Old brick sidewalks...

Original brick sidewalks... A dying sight, sad to say. See where the driveway was repaved, and the bricks are new? And they look different from the old...

And the old bricks no longer lie perfectly flat...

This old one tends to dip down, in the middle of this narrower stretch.

And grass will grow between the bricks. All of which, adds character... :-)

But sadly, people today are pulling up the original forms of sidewalks, along this stretch of N. Broadway. Replacing them with slabs of concrete. Probably safer to walk on. But, just not the same. Just not as.... "pretty."

A picture of "Old Smoke"

This is a photo of a picture of John Morrrissey, hanging in a local restaurant.
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Was... Isn't any more.

This old building was a Feed Store. Grain, seeds, feed, hay, yard supplies, farm supplies, plants, flower seeds, etc., etc., etc., could be purchased there. A kind of a city landmark. Right next to an old Pub, which is also a city landmark. Well, the Pub is still there. But the Feed Store has moved. Out past the Mall. -sigh-

But word is ~ this old place won't be simply torn down. That's hopeful. In some way, it will become the 'front' of a codominium complex. {Like apartments or flats... but you don't rent them... you buy them outright} How this will be done, don't know. Even IF this will be done, don't know. We can hope... That the new owners will semi-preserve the look of the old traditional front, in some way... Time will tell.
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Details, on high...

More of those pretty details, up high, which used to be put on houses, around here.
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Remembering what Spring looks like...

Remembering...

Remembering...

Remembering, what Spring looks like...
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The Historic Armory...

The historic armory in Saratoga Spgs.

It was designed by Isaac Perry, and constructed in 1889. It's a fine example of armory architecture that was popular in upstate New York in the late 1800’s.
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The old Rail Road Station

This building was the original railroad station. The tracks ran just to the right of this picture.

Later, this station was abandoned and a new station was built. Farther down the tracks a bit and on the other side of them.

That one is now gone, and the station is outside of the city now.

But this original one, was saved, and restored. As apartments.

Another happy ending...
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Inside... Today.

Inside the old drug store... Today.
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Preservation

Click on pic, to enlarge

One of those lovely old structures, saved by having business and offices in it now. It was originally the Saratoga Spgs. Hospital. Now it houses offices and a gown shop. The display window of which, can be seen in front.

I love this building, which faces on Franklin Square. Which {Square} has numerous large old houses/buildings around it. A beautiful spot in our city.

I love it that the gown shop does tasteful displays. Always 3 gorgeous gowns in this display window. {There seems to be a sign, in the middle gown spot, at the present} Beautiful, tasteful, lovely, classic, fantastic gowns! :-) And I expect it to remain there, since it's been there for a long time, now.

Other tenants are probably offices. Which is fine, also. All I care about is the appearance, from the street. And that the inside is maintained also.

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Old store...

This is an old photo, of family drug store, hanging in store.

We are having lots of snow and now some wind. Had a slight power failure, a few minutes ago. If I'm still able to be on line, I'll be back with more snow pics, later. :-)

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In January... Do you remember?

In January...
Do you remember...
a Poppy in the Summer sunshine?

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In January...
Do you remember...
Hydrangeas blossoms, in Summer rain?

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Almost a theme today... Restaurants/Pubs

{Below} You approach the old building, which originally was a real Firehouse.
This below, is the outdoor patio eating area, in Summer time.The building now houses both a restaurant and a rug store.

Approaching the restaurant entrance...
The door in... Yes, it's open, but the ambiance is very dimly lit, so to speak.

'Peppermint Pig'

'The Peppermint Pig'

Old Fashioned Penny Scale

Click on pic, for larger view

When was the last time you saw an old fashioned 'Weight-Yourself-For-A-Penny' scale? It's been a long time, I'll bet. This one is in our Family Corner Drug Store. The tiles on the step of the scale, are the same tiles as the floor. Which {floor} was installed when they built the building in 1871.

The story of the Trout Pond...

Above, is a side view of the Canfield Casino in Congress Park. It has a beautiful large room, which was used both as a ball room and as a restaurant.

Below, is another shot of the pond outside, as it looks today.

The story goes that when The Casino was in "its Hey-Day" {meaning, when it was a very popular place}, the pond contained beautiful trout, swimming happily. If a lady wished to dine on trout, she and her escort could accompany a kitchen person, out to the pond, and pick out 'her' dinner trout. The kitchen person would scoop out the chosen trout with a net, and hurry into the kitchen with it. While the lady and her escort returned to the dinning room to await their dinner. "What unique fun!" "Picking out my own trout for dinner!"

But....

Unbeknown to the lady, when the kitchen person hurried in with the trout, he promptly 'plopped' the fish into a smooth tiled tube, the incline of which carried the fish back out to the bottom of the pond. And he resumed his life of swimming... And the chef fixed an already prepared trout, for the dinner. :-)

Old Wood Work, rescued...

Please click on and enlarge the pictures. To see the original tile floor.

Previously, I told you some, about the beginnings of the Old Drug Store. Now I will show you a bit, from inside this same store, today.

The old wood work, shown here, was the backing of the original soda fountain. Long in storage. And found again, years later. {A little bit like the story of the Signs of the Zodiac windows...} My husband restored broken parts, and refinished the whole. And it is now back where it originally stood . The working soda fountain was removed, years ago. But this beautiful old hand carved wood work is again, in use.

So that's another story of Saratoga Spgs. Maybe someday, I'll tell the story of this being found. :-)

More yummies...

Shots taken inside the old Gas/Filling Station, which was moved,
and turned into a Bakery and a Lunch spot.

Back = Front... Front = Back

This picture below shows this house, as seen from the street....

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This picture below, shows this house, as seen from the back ally, over a high stone wall...

If you compare them, you'll notice that the back yard view, has a more ornate facade. Four pillars and two porches and the like. What you see from the street, just has one little ol' door. And that was for a purpose.

Years ago, the man who built this home, was mad at the city for some reason. And he built his home, with its back to the street. And its front, turned to the back yard, and away from the street. He was figuratively "turning his back on the city." Really.
Isn't that an interesting tid-bit? :-)

I love stuff like this...