Sans Souci Hotel (Ballston Spa)
Encyclopedia
The Sans Souci hotel was a hotel located in Ballston Spa, New York. It was built by Nicholas Low and eventually torn down in 1887.
in 1803. It was designed by French Architect Andrew Berger, who was a French loyalist refugee. Berger claimed to design the hotel to be like the Palace of Versailles, although the hotel had no obvious resemblance to Versailles at all. Low was a major property owner in Ballston Spa and had many commercial interests; the Sans Souci was only one of Low’s enterprises during the day. He hired Berger to run the hotel when it was completed in 1804. Low paid Berger $500 for the first year and $1,000 for the second year.
Ballston Spa, like its neighboring town of Saratoga Springs, contained many mineral springs located throughout the town. Tourists came from early in the 18th century to enjoy the mineral waters. Low sought to capitalize on the tourist trade and opened the Sans Souci hotel as a destination resort. The building of the hotel was overseen by carpenter James Hawkins.
The hotel was 156 feet long with a wing extending back from each end at 150 feet, all of them three stories high and contained lodging for 250 people. This was an enormous structure during its day, rivaled only by Putnam’s Tavern and Boarding House (later the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs). The Sans Souci and the Grand Union Hotel had similar architectural styles in their beginnings, with plain white clapboard siding and dark shutters (“venetian blinds”) with a “verdigrise” (green) pigment. Both hotels were laid out in a “U” shape with an inner courtyard. The Sans Souci building and grounds occupied the entire block bounded by Front Street, Milton Avenue, Washington Street, and Spring Street. The Sans Souci’s large piazza was built at the same time as the hotel.
The first floor of the hotel had several parlors and a 70 x 30 ft ballroom. On the first floor of one wing were located several private parlors, and on the first floor of the other wing was the expansive dining room. A “temple” was added to the end of the east wing, which was two stories tall. The cost of the addition was $250. Low then wanted to add a similar addition to the end of the other wing of the hotel for a billiards room. Low rented the billiards tables out at $10 per day and backgammon at $6 per day. Balls were held in the front hall, which was hung with elegant chandeliers and where live music was played.
Cost in the first year for a stay at the Sans Souci was about $8 per week; poorer lodging in the Ballston Spa area could be found for $4 per day.
Eventually the hotel was expanded so that it had 162 feet of frontage, the two wings 152 feet deep. The hotel then had 180 rooms and accommodated 300 guests. A white picket fence wrapped around the property, bordering the sidewalks.
The hotel included many outbuildings, including a stable, wash house, manager’s home, small four-season hotel, bath house, billiards room, and a three-story outhouse that dumped waste into Gordon Creek. Reference 15
Guests to the Sans Souci included the most elite members of politics and economy during the 19th century. These included Daniel Webster
, Henry Clay
, John C. Calhoun
, Martin VanBuren, General John E. Wool
, James Fenimore Cooper
, Franklin Pierce
, Commodore Isaac Hull
, Commodore Stephen Decatur
, Commodore Thomas Macdonough
, Andrew Jackson
, Stephen Douglas, William Seward
, William L. Marcy, Edward Everett
, Silas Wright
, Washington Irving
, Joseph Bonaparte
ex-king of Spain (stayed there in 1821), and many others.
The Sans Souci operated only in the summertime because of the expense of heating it during the off-season.
A travel journal from guests Mr. Elkanah Watson and Mr. Bayard in 1805 describe the hotel as such: “We seated ourselves at a sumptuous table, with about a hundred guests of all classes, but generally, from their appearance and deportment, of first respectability, assembled here from every part of the Union and from Europe, in the pursuit of health and pleasure, or matrimony or vice. This is the most splendid watering place in America and is scarcely surpassed in Europe in its dimensions, and the taste and elegance of its arrangement. The building contains about one hundred apartment, all respectability furnished. The plan upon which it is constructed, the architecture, the style of the outbuildings and the gravel walks girted with shrubbery—are all on a magnificent scale…In the evening, we attended a ball in the spacious hall, brilliantly illuminated with chandeliers, and adorned with various other appliances of elegance and luxury. Here was congregated a fine exhibition of refinement of the ‘beau monde…” Instead of the ol-fashioned country dances and four-hand reels of revolutionary days, I was pleased to notice the advance of refined customs, and the introduction of the graces of Paris…There was a large display of servants, handsomely attired, while the music of a choice band enlivened the occasion.”
