Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, SSPF Executive DirectorSamantha Bosshart, & Mayor Joanne Yepsen
Saratoga Springs, NY: Friday, July 25th at 11 am, the City of Saratoga Springs and the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation will officially kickoff their joint project to restore the Spirit of Life & Spencer Trask Memorial dedicated to the memory and efforts of Spencer Trask to preserve the spring waters of Saratoga. The restoration is scheduled to be completed by June 2015, to coincide with the centennial celebration of its dedication as well as the centennial of the incorporation of Saratoga Springs as a city.
This is the first comprehensive restoration of the Memorial since it was installed and donated to the City on June 26, 1915. The first phase to take place this summer and fall will repair and clean the masonry surround of the Memorial including the balustrades, reflecting pool and seating area. In the spring of 2015, the bronze sculpture and the landscaping, which includes pathways, benches and lighting, will be restored.
The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, with the assistance of the Restoration Steering Committee, has teamed up with the City to help with these efforts. The Spirit of Life Memorial, designed in partnership by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon, who also created the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, is a National Historic Landmark.
The community has been tremendously supportive of the project and major donors include: Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust Foundation, Saratoga Springs Rotary Club, Nordlys Foundation, The Saratoga Foundation, The Jane N. Moody Foundation, The Greater Capital Region Community Foundation, The Adirondack Trust Community Foundation, Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family, Barbara Glaser, Mike and Linda Toohey, DA Collins Companies and many other individual donors and community businesses. Fundraising efforts are on-going.
Those who wish to learn more about this project and/or donate to the restoration effort can do so online at www.spiritofliferestoration.org or by contacting the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation at (518) 587-5030 or Honorary Co-Chairs Barbara Glaser and Kathleen Fyfe.
In 1913, Katrina Trask, philanthropist, Yaddo founder, and Saratoga resident, along with George Foster Peabody, commissioned the Memorial to honor her late husband, Spencer Trask. Daniel Chester French created the bronze sculpture, Spirit of Life, while Henry Bacon designed the masonry architectural setting. The surrounding landscape was designed by Charles Leavitt, Jr., who had designed the 1912 General Plan for Congress Park following the demolition of the Congress Hotel and the 1902 Master Plan of Saratoga Race Course. The Memorial was dedicated on June 26, 1915, the same year the City of Saratoga Springs was incorporated, which may be why the Spirit of Life is identified as a symbol of our community.