Art
By the 1870s, Saratoga Springs had become America's most fashionable summer resort. Wealthy families abandoned their city homes for weeks or months, seeking mineral springs believed to cure ailments and offer social escape. This gathering place shaped how ordinary Americans imagined leisure and community.
Art · Full story
The piazzas are crowded with women in light summer dresses, men in linen suits fanning themselves against the heat. You smell the sulfurous mineral water and fresh-cut flowers. Carriages roll past continuously—everyone here is someone, or wants to be.
Reflect
How do you escape your everyday life? What role does travel or gathering places play in your own summer?