You might think the staff of the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center spend their time giving directions to the track or SPAC, but a stop at their historic building at 297 Broadway would prove otherwise.
“Most people think of (us) as a place to pick up brochures. We do that but we do much more than that. As a designated heritage area, our mission is to promote economic growth of the region,” said Program Coordinator Johnnie Roberts.
That’s accomplished through a variety of programming taking place in the center, in the schools and around town. The Spa City has a long and varied history, as does the Visitor Center.
The building itself was originally part of the Hudson Valley Trolley Company and was built to be a trolley station. In the early 1900s, the railroad was on Railroad Place.
“They wanted to keep the trolleys off of Broadway, so the company said, ‘We’ll build you the most beautiful trolley station in the northeast.’ They kept their promise,” said Roberts.
The building was built in 1915 in the Beaux Arts style, whichw as very much in vogue in that era.
Characteristics of the style include flat roofs, arched windowsand doors, and classical details.
“It also took into consideration the history of the town, specifically the Native American roots, which is a little unusual if you think about it. The chandeliers of our main area have Native American spearheads with an icon of thunder, an icon of power and four beautiful murals of the springs, one of a Native American family which ultimately became the city’s seal,” said Roberts.
Once the trolleys stopped running, the state took over the building in 1941 and renovated it into a drink hall where people would come to drink Saratoga waters. Later, in 1974, the building was placed on the Registerof National Historic Places.
In 1987 the visitor’s center opened under the management of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation. In 1989, the city took over operationof the visitor’s center and made it part of the mayor’s office.
Today, the center’s staff spend a lot of time fielding questions.
“It’s more than telling people where to stay or dine, there’s an educational commitment. We show a movie called ‘Discover Saratoga.’ It’s a little bit dated but it gives history of the town. We have people at the front desk with many resources to share and an entire room of brochures,” said Roberts.
Tours of the building are also provided, which take about fifteen minutes.
Saratoga is a destination, and as such is host to many folks passing through on their way to Lake Placid, or to Canada from New York City or Boston.
“We get to snag people who don’t even know they’re going to spend the night here. They get so much personal service and carefully prepared information to help them in their travels,” said Roberts.
One of the more peculiar requests at the center was for driving directions to Mexico.
“We also serve our community. We have regular exhibits, one we have right now is about Solomon Northrup and that went back up because Brad Pitt is making a move about Solomon Northrup,” said Roberts.
The center also gives Brown Bag Lunch programs through the Library and works in conjunction with the History Museum and the Racing Museum on what is called HHH, for Health, History and Horses. Additionally, the center assists area schools with their fourth grade syllabus as it relates to teaching students about local history, giving walking tours of Congress Park and the History Museum.
Through History Legends and Lore, the center also gives guided walking tours of the park to the general public during the summer that covers 200 years of history in ninety minutes.
Margaret McIntyre has just started working at the center and and finds her new role, which includes coordinating with area schools, exciting.
“I’m still in the process of compiling a new list, and expanding our (school) outreach,” said McIntyre of connecting to area schools.
She hopes to collaborate with Shenendahoa, Clifton Park, GlensFalls, Wexford, Northville and Galway school districts.
“Basically I want to hit everybody in Saratoga County and then do some more outreach in outlying areas like Albany,” said McIntyre.
The Saratoga Visitor Center is located at 267 Broadway and isopen 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. onSunday. Hours are limited between Thanksgiving and Memorial Day.
