civilized ku # 2983-85 ~ a tale of 3 city areas in pictures (and words)
Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 09:43AM 
Bloody Mary ~ Saratoga Springs, NY • click to embiggen
Tin & Lint Co. ~ Saratoga Springs, NY • click to embiggen
Henry Street Taproom ~ Saratoga Springs, NY • click to embiggen
Saratoga Springs is a very affluent city - 93% white / median income for a family was $91,392, mean income for a family was $114,560. The economy is largely tourism based but it is also home to Skidmore College, Saratoga Spa State Park (to include the Saratoga Performing Arts Center - summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Ballet), and the Saratoga Race Course - the track is the oldest (since 1863) continuously-operating thoroughbred race course in the United States. A course which during its 6-week summer event attracts the top horses, jockeys, and trainers in America. Much of the affluence comes from those who live in Saratoga Springs but work in Albany, NY (the NYS Capital) however there many large industrial employers in the area - Saratoga Spring Water Co. (a division of Anheuser-Busch InBev), Quad/Graphics, offset printers of Time, Newsweek, People, Sports Illustrated and many other magazines, Ball Corporation, makers of the Mason Jar as well as aluminum cans for companies such as Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Stewart's Shops (more than 300 stores throughout New York and Vermont) is headquartered in Saratoga Springs. All of that background info written, here's my point .... I would never ever want to live in Saratoga Springs. The reasons for that are many but the one unavoidable thing about Saratoga Springs which should appeal to me, but actually annoys me, is the Broadway Historic District which is basically the whole of the city's main street. Architecturally, it is quintessentially vintage small town Main Street America. That is to write, right up my alley (or street). However, and unfortunately in my world view, all of that vintage architecture is occupied by national and international luxury-brand retailers and local upscale boutiques and has become an upscale shopping destination for the Albany metropolitan area. For me, it gives the street all the character of a Disneyland-esque Americana-themed shopping mall. Ugh. I can't live with that (and the class of people whom that attracts) for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. All that written, one of the things I do like about Saratoga Springs is that section of central downtown - an approximately 4 block x 4 block of dining and drinking establishments - which does evidence a 3-tiered socioeconomic neighborhood which is much to my liking. A district which in the sheer number of restaurants, pubs and bars crammed into a small area is un-rivaled in my experience (except Fells Point in Baltimore - 120 pubs). IMO, the beauty of that district is the socioeconomic mix to be found there. The section along the Broadway Historic District is dominated by upscale (but not over the top) dining establishments with all of the attendant trendy (not meant to be a negative descriptor) menu selections - see picture of the rather overwrought Bloody Mary as an example of "trendy". A drink which I had in a Max London's Restaurant, in which the wife and I had very tasty Sunday brunch and in which, only days before, a patron ordered 4 pours of Van Winkle bourbon at $150.00 a pour. Enough written about upscale. Walking around any one of the corners on the 4 block upscale of main street to the immediate side street blocks reveals a entirely different example of funky neighborhood eating / drinking establishments - see picture of Tin & Lint Co. (which has its own, albeit since debunked, claim to fame as the birthplace of the song American Pie*) - which are quite a bit lower on the socioeconomic scale of things. Witness the neon signs for distinctly working class beer as opposed to the microbrew beers such as Rushing Duck War Elephant beer found in Broadway District establishments. I suspect that one could drink all evening in one these places for the price of 2 beers around the corner on Broadway. Walking to the end of the funky establishment blocks, you encounter another distinctly different area, albeit leaning more towards the Broadway area than the locals' area - which is home to numerous 20-somethings bars and pubs, some with dining. Many are like the Henry Street Taproom - see picture of patrons - which is a pub based on Scotch and microbrew beers. The clientele in this area is mostly young mid to upper middle class patrons mixed with college kids and you'd be hard pressed to find a Bud Light beer in this area. The wife and I flowed freely around and in these 3 distinctly varied areas and enjoyed it thoroughly. However, I suspect that, in the case of full-time Saratoga Springs residents, their drinking / dining activities are limited to, as befitting their socioeconomic self image, only one of these areas.
Reader Comments (2)
I have always like Saratoga Springs. Yes, there is the pretentious upscale side and some national chain stores, but there is also a good assortment of gritty, authentic and unique too. I look forward to Hatties even though I can't have their fried chicken anymore (but the ribs are good)... and there are some interesting local shops (the music store for example) and, although every town has a spa, here you can soak in a club soda tub (those bubble tickle).
John - Saratoga Springs has its good stuff, the golf course at Saratoga Spa State Park as one example. I would go out of my way to play there. However, as written, I could never live there. And, the people in the service industry are absolutely top notch. Visit on occasion, yes, but not as a getaway destination. There are just too many other locations in the area without the hobnob-ery, not to mention the crowds.