Avenue of the Pines

Avenue of Pines Saratoga Springs postcard BPL
Avenue of Pines Saratoga Springs postcard – Boston Public Library

Apparently, Saratoga’s Avenue of the Pines has been such for quite some time. It’s unclear when this lovely postcard was made. The name of the avenue can be found in reports of the State Conservation Commission going back into the 1920s. A 1922 report to the Legislature told of the efforts to repave the road:

“A considerable amount of excavation was completed for this [Karista spring to Hathorn No. 2 spring] road, however, in taking gravel for the resurfacing of a portion of the ‘Avenue of the Pines.’ This work of resurfacing was carried out to about 80 per cent of the total length of the Avenue, and all of the heavy summer traffic on the State highway was diverted to our road by a resurfacing job of the City of Saratoga Springs on Ballston Avenue. By the use of calcium chloride to lay the dust and a weekly scraping with a road hone, the Avenue of Pines stood up remarkably well under the large amount of traffic over the main north and south route.”

Still, whenever this postcard was made, it wasn’t 1922, because this is the picturesque view of the Avenue of the Pines that was presented to the Legislature that year:

Avenue of the Pines
Avenue of the Pines

Stately, ain’t it?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *