North Broadway

North Broadway is the residential end of Broadway, where the street leaves the shops behind at Van Dam Street and runs north toward Skidmore College past some of the largest houses in Saratoga Springs. Many were built in the late 1800s by families who came for the springs and the racing and wanted a house on the city’s best street. The whole stretch is part of the Broadway Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1979, which covers about a mile of Broadway and North Broadway. It is quiet, it is expensive, and it is still close enough to walk downtown for dinner.

Where it is

North Broadway starts where Routes 9 and 50 split off from Broadway at Van Dam Street and continues north to the Skidmore campus at 815 North Broadway. The historic district even crosses a short way into the Town of Greenfield past the city line, where the road becomes Glen Mitchell Road. Downtown is directly south, and the West Side and the East Side sit on either flank. The neighborhood is within Saratoga Springs.

What to know if you’re moving here

A house on North Broadway is a house with a history and a maintenance budget to match.

• Most houses are large Victorians and early 20th-century revival styles on deep lots. The architect R. Newton Brezee designed 628 North Broadway in 1887.
• The district is also a local historic district, so porches, windows, roofs and additions go through the city’s design review.
• Heating and maintaining a house this size and age is a real line item. Get the utility history before you fall for the woodwork.
• Skidmore anchors the north end, so student traffic, move-in weekends and campus events are part of life at that end of the street.
• Schools are in the Saratoga Springs City School District, and elementary assignments go by address. Check the district’s zone map.

What to do if you’re visiting

The best way to see North Broadway is on foot, north from Van Dam Street, then back down to Broadway for a meal.

• Walk the length of the street for the houses. Most are private homes, so enjoy them from the sidewalk.
• At the north end, Skidmore College is at 815 North Broadway.
• On campus, the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery runs exhibitions open to the public.
• Concerts and recitals at the Arthur Zankel Music Center are another reason to go up the hill. Check the college calendar for dates.

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