Low was a major landowner in Ballston Spa, and he leased out (99 year leases) most of the downtown area for commercial pursuits. Low saw that the town’s geographical area situated close to the Hudson River would be beneficial for manufacturing and then shipping goods down to New York City. Consequently, he built and leased out many factories and mills along the Kayderosseras Creek beginning in 1790, such as the “Blue Mill” which he sold to Hezekiah and Michael Middlebrook in 1792. While these were largely profitable to Low, it had a negative impact on the Sans Souci Hotel. The rich and elite did not care to spend their money and vacation time looking at the backs of factories and mingling with factory workers. That, combined with the success of the hotel industry in nearby Saratoga Springs, meant that most of the wealthy moved to the large hotels in Saratoga and abandoned the Sans Souci.
Another reason cited for the decline of the Sans Souci was the failing of the mineral springs. The springs were prone to block and stop flowing, and tapping into the waters was an expensive endeavor. Furthermore, Low sought to create a monopoly on the springs. Consequently, he arranged and subdivided his land so that the springs were only accessed by private homesteads; this is in contrast to the springs in Saratoga Springs which were frequently located in the middle of roadways and in parks, where they were free for the public to use and enjoy. The private nature of the springs in Ballston Spa was a deterrent to vacationers looking for the health benefits of the water.
A recession hit the upstate New York region in 1808 and 1809, and the Sans Souci saw significantly fewer guests that previous years. At the height of summer, the hotel only had 40 guests, which devastated Low.
in the hotel. The school opened with a faculty of eminent professors and secured a large student body. At the examination in 1849, Ex-president Martin Van Buren, Governor Hamilton Fish, Horace Greeley, and Henry Clay were present. Ex-present Tyler was present at the commencement of 1850. Chester Arthur was a student of the law school. The law school closed its doors after only three years of operation.
Only July 25, 1860, during the presidential nominee Stephen A. Douglas spoke to a large assembly on the piazza of the Sans Souci. He was introduced by Judge Scott.
The hotel was opened a third time as a hotel and ran as such until 1887 when the property was purchased by Hon. Eugene F. O’Connor of New York.
Early Hotel Days
The Sans Souci Hotel was erected by Nicholas LowNicholas Low
Nicholas Low was an American merchant and developer from New York City. He developed properties in upstate New York, including Lowville which was named for him....
in 1803. It was designed by French Architect Andrew Berger, who was a French loyalist refugee. Berger claimed to design the hotel to be like the Palace of Versailles, although the hotel had no obvious resemblance to Versailles at all. Low was a major property owner in Ballston Spa and had many commercial interests; the Sans Souci was only one of Low’s enterprises during the day. He hired Berger to run the hotel when it was completed in 1804. Low paid Berger $500 for the first year and $1,000 for the second year.
Ballston Spa, like its neighboring town of Saratoga Springs, contained many mineral springs located throughout the town. Tourists came from early in the 18th century to enjoy the mineral waters. Low sought to capitalize on the tourist trade and opened the Sans Souci hotel as a destination resort. The building of the hotel was overseen by carpenter James Hawkins.
The hotel was 156 feet long with a wing extending back from each end at 150 feet, all of them three stories high and contained lodging for 250 people. This was an enormous structure during its day, rivaled only by Putnam’s Tavern and Boarding House (later the Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs). The Sans Souci and the Grand Union Hotel had similar architectural styles in their beginnings, with plain white clapboard siding and dark shutters (“venetian blinds”) with a “verdigrise” (green) pigment. Both hotels were laid out in a “U” shape with an inner courtyard. The Sans Souci building and grounds occupied the entire block bounded by Front Street, Milton Avenue, Washington Street, and Spring Street. The Sans Souci’s large piazza was built at the same time as the hotel.
The first floor of the hotel had several parlors and a 70 x 30 ft ballroom. On the first floor of one wing were located several private parlors, and on the first floor of the other wing was the expansive dining room. A “temple” was added to the end of the east wing, which was two stories tall. The cost of the addition was $250. Low