Bicycle Map of Saratoga Springs
Dublin Core
Title
Bicycle Map of Saratoga Springs
Date
1944
Language
English
Creator
Burbeck, Louise G.
Wiles, F. Elizabeth
Wiles, F. Elizabeth
Map Item Type Metadata
Creator - Organization
Skidmore College
Date Depicted (Display)
ca 1944
Date Published (Display)
ca 1944
Abstract (& Historical Note)
In 1944, two Skidmore professors reimagined traveling around the city to visit attractions and highlighted other physical activities the city had to offer. The "Bicycle Map of Saratoga Springs-Skidmore College" was created by faculty members L[ouise G.]. Burbeck and B. [F. Elizabeth] Wiles for students, city residents and visitors alike.
Streets are drawn in greater detail closer to Broadway and less detail farther away from the center of town. Emphasis is on the roads, but the railway and waterworks (today's road to Wilton) are still on the map.
This map is not just about bicycling. It encourages all sorts of outdoor movement. All over the map sketch figures of humans (mostly women, like Skidmore's student body) and animals engage in an activity connected to an area in or around town. These include: skiing, ice skating, golfing, walking, biking, swimming, gardening, fishing, hiking and tennis.
With all these healthy options presented, is it surprising to learn that the mapmakers were the College's physical education (Burbeck) and drama (Wiles) teachers? (It's perhaps good news that they weren't in the English department, as the indications for "Yaddow" and the "Cemetary" attest).
The map also offers directions, with a compass, to other towns and cities near Saratoga Springs such as Albany, Schenectady, Cornith, Glens Falls, and Schuylerville. Did the guidance help bicyclists imagine longer trips or help orient the map reader?
The bicycle map tells the story of not just the needs of a small city being addressed but also the entire nation. In 1941 America entered WWII, and while most of the war was fought overseas, rations affected what American citizens could and could not use, including gasoline, metal, rubber, and glass--all key elements in forms of transportation. (E. Scaglia, '15)
Streets are drawn in greater detail closer to Broadway and less detail farther away from the center of town. Emphasis is on the roads, but the railway and waterworks (today's road to Wilton) are still on the map.
This map is not just about bicycling. It encourages all sorts of outdoor movement. All over the map sketch figures of humans (mostly women, like Skidmore's student body) and animals engage in an activity connected to an area in or around town. These include: skiing, ice skating, golfing, walking, biking, swimming, gardening, fishing, hiking and tennis.
With all these healthy options presented, is it surprising to learn that the mapmakers were the College's physical education (Burbeck) and drama (Wiles) teachers? (It's perhaps good news that they weren't in the English department, as the indications for "Yaddow" and the "Cemetary" attest).
The map also offers directions, with a compass, to other towns and cities near Saratoga Springs such as Albany, Schenectady, Cornith, Glens Falls, and Schuylerville. Did the guidance help bicyclists imagine longer trips or help orient the map reader?
The bicycle map tells the story of not just the needs of a small city being addressed but also the entire nation. In 1941 America entered WWII, and while most of the war was fought overseas, rations affected what American citizens could and could not use, including gasoline, metal, rubber, and glass--all key elements in forms of transportation. (E. Scaglia, '15)
Repository
Special Collections and Archives, Lucy Scribner Library, Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Scope
City
Type
Road maps
Pictorial maps
Theme
Transportation
Recreation
Subject - Details
Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)--Broadway
Saratoga Racecourse (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Saratoga Spa State Park (N.Y.)
Iconography--sports
Inconography--horse
Iconography--mineral springs
Iconography--race track
Oklahoma Track (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Greenridge Cemetery (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Yaddo (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Lake Lonely (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Compass rose
Saratoga Racecourse (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Saratoga Spa State Park (N.Y.)
Iconography--sports
Inconography--horse
Iconography--mineral springs
Iconography--race track
Oklahoma Track (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Greenridge Cemetery (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Yaddo (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Lake Lonely (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Compass rose
Subject - Geographic
Saratoga Springs (N.Y.)--Maps
Subject - Organization
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)
Physical Dimensions
31 x 42 cm
Scale
Scale unknown
Record Creation Date
6/11/2014
3/26/2015
3/26/2015
URL
Original record at http://cdm15968.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15968coll2/id/39
Collection
Citation
Burbeck, Louise G.
Wiles, F. Elizabeth, “Bicycle Map of Saratoga Springs,” Skidmore Saratoga Memory Project, accessed January 31, 2025, https://ssmp.skidmore.edu/document/35.
Item Relations
| This Item | dcterms:isVersionOf | Item: Map of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. |
Social Bookmarking
Embed
Copy the code below into your web page