{"nrhp_refnum":"00000579","name":"Saratoga Gas, Electric Light and Power Company Complex","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Excelsior Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Saratoga Springs","county":"Saratoga County","state":"NY","lat":43.09060554200005,"lon":-73.77479006053841,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-05-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture","Historic - Non-Aboriginal"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-acre former gasworks and electric power site on Excelsior Avenue at the northeastern edge of Saratoga Springs, New York. It holds a brick gasholder house (ca. 1874), a brick electrical substation (1903), and archeological remains of the gas plant.","why_significant":"It is argued to be significant under Criteria A, C and D as the surviving remains of Saratoga's main utility power production and distribution facility from 1874 to 1928. The gasholder house is one of only 13 extant gasholder buildings in the northeast. The substation is the last building from the site's electric power use. Subsurface remains have yielded and may yield information on coal gasification and the engineering of gasholder siting.","narrative":"Two brick buildings and buried industrial remains survive from a utility complex on Excelsior Avenue at the northern edge of Saratoga Springs. The Saratoga Gas Light Company bought the low-lying site beside Village Brook in 1873 and began making gas from coal in 1874. The surviving gasholder house is a round brick building 70 feet across, with 18-inch walls, six buttresses and a slate conical roof. It sank into a deep layer of clay that sealed the water pit for the gas cylinder. Only 13 such buildings are known to remain in the northeast. A two-story brick substation, built in 1903, recalls the plant's later role in generating and distributing electricity. Archeological studies carried out from 1990 revealed foundations of other gas holders and showed that the site was chosen for its clay, water and rail access. The property is recognized for industry, architecture and archeology between 1873 and 1928.","period_of_significance":"1873-1928","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No style","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use. The gasholder house was later converted to storage and garage use, and its gasometer was removed. Modern electrical transformers and switching equipment stand nearby.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:51.036769-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/00000579.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000579/4904092cc1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000579/4904092cc1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saratoga_Gas,_Electric_Light_and_Power_Company_substation_building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saratoga_Gas,_Electric_Light_and_Power_Company_substation_building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321621","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saratoga_Gas,_Electric_Light_and_Power_Company_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7423361"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/saratoga-county/saratoga-gas-electric-light-and-power-company-complex-00000579/"}