{"id":57198,"date":"2017-05-20T12:29:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-20T16:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=57198"},"modified":"2022-01-27T14:47:42","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T18:47:42","slug":"the-best-museums-in-saratoga-springs-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/57198\/the-best-museums-in-saratoga-springs-ny\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Museums In Saratoga Springs"},"content":{"rendered":"

A train ride north to Saratoga Springs, New York, is like a time machine that transports visitors back more than 100 years. That\u2019s when Saratoga was just getting its footing. Much of the city\u2019s history still stands today in the form of historic Victorian houses and buildings, including a centerpiece of the city\u2026the Canfield Casino, which is also the Historical Society\u2019s museum. It\u2019s just one of many museums that are easy within walking or bike riding distance from each other.<\/p>\n

The Saratoga Springs History Museum<\/a> is inside the Canfield Casino building, which ran as a gaming mecca from 1870 to 1907. Today, this elegant building in Congress Park houses some of the 15,000 objects of Saratoga\u2019s history preserved in the museum\u2019s collection. Permanent and rotating exhibitions give the details of Saratoga as it grew as a tourist destination, thanks to the extraordinary springs of the area. The building itself is a museum, including original stained glass windows and the elegantly appointed high-rollers\u2019 room. The third floor chronicles the history of the Walworth family, a prominent family with a troubled history.<\/p>\n

\"Saratoga

Gambling in Saratoga was not limited to the tables. Starting in 1864, Saratoga Race Course began its long history of hosting the fastest horses for high-stakes races that today attract tens of thousands of spectators. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame<\/a> tells the tales of the most famous trainers, horses and races through real artifact, from saddles and stable blankets to silks and trophies. Interactive displays show the horse\u2014inside and out\u2014and give visitors a taste of the thrill of a race. Even if horse racing isn\u2019t your \u201cthing,\u201d you\u2019ll get swept up in the art, history and excitement.
\nWhile Saratoga is best knows for flat-track excitement of late summer, harness racing continues throughout the year at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway<\/a>, which also houses the The Saratoga Harness Hall of Fame & Museum<\/a>. From famous silks and stories of harness racing\u2019s pioneers to sulkies of today and yesterday, this museum celebrates the history of harness racing and standardbred horses.<\/p>\n

\"saratoga

Even if you don\u2019t own a car, a visit to the Saratoga Automobile Museum<\/u><\/a> is worth the trip. Opened in 2002, the museum fills the historic Saratoga Bottling Plant<\/a>, built with post-Depression funds awarded by then New York State governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Today, the historic building is packed with cars, dating back to the first autos and racing cars. The New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame also celebrates some of the greats, as well as the heritage of racing in New York State.<\/p>\n

\"Tang

History buffs will enjoy the New York State Military Museum & Veterans Research Center<\/a>, housed in the renovated armory in Saratoga. With more than 10,000 military artifacts, the museum also touts the largest collection of state battle flags, including Civil War flags. Meanwhile, Saratoga National Historic Park<\/a> venues include Saratoga Battlefield, the Saratoga Monument, Victory Woods and the Philip Schuyler House. Together, these sites commemorate the local battles fought and won during the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n

For details on getting to Saratoga<\/a>, where to stay and the best restaurants, view previous articles on OffMetro: Things to Do in Saratoga Springs<\/a> and Five Upstate New York Getaways<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Photo credits:\u00a0Saratoga Automobile Museum,\u00a0National Parks Service,\u00a0Ethan Oringel<\/a>,\u00a0Marcela<\/a>\u00a0and the author<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A train ride north to Saratoga Springs, New York, is like a time machine that transports visitors back more than 100 years. That\u2019s when Saratoga was just getting its footing. Much of the city\u2019s history still stands today in the form of historic Victorian houses and buildings, including a centerpiece of the city\u2026the Canfield Casino, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":57212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[325,831,224,829,837,834,855,769,969,1923,856,846,847,748,1867,1,316],"tags":[116,40,293,280,483,120,110,18,133,204,169],"class_list":{"0":"post-57198","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"category-architecture-culture-2","9":"category-arts","10":"category-culture-2","11":"category-dance-culture-2","12":"category-gardens-culture-2","13":"category-health-2","14":"category-historic-sites-culture","15":"category-locations","16":"category-saratoga","17":"category-spa-health-2","18":"category-theater-culture-2","19":"category-tours-culture-2","20":"category-train-2","21":"category-transit-type","22":"category-uncategorized","23":"category-weekend-getaways","24":"tag-amtrak","25":"tag-art","26":"tag-budget-friendly","27":"tag-cultural-getaway","28":"tag-family-friendly","29":"tag-family-fun","30":"tag-historical-sites","31":"tag-museum","32":"tag-outdoors","33":"tag-train","34":"tag-weekend-getaway"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":57212,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Saratoga-Historical-Park-by-Marcela-e1494864468866-350x197.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}