Saratoga Springs and the Pittsburgh Steelers

It's preseason football already, and, I got a little ditty about my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Saratoga Springs.

 The Steelers were founded by Art Rooney, Sr. in 1933. Art was a horse handicapper, and invested $2,500 to purchase the team. He had made a trip up to Saratoga, and won a series of long shot bets, took that money and made the Pittsburgh Steelers. 
https://books.google.com/books?id=yQ1FWZ03ncsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=beyond+the+scoreboard&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP3dr9mLDOAhUDQiYKHQqGAdwQ6AEIJjAB#v=onepage&q=beyond%20the%20scoreboard&f=false
Pittsburgh Gazette
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/96452463/
 Art, four years later, in 1937, came back to Saratoga, and won somewhere around a quarter of a million dollars, and invested more into the ball club. Art, and Giants owner Tim Mara, were avid bookies and gamblers of that era. Eventually, the NFL made them choose one or the other, the Mara family and the Rooney family chose football. The Rooney's own Yonkers Raceway, and the Mara's still have horses that race. 

Saratoga Springs is home to the National Museum of Dance. I guess it's ballet, because I didn't see any mosh pit relics or articles of twerking, but all kinds of ballet stuff. They currently have a theme of Sports and Athletics on display.

Ballet is used often by athletics of all sorts. It seems to mix with everything from fencing, to hockey and football. One of my favorite Steelers to ever play the game, Lynn Swann, has a bunch of stuff on display in the museum, for the current theme. He used ballet to train his feet, and was known for the "circus catch."

I stopped in and payed tribute to my favorite player of all time, Lynn Swann.

My first impression of the Steelers and Lynn Swann, was a Super Bowl, the Steelers won, I have been a fan ever since. My older brother was a Cowboys fan, so, I had to root the 'other' team, and I still do!

Here's a football from one of the 3 Super Bowls between the Steelers and Cowboys, signed by Lynn Swann.

 Here I am at the museum..

Yeah, I have all his rookie cards, here's his locker room nameplate.

Here's to the Steelers, and Saratoga! 

Lincoln Baths Springwatercolor

On South Broadway, across the street from the National Dance Museum, (which is adjacent to the Lincoln Bath House), sits the Lincoln Spring. The property used to be owned by The Lincoln Gas Company, and the Natural Carbonic Gas Company. They discovered the spring in March, 1896, after drilling down 425 feet. 

*info and photos from 1902 Saratoga Visitor's Guide 

Another spring with Lithium!

This is the property where the companies that, between 1896 and 1910, were responsible for the deliberate drilling of close to 100 wells, all used to extract the carbonic gas. Ironically, which then, the gas was then introduced to another liquid, a bit more popular at the time, a drink called soda pop.

 Once the State took over, in 1912, they capped the wells, leaving a few to supply the Lincoln Bath House, which at that time, was a converted building from the gas company. The bath house burned down in 1928, and in 1930, NY State opened the largest bath house in the world, the Lincoln Bath House. Lincoln contains 252 bathrooms.

The Lincoln Spring fed the baths, and from 1920 to 1960, the Lincoln Spring was also piped all the way down to a drinking fountain in front of the Canfield Casino, and the Saratoga Bath House on Phila St. ( I thank Swanner and her book 'Queen of Spas' for the info)

It is highly carbonated, and highly mineralized, making it perfect for mineral baths.  

I think it looks pretty gross too, I can't think of a murkier spring in Saratoga. 

 Over time, due to many factors, namely modern medicine, bath house attendance tended to decline. By 2004, Lincoln Bath House was closed, and is now used for office space, park police, and events. 

 The Lincoln Spring is located on the west side of South Broadway, here's a look at the Lincoln Baths from the spring.

  

I would also like to add that, people say, "Oh, they use(d) tap water and mix it with the Lincoln Spring. Well, yes, the springs here are cold springs, which unlike other springs in the USA, it is pushed to the surface due to gas pressure. Hot springs are pushed by geothermal pressure, and heat makes for comfortable bath water. The average temperature of the Spa City's springs is about 43 degrees, so the bath houses here add warm tap water. If you were to heat it up, you would compromise it's effervescence. The special thing about our springs, is that it is highly mineralized, even more than it's hot spring counterparts, yet it's cold water. Now, one of the first lessons in science you learn as a kid, while mixing your hot chocolate, it that solubility is relative to temperature. How these springs are so mineralized is unanswered part of the magic current that flows through our town.

    Here's my springwatercolor of the Lincoln Baths, I painted it listening to Phish's soundcheck echoing through the Avenue of Pines. I even had my friends that are Phish heads stumble upon me painting, trippy bro... yo, man, I hope you dig it! 

Almost all these pieces posted to this blog, will available to purchase this Saturday, at Art in the Park, Congress Park, JULY 9th, I hope to see ya there!

You can volunteer to help with the event, here, thanks! http://www.meetup.com/en-AU/Capital-District-Volunteers/events/231595748/

Tallulah Spring Springwatercolor and others

Another rather unknown spring along the chain of springs in Saratoga Springs, is the Tallulah Spring. It's located a few feet south of the Polaris, up in the bushes.

When the state took over the property now known as the Spa State Park, they renamed the springs, giving them Native American titles. They replaced the drab old name of "Pump Well #4 and changed it to Tallulah. 
 Tallulah is Choctaw or Creek for "leaping waters" and Old English for "Princess of Abundance." It does retain a female name, and, according to Trent, the Saratoga Water Witch, represents female qualities and the vagina itself. Just look at the photos, you decide...

 This is a very photogenic spring, I took a hefty amount of photos, check it out...

     This one looks like I stumbled upon a crime scene

What happens in the dark, comes out in the light....

