Skip to main content

Saratoga Automobile Museum - Saratoga Springs, New York

 


Within the friendly confines of the Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, there is quite a bit to see and do. Among the Roosevelt Baths, the spas, the geysers, the walking trails and even the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, just to name a few places, there are a few museums to be found in well. One of those museums, located in the historic Saratoga Bottling Plant, is the Saratoga Automobile Museum. So one foggy day while I was in Saratoga Springs over the holidays to buy some locally famous Peppermint Pigs as Christmas gifts for family and friends, I decided to swing by the Saratoga Automobile Museum and see its collection of cars.

Once inside and after I had paid my admission, I was greeting by a very knowledgeable staff member who gave me a tour around the museum, giving me plenty of details about the museum and the main attraction of the museum itself, which is the collection of unique automobiles that make up the museum. After he explained the history and the car exhibits around the two floors of the museum to me, I was encouraged to explore the museum myself and take some pictures along the way. Since the museum has rotating exhibits, on the day I went, one floor had an exhibit of cars loaned by the staff members and volunteers that work at the museum, because after all, they love cars too and are happy to show them off. The second floor had an exhibit dedicated to the history of cars built in New York State in the days of yore, along with the history of race cars in the Empire State. Spending time in the museum was a great way to spend a little time. Let's see some of the nice cars that fill the museum, shall we...

1958 Chevrolet Impala convertible.
1925 Ford Model T popcorn truck, one of only two of its kind in existence. It was essentially the food truck of its day and spent its days in the food industry in the beautiful small town of Cambridge, New York, not far from the border with southern Vermont. The food truck tradition continues in Cambridge today with the wildly popular King Bakery Donut Cart.
The truck served popcorn and other types of snacks and light lunch fare.
A vintage Ford Model T, showing the weathering of time.
Looks like a fun ride, even in the back.

An early 1966 Volvo.

A Lotus!

A reminder that the museum was once a bottling plant.

A newer model Corvette.
A car from the 1930s made for the upper crust of society...

...since it included a small bar and liquor cabinet in the back seat. Try getting away with that today.

1910 Maxwell


More like a horseless carriage than a car. I can't remember which make or year this car was.

New York State has a rich history of auto racing, right from the early Vanderbilt Cup Races days and beyond.


Richard Petty's race car, which he used at Watkins Glen.


Dyson racing car.
Amphicar. Half boat, half car. Notice the propellers in the back.

Amphicar. Can go on roads and lakes.
The children's area of the museum, which includes a soap box derby car.
I also stumbled upon a small gallery in the museum that features paintings involving cars. Here's a few of them.



Back down to the first floor of cars.

The front of this car is patriotic.

I just really liked this photo.

One of a few remnants of the bottling plant era.
Now that the tour is done, here is a Saratoga Automobile Museum themed horse statue in front of the museum.I hope you enjoyed your tour of the museum as much as I have.



How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
Saratoga Automobile Museum - Saratoga Automobile Museum
Saratoga Automobile Museum - Discover Saratoga
Saratoga Automobile Museum - Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitors Center


Update Log:
January 25, 2020: Published original article to Unlocking New York.
August 25, 2021: Transferred article from Unlocking New York to Gribblenation.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains

US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso, Texas and Carlsbad, New Mexico passes through the Guadalupe Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise the highest peaks of Texas which are largely protected as part Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The automotive highway through the Guadalupe Mountains was constructed in the late 1920s as part of Texas State Road 54.  US Route 62 was extended from Carlsbad through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso during 1932.  US Route 62 was joined in the Guadalupe Mountains by US Route 180 in 1943.  The Guadalupe Mountains comprise a portion of the 130 mile "No Services" zone on US Route 62/US Route 180 between El Paso-Carlsbad. Part 1; the history of US Route 62 and US Route 180 in the Guadalupe Mountains The Guadalupe Mountains lie within the states of Texas and New Mexico.  The Guadalupe Mountains essentially is a southern extension of the larger Rocky Mountains.  The Guadalupe Mountains is the highest range in Texas with the peak elevati

Paper Highways; unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz

This edition of Paper Highways examines the unbuilt California State Route 100 in Santa Cruz. The History of Unbuilt California State Route 100 The route that became CA 100 was added to the State Inventory in 1959 as part of the Freeway & Expressway System as Legislative Route 287 .  According to CAhighways.org the initial definition of LRN 287 had it begin at LRN 5 (CA 17) and was defined over the below alignment to LRN 56 (CA 1) through downtown Santa Cruz. -  Ocean Street -  2nd Street -  Chestnut Street For context the above alignment would required tearing down a large part of the densely populated Santa Cruz.  A modern Google imagine immediately reveals how crazy an alignment following Ocean Street, 2nd Street, and Chestnut Street would have been. LRN 287 first appears on the 1960 Division of Highways State Map . In 1961 the definition of LRN 287 was generalized to; from LRN 5 via the beach area in Santa Cruz to LRN 56 west of the San Lorenzo River. 

New Mexico State Road 7 (Carlsbad Caverns Highway)

New Mexico State Road 7 is approximately a seven-mile highway in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County. New Mexico State Road 7 connects US Route 62/US Route 180 at Whites City to the visitor center of Carlsbad Caverns National Park via Walnut Canyon. The so-called Carlsbad Caverns Highway to the National Park visitor center complex was constructed following the designation of the namesake National Monument in 1923. The current iteration of New Mexico State Road 7 was designated by the New Mexico State Highway Commission during June 1929. A proposal once was once floated to connect New Mexico State Road 7 to a cavern drive which would have been blasted into Big Room. Part 1; the history of New Mexico State Road 7 What are now Carlsbad Caverns was explored in the Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County by local Jim White during 1898.  White explored the caverns via a homemade ladder and named several of the more notable rooms.  The name "Carlsbad Caverns" was derived from the