page_title: Grand Union Hotel (Saratoga Springs, New York)
section_title: Frank and Florence Hathorn years (1912-1950)
hierarchical_section_title: Grand Union Hotel (Saratoga Springs, New York) / Frank and Florence Hathorn years (1912-1950)
caption_attribution_description: English: Postcard of Grand Union Hotel, Saratoga Springs, New York.
context_page_description: The Grand Union Hotel was located on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, New York. The hotel began as a boarding house, built by Gideon Putnam in 1802, but grew into the world's largest hotel, before it was demolished in 1953.
  The initial draw to the area were summer vacationers attracted by the mineral spas. Over time this became a luxury hotel that catered to the wealthy elite. Renovations and expansions saw the hotel grow to serve over 2,000 guests as a destination resort. The Grand Union Hotel Stakes race was run at the Saratoga race track until 1958 and was named after this historic hotel.
context_section_description: Frank Hathorn purchased the Grand Union Hotel in 1912 to save the hotel for Saratoga Springs, but Hathorn died one year later. His daughter, Florence Hathorn, ran the Grand Union for many years; she sought to modernize the hotel during her proprietorship. She managed to refurnish and redecorate the lobby in green and white colors. She also sought to bring conventions to the hotel as Woolley had done before her, and was successful in bringing the Spanish War Veterans, Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, New York State Food Merchants Association, and the New York State CIO in 1944.
  Dining was still served in The large dining room, and dancing was scheduled for Saturday nights, with music by Bernie Collins, a well-known band leader. The following year the hotel saw 14 conventions booked at the hotel.  Rates for a room plus meals were $10 and $12 per day (for a room without a private bathroom). Private baths took up approximately 30% of the hotel, and rates for those rooms were $15 and $18 for singles and $22 to $40 for a double. The managers of the hotel estimated that it would cost $50,000 to get to the hotel ready for the summer season, that cost involving painting, papering, upholstering, plumbing, and restocking the inventory.
  However, the Great Depression, followed by World War II took a heavy toll on the vacation industry and funds for updating the enormous structure. The city also enforced heavy taxes on the building. Florence Hathorn eventually sold the hotel to Tikvah Associates, Inc. of New York City. Irving Barasch was the president of this company, whose family owned the Empire and Brooklyn Hotels also located in Saratoga Springs.
  Eventually the, Grand Union Hotel was purchased by a group of citizens as stockholders. The hotel was conducted by the late Edward C. Sweeny until 1950 when it was sold to Broadway Saratoga Corporation, headed by Louis Ginsberg from Glens Falls, for $150,000. The last corporation gave up the struggle to run the hotel after two years and sold it to the Grand Union Company.
  The turn of the century saw a rise of anti-gambling sentiment. The Canfield Casino closed in 1904, and the Saratoga Race Course did not run in 1911 or 1912. This loss created a major economic loss for the city of Saratoga and for the Grand Union Hotel. The future of the hotel was foreshadowed by the demolition of Congress Hall Hotel in 1913. Frank's father Henry H. Hathorn previously owned and rebuilt the Congress Hall Hotel.
caption: Grand Union Hotel Postcard c.1920
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