Here we see a shot of the entrance to Congress Park, or what was known as “Congress Spring Park” c.1905.
In front of the entrance is the Civil War monument, which still graces the parks landscape today. One major difference, from then and now, is the landscape of the park.
During this time, Congress Park was grounds for the Canfield Casino and Saratoga Bottling Plant. As you can tell by the photo, the civil war statue sits in the middle of a circle in the road. The trees and foliage appear to be much denser as well.
It wasn’t until 1913, when the city purchased the hotel and land that made up Congress Spring Park, demolished the bottling plant and changed the landscape of the park to resemble more of what we are familiar with today.
