Walking Directions: Walk down Congress towards the historical plaque on the sidewalk in front of CVS/Congress Plaza. This area would have been approximately the location of many of the businesses mentioned in this stop.
Introduction to Stop 17
The Story
Congress Street was the entertainment hub of Saratoga Springs in the 1930s and 1940s. This section of Congress had Jack’s Harlem Club, The Moon Glow, The Golden Grill, Dorsey’s Tally Ho Club and Hilltop Inn among others. Jack’s would have been located somewhere between the historical marker and the Embassy Suites Hotel. The original Hattie’s was located on Federal Street across from the hotel.
The clip below features Anita Turner talking about seeing all the celebrities from her grandmother’s porch. Her grandmother, George Lee Johnson Jackson, managed a boarding house at 63 Congress Street in the 1930s. Located behind the Grand Union hotel, the Georgia Jackson Boarding House acted to the waiters and workers at the track and restaurants.
Anita recalls that Congress Street was “quite the pace – so much action”. The following is excepted from “Dublin Revisited”: “Anita saw and heard first hand all these famous entertainers who came to Saratoga and created a Little Harlem in the early days – so much going on. It was a grand, grand time.”
Listen
Anita Turner talks about Peg Leg Bates and the celebrities who performed at the clubs and venues on Congress Street in the 1930s and 40s.
West Side Heritage Tour 