Tallulah's crevice slit

One of the best photos you ever saw, 

all photos by George DeMers

She's a squirter 

This stuff is so carbonated, it's like club soda 

I got in there and got a smear of mineral deposit 

I coated the entire page with mineral deposit, and Tallulah water, I hope you dig it, I'll be back to paint this one again, there is so much mineral deposit chillin everywhere! 

Come out to the ART IN THE PARK JULY 9th! 

I'll be there selling my watercolor series, thanks for checkin it out! 

http://saratoga-arts.org/exhibitions/artinthepark

I have covered the history of these next springs in previous posts, check the right side column, but, here's some newer additions! 

*Ceiling Fan Watermark 

Saratoga Springwater Fed Oregano Experiment

 I decided that I wanted to try to grow different plants using various springs from the chain of springs in Saratoga. I figured I'd use oregano, because it is a hearty herb that could withstand a strong dousing of highly concentrated mineral water. 
 Each plant is watered at the same time, in the same dirt, in the same size pots, in the same sunlight. The only variable is, each one is watered with a different spring. Here's is my first photos-

KARISTA SPRING 

DEER PARK

POLARIS 

HATHORN

TALLULAH

HIGH ROCK 

 OLD RED 

 HATHORN #3

HAYES 

Look out for my tomatoes in my next post!

Karista Spring Springwatercolor

 The most ferruginous or iron rich spring of the springs in Saratoga Springs, is the Karista Spring in the Spa State Park. Not only is it the most ferruginous in the park, but also the most iron rich water IN THE WORLD. Karista gets it's name, aptly so, from the Iroquois term for iron. In 1915, when the state took over the property, it was simply named Flat Well #2, by the company that owned the property. 

photo of Flat Well #2 from Spa State Park archive

 In 1925, a fountain was made, and a pavilion was built over it. It has recently been renovated and I read more renovations are to come! It sits along the west side of the Geyser Creek in the park, in what is now a picnic area. This a sweet place to go for lunch, and this spring is an added treat, make sure it's a part of your visit!

  In the 1930's the state searched the property for the best mud to use for mud baths at the bath houses. They found the area around Karista to be the perfect mud, for the low laying valley had held an abundance of decomposed leaf matter that melded with the iron rich dirt, and seemed to work wonders for the skin. I dug around for this dirt, and found some nice red clay-like action! 

To get a good idea of it's iron rich properties, here's a photo of the Karista dirt, next to potting soil in my garden... 

The mineral deposit has a few shades of red, from orange to maroon, and worked great in my watercolor. 

The fountain seems to dry heave, then, blasts and gurgles, then dry heaves again, repeatedly. Though it's random, it's blasts of the closest thing to earth's blood, will fill the jug quite quickly. 

And finally, after being Boy Scout prepared and remembering to wear deet free bug spray, I fought armies of young and hungry mosquitos to render the latest in the series.....

Karista Spring

Old Red Spring Springwatercolor

Old Red Spring is one of the oldest springs of the chain of springs in Saratoga Springs. In 1784 a bath house was erected at this site, making it the first bath house in America.

The water has been known for centuries to cure skin ailments. Along with curing skin ailments, it has these other redeeming qualities, it cures- gout, heartburn, kidney difficulties, inflamed eyes and/or mucous membranes, it revitalizes blood circulation, and stimulates appetite. There was such a demand for the water at one point, there was a bottling plant built on the property. I found a bottle on Ebay for sale, from back before it was just a young "Red" greenhorn, and not so "Old" I guess....

Anyway, I heard the mineral content is not the same as it used to be, here's an old breakdown of the old recipe...

 I have read that about 200 years ago, the old Sadler Cemetery used to be up the hill from the Old Red Spring, (now the Roohan's property) until they dug up the graves and moved them to Greenridge Cemetery, that must have produced some nice runoff. 

  Also, back in the early 90's I was in high school or whatever, and we had a class called PIG (Precipitation In Government or something) and we had to go to City Council meetings. NiMo had spent our bill money on polluting our local area, including where we get our drinking water. They are still cleaning it up to this day, and high school was forever ago!!! I remember sitting in on this one, and thinking, I ain't drinking that one past High Rock, on that goofy 3 way corner!

  

 Coupled with that random brick public works utility looking building that emits sewage smell, Starks and Bardino's, it's hard to believe that Old Red stuff is good to ingest. 

  

  I went to see if there is any mineral deposit, or if it's just tap water like some of our other springs seem to be, and lo and behold, it is actual mineral water folks! 

So, I used the mineral deposit for my painting, along with the Old Red Springwater, I hope you like it! 

Check out my other blog posts, under archive, right hand column, and go to my art show opening Sunday May 1st at Putnam Den, 4:30 pm-6 pm!!!!

High Rock Springwatercolor 2016

  I am proud to announce that the culmination of my quest to watercolor paint a painting of each of the springs of Saratoga, using each spring's water and mineral deposit, in it's respective painting, has led to an art show-
 Opening this coming SUNDAY MAY1st at 4:30 pm at the Putnam Den, downtown Saratoga!!!!! 
 My wife and I will be making pizzas with pizza dough made from various springs, and serving spring water, you must not miss this!!!!!!!

  Last year I made my first High Rock Springwatercolor, along with it's history post, 
http://briefingsfromaspacitymetalhead.blogspot.com/2015/11/high-rock-spring-water-color.html  once you've checked out my long winded detail of the spring, gather 'round and take a gander at my latest effort, I hope you dig it!

 It seems to me, for I could not find any to paint with, but, there is absolutely zero mineral deposit at High Rock, the water is crystal clear, and quite tasty. The pizza dough made from it, tastes great too!!!!

Tons more to come, stop in this weekend MAY 1st, at 4:30- 6 and check out my SARATOGA SPRINGWATERCOLOR SERIES!!!!!