratoga Springs retains the feel of an exclusive vintage
resort during the August horse racing season, but for the rest
of the summer it is accessible, affordable and fun. Broadway
, the main axis, takes in just about every aspect of the modern
town from lurid motel signs to the Gothic and Renaissance residential
palaces on the northern tip of downtown; most of the town's many
good bars are here or in the few blocks just east. The carefully
cultivated Congress Park , off South Broadway,
laid out for the curistes , remains a shady retreat from town
center traffic. Three of the original mineral springs still flow
up to the surface here, funneled out into drinking fountains (the
water is tepid and salty, but some people swear by it). Also here
is the original casino , which when built formed
part of a whole city block; it now houses a small historical museum
(May-Sept Mon-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm; Oct-April Wed-Sat 10am-4pm,
Sun 1-4pm, closed Dec-Jan; $3; tel 518/584-6920). The racetrack
(season runs late July through August, post time 1pm; grandstand
$2; tel 518/584-6200) still functions in a rather grand, old-fashioned
manner, though there is no longer a strict dress code (beyond
shirt and shoes) for the grandstand or the clubhouse (no shorts
or tank tops). There's no such pretension at the harness
track on nearby Crescent Avenue (evening meetings several
times a week May-Nov; $2). If you can't get to either, visit the
array of paintings, trophies and audiovisual displays at the National
Museum of Racing and Thoroughbred Hall of Fame on Union
Avenue at Ludlow Street (Mon-Sat 10am-4.30pm, Sun noon-4.30pm;
$7; tel 518/584-0400). On the southern edge of town, green Saratoga
State Park (daily 8am-dusk; $4 per car) presents opportunities
to swim in great old Victorian pools, picnic, hike or even bathe
in one of two bathhouses (Wed-Mon 9am-4pm; tel 518/583-2880).
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (tel 518/587-3330)
- or SPAC - was built during the 1960s in a successful attempt
to revive the town's fortunes. As well as being home to the New
York City Opera in June, the New York City Ballet in July and
the Philadelphia Orchestra in August, it hosts the Newport Jazz
Festival in late June and promotes rock concerts by big-name stars.
