Walking Directions Start in front of 79 Beekman St. and stay on the porch or walk in the garden for both this stop and stop 2.
Introduction to Stop 1
The Story
Saratoga Springs became home to a growing community of Italian immigrants in the late 19th century, many of whom settled along Beekman Street and the surrounding area. Arriving largely from southern Italy, they found employment as laborers, stonemasons, gardeners, shop owners and service workers supporting the city’s booming hotels, racetrack and infrastructure. Beekman Street evolved into a close-knit enclave where Italian language, food and family traditions shaped the daily life of its residents.
Beekman and its surrounding streets were, and still are, truly a neighborhood in the old fashioned sense. People sat on porches in the evening, children played in the street and rode their bikes to town in the summer.
The Italians brought their festivals, foods and traditions. Bocce was a familiar game with a women’s league played at the Principessa Elena Society on Oak St. DeGregory’s Restaurant on Beekman had a bocce court behind the restaurant.
The restaurants played a big role in the lives of the west side residents as they were exclusively family run businesses with all the children working beside their siblings and parents. It was a neighborhood that worked and played together and left an indelible mark on the culture of Saratoga Springs.
Artwork
The artwork above is a 24 x 36 acrylic painting done in the historical narrative painting tradition of Diego Rivera. Each area represents a story or aspect of the Italian immigrant community on the west side. The images below are studies done in preparation for the larger painting and based on family photos provided by neighbors. For more information on the process for developing the artwork please click here.
