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Souvenir Floral Festival Sept 4th 1894 (No. 1) at Saratoga Springs & Prospectus of A Greater Saratoga with Views and Plans of Proposed Park,

04 1894 Proposed Park w Captions[1].jpg
The proposed park to be created from the existing valley of the springs
Plan of Proposed Park, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Floral Festival Sept 1894 570.jpg
Floral Festival Sept 1894 Back cover 571.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Souvenir Floral Festival Sept 4th 1894 (No. 1) at Saratoga Springs & Prospectus of A Greater Saratoga with Views and Plans of Proposed Park,

Date

1894

Publisher

The Daily Saratogian

Description

In 1893, wealthy Boston merchant Franklin Webster Smith, a regular summer resident of Saratoga Springs, established The Floral Festival Association of Saratoga Springs as part of his vision for "a greater Saratoga." Attempting to counter Saratoga's popular image as a haven of vice and gambling, Smith urged a number of civic improvments as well as public events including the annual grand floral fĂȘte, featuring a parade and ball, inaugurated in September of 1894. The festival became a popular annual event extending its reach to include a literary and historical conference (added in 1895). By 1902, however, the event became too expensive, and after that fall's festival (which featured 20 huge floats purchased directly from the Mardi Gras in New Orleans and shipped to Saratoga by rail) the floral festivals were discontinued. (cf. Jeff Durstewitz and Teri Blasko "Floral Fete", Saratoga Living Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 2, Summer 2013).

This supplement to the Daily Saratogian both celebrated the first festival and planned for its future.  Click here for an image from the program of the first fete.

Language

eng

Extent

9 x 12 ''
Park : 7.5 x 5.25''
Plan: 7.75 x 4.5 ''

Text Item Type Metadata

Abstract (& Historical Note)

This pictorial view and plan depict Franklin W. Smith's vision of Saratoga Springs in the late nineteenth century. The pictorial map illustrates buildings thought up by F. W. Smith in 1894 for a renovated and renewed future of Broadway and Saratoga Springs. It includes an index of planned buildings including 'Public Spring,' 'Chinese Restaurant,' 'Garden Concert Pavilion,' 'Playstead,' 'Monkey House,' 'Sand Court,' 'Moorish Restaurant,' 'Museum Aquarium,' 'Tennis Court,' 'Public Library,' and an 'Archery Court.'
While Smith designed (des.) both maps, the pictorial view was brought to life by the Albany Engraving Company, whereas the plan was the work of village surveyors and civil engineers Louis H. Cramer and Thomas Eldridge

This is the first time that a planning map includes a plan for a Public Library in Saratoga.

The view is colored and uses foliage to create a vision of Saratoga that could be applied in the future.

Repository

Saratoga Room, Saratoga Springs Public Library
The Saratoga Springs History Museum (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Special Collections and Archives, Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)

Creator - Individual

Smith, Franklin W.
Cramer, Louis H.
Eldridge, Thomas

Creator - Organization

Albany Engraving Co.

Subject - Details

Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)--Broadway
Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)--Downtown--Businesses
Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)--Fiction
Saratoga Springs--Mental Map-- Business
Saratoga Springs--Mental Map-- Drawings

Subject - Geographic

Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)

Subject - Name

Franklin W. Smith

Theme

Property and Development
Travel and Tourism
Civic Life

Record Creation Date

6/11/2014
3/23/2015

Citation

“Souvenir Floral Festival Sept 4th 1894 (No. 1) at Saratoga Springs & Prospectus of A Greater Saratoga with Views and Plans of Proposed Park, ,” Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project, accessed October 11, 2024, https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/document/26.

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