Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation
Preservation Matters
Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director
November 9, 2012
A Look at the History of 649 Broadway
Saratoga Springs’s history, in many ways is preserved by its thousands of property owners. Many people within the city own homes built before the turn of the 20th century, making the city’s homeowners some of the best stewards of our community’s past. Often times, homeowners are curious about who built the home or lived in the house before them.
One such homeowner is Judy Harrigan, a recently returned Saratoga area native who currently lives at 649 North Broadway. Harrigan says she was first drawn to the house, both inside and out, for its quiet graciousness and understated beauty. For her, the building’s tall windows provided attractive amounts of light at all times of day, which was at the top of her “must have” list while house hunting.This provided difficult in Saratoga Springs amongst the sea of grand Victorians, where she felt often the rooms were too dark.
The two-story brick Italianate on North Broadway perfectly fits the bill. The home’s interior provides an excellent place to showcase a blend of the old and new. Her home features modern Italian lamps and furniture as well as carousel horses and antiques. Harrigan has always been drawn to interesting architecture from all periods, having lived in Manhattan pre-World War brownstones as well as contemporary ocean homes. In addition to the building itself, Harrigan is attracted to the home’s story and is fascinated with its former residents, particularly the women who lived there.
The home was constructed for Lewis P. Close around 1856 on land he purchased from Benjamin F. Allen, whose property is featured in an engraving titled “View of Land Belonging to B.F. Allen on Broadway, Saratoga Springs.” Mr. Close, a merchant who was born in New York, purchased the lot on Broadway for $2,000 in January of 1855, a significant sum at the time. He was married to Eliza and had five children. Mr. Close was appointed Saratoga Springs Postmaster and later became a prominent business man in the City as co-owner of the grocery, Ellsworth and Close. Mr. Close’s story is somewhat tragic. His youngest daughter dies in 1862 and was followed soon after with the death of his oldest son in the Civil War. His wife Eliza dies not long after in 1871. Mr. Close died a year later in December of 1872, perhaps of a broken heart. The home passed to his oldest daughter Maria, who never lived in the home, but lived across the street. When she defaulted on the home’s mortgage, the house was acquired by the Orton J. Brown at auction.
Orton J. Brown, according to his obituary, was “one of the best known old-time hotel men in this section of the country.” Through his positions at the Grand Union and United States Hotels, he made many friends from around the world including Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt. Brown lived in the house with his first wife Sara and their three children. He was married to Sara for 47 years until she passed away in 1902. That same year at age 72 Brown married his second wife Allena Butler, who was 28 years his junior. He continued to live in the home with Allena and her mother until his death in 1918. Allena remained in the home alone until her death in 1944.
In 1945, the house was purchased by Florence Palmataire, who has an interesting personal history. Florence married her husband, Frank J. Hamilton Palmataire in New Jersey in June of 1904. According to a Newark Evening News article she soon discovered that her husband was “so deeply enmeshed in the clutches of demon rum” that she had him placed in an institution to cure him, which he later escaped. Upon hoping he had conquered his demons, the couple planned to reunite, until his daily letters suddenly stopped. She learned years later that her husband had died from his illness in Cleveland, Ohio after escaping yet another curing institution, and had been buried under a different name. Mrs. Palamatiere left New Jersey to move to New York City and subsequently to Saratoga Springs. Upon her death in 1980, she left her entire estate to Mae Thompson, a nurse who is believed to have cared for her. Mae Thompson promptly sold the house after Mrs. Palmataire’s death.
Most recently, the home was owned by Meriel Jane Ashplant (known as Jane St. George) of Hamilton, Bermuda. Jane St. George was the granddaughter of Congresswoman Katherine St. George of Tuxedo Park, NY and her grandfather George F. Baker founded the First National City Bank. In 1993, Ms. St. George hosted the first Saratoga Designer Showhouse at her home to benefit the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The event was prominently featured in theNew York Times.
The connection to SPAC is of interest to the current owner Judy Harrigan, PhD, who grew up in the area attending the ballet and orchestra at SPAC. Harrigan is drawn to the story of Mrs. Palmataire and the other independent women who lived there. She relishes her home’s history and architecture and feels a true sense of responsibility to care for the home and its past. It is homeowners like Judy Harrigan, who play a vital role in preserving our community’s past as we look to the future.
Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.