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How hundreds of local volunteers transformed Saratoga Springs.

Introduction

This series of short essays was created to show how important volunteers have been in the development of Saratoga Springs.

The Plan of Action

Decades after its launch, the Plan of Action is a distant memory for the many residents who participated, but its living legacy is a Saratoga Springs' thriving downtown.

Urban Renewal

The effect of urban renewal on the national scene was legislation favoring both neighborhood preservation and economic development, and the emergence of a grassroots reaction that ignited the historic preservation movement, so widely accepted today.

Historic Preservation

The struggling city of 1970 has been given new and vibrant life by that winning combination of public and private efforts and monies through the efforts of its own residents.

Skidmore College

With a national reputation, Skidmore College is in every way a central institution in Saratoga life.

Union Avenue

What could have been a disaster for Saratoga Springs, was changed into a major asset by one man, a caring bank, and historic tax credits.

The Holiday Inn

Over fifty years later, the Holiday Inn remains a center of both convention and tourism business and a symbol of the resolute belief of Saratogians that with hard work and commitment, they can control their city’s destiny.

North Broadway

North Broadway is again what its developers intended it to be: the most desirable and elegant residential neighborhood in the city.

Empire State College

Throughout the state, the nation, and the world, there are almost 60,000 graduates who have achieved their academic goals through Saratoga Springs’ pioneering Empire State College.

Congress Park

An elaborate landscape imposed on a curious sheltered valley in the midst of a growing city, the park displays superb ornamental sculpture and other features added over many generations.

YMCA

From small beginnings, Saratoga’s YMCA has grown into a dynamic community asset through the hard work and financial gifts of the city’s activist citizens.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

More than fifty years after its opening night, SPAC remains Saratoga Springs’ preeminent cultural institution.

The City Center

Through convention business, Saratoga Springs had permanently broken its old reputation of “The August Place to Be.” It is now “The Year-Round Place to Be."

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce

Over half a century Saratogians have come to count on the Chamber of Commerce to identify and address the issues that affect the community’s vitality. And it hasn’t stopped innovating.

The Saratoga Economic Development Corporation

It brought together private business and government—successfully. Without the innovative model of SEDC, Saratoga County’s economy in 2019 would far less healthy and dynamic.