West Side Historic District
Also known as: See Also:Franklin Square Historic District
Why it's listed
West of Broadway in Saratoga Springs lies a neighborhood of roughly 500 buildings that served as the home of the city's year-round residents while wealthy tourists stayed on the East Side. Its irregular street pattern comes from two street alignments, Church Street and Van Dam Street, and from early land divisions among the Walton, Putnam and Waterbury holdings. The railroad, opened in the 1830s, made Franklin Square a focal point. Most buildings are houses on lots with 50 to 60 feet of frontage, typically one to two stories, with the gable end facing the street, a side-passage plan, rear ells and a full-width front porch. Outbuildings such as stables and garages follow the same form. Later houses grew larger, and bungalows appeared in the 1930s, but the basic form lasted into the twentieth century. Siding has mostly been replaced, so form, plan, porches, wings and window patterns determine which buildings contribute. The district includes 87 resources already listed in the Franklin Square Historic District.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as the home community of Saratoga Springs' permanent residents, as distinct from the East Side, which housed wealthy summer visitors. Its irregular street plan follows early land divisions and the railroad, and its consistent gable-front house forms show nineteenth-century vernacular architecture in a small city. The documented form lists the building types and plan as the key evidence for contributing status.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 94000258, listed April 4, 1994. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, along Church, Van Dam, State and Washington Sts., Woodlawn and Grand Aves. and Franklin Sq., Saratoga Springs |
|---|---|
| County | Saratoga County |
| Listed | April 4, 1994 |
| Reference number | 94000258 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th Century, Late Victorian, and No Style (mostly vernacular front-gable frame houses) |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Houses are still in use as single and multiple dwellings, with some stores; one former school has been converted to housing. Original siding has mostly been replaced with newer materials. |
| Acreage | 122 |
| Within district | Broadway Historic District |
| Coordinates | 43.08706, -73.78499 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 94000258.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7986511
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.