A Saratoga Springs architecture walk

This guide is a self-guided architecture walk through the historic heart of Saratoga Springs, for residents who want to see their city differently and visitors who like old houses. It covers a loop of about two to three miles from Congress Park through the East Side and Union Avenue, with an optional stretch up North Broadway. Most buildings on the route are private homes, so enjoy them from the sidewalk.

Why this walk

In the 19th century, Saratoga Springs was one of the country’s top resorts. Wealthy summer visitors built grand houses, and the doctors, merchants and hotel managers who served them built scaled-down versions nearby, sometimes with the same architects. Much of that city survives. Five contiguous National Register historic districts cover the older core of Saratoga Springs, and this walk passes through three of them.

Start: Congress Park

Begin at Congress Park, at Broadway and Spring Street. The park and the brick Canfield Casino form a National Historic Landmark district. Congress Spring, discovered in 1792, still runs under its pavilion, and the casino now houses the Saratoga Springs History Museum. If you want a printed map, the visitor center across Broadway at 297 Broadway publishes self-guided tours.

Stop two: Circular Street

Leave the park at its east side and walk north on Circular Street. At 20 Circular Street, the Batcheller Mansion Inn is a High Victorian Gothic mansion with a slate mansard roof, now an inn. It is the building most architecture tours start with, and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce describes it as the first stop in the East Side neighborhood.

Stop three: the East Side

From Circular Street, wander east through the East Side, listed on the National Register in 1982. It covers about 114 acres between Congress Park, Broadway and Union Avenue. Look for:

• Houses by R. Newton Brezee, the local architect who lived on the East Side and designed many homes here, including 105 Lake Avenue (1884), 75 Caroline Street (1885-86) and 114 Caroline Street (1888).
• Narrow alleys behind the main streets, leading to carriage houses and barns that once served the larger homes.
• Porches. Deep front porches are a Saratoga signature, built for summer evenings.

Skidmore College began on the East Side. Lucy Skidmore Scribner founded the Young Women’s Industrial Club in 1902, which became Skidmore School of the Arts in 1911 and Skidmore College in 1922. By 1931 the campus filled much of the western part of today’s district, before the college moved north to its current campus.

Stop four: Union Avenue

Head south to Union Avenue and walk east toward the racetrack. The Union Avenue Historic District, listed in 1978, lines the boulevard with Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Gothic houses built from the 1860s into the early 1900s. At 203 Union Avenue, a Queen Anne house from 1888 is one of Brezee’s works. Several buildings near the park end of the avenue once belonged to Skidmore and now belong to SUNY Empire State University.

At the east end, the grandstand of Saratoga Race Course faces the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at 191 Union Avenue. The walk from Congress Park to the track takes about 20 minutes without stops.

Optional: North Broadway

For a longer walk, return to Broadway and head north past Van Dam Street onto North Broadway, part of the Broadway Historic District listed in 1979. The street is lined with some of the largest Victorian houses in the city. Brezee designed 628 North Broadway in 1887. Keep going to reach Skidmore’s current campus at 815 North Broadway.

Optional: the West Side

For a contrast, cross Broadway to the West Side, where modest 19th-century cottages and two-family houses housed the resort’s workers. Franklin Square, at Division and Franklin streets, has the West Side’s grand exception: Greek Revival houses from as early as the 1830s, including the Hiram Charles Todd House at 4 Franklin Square.

Practical notes

A few tips for the walk:

• Allow two hours for the main loop and another hour for North Broadway.
• Go in late spring or fall for the best light and trees, or after a snowfall for the most dramatic views.
• Avoid race-day afternoons on Union Avenue if you want quiet sidewalks.
• Park in the Putnam Street garage near Congress Park. In 2026 the city charged $2 an hour there from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, with free permits for city residents.

Good to know

Almost every house on this route is a private residence. Stay on public sidewalks and do not enter yards or alleys marked private.

Know something we should add or fix in this guide? Tell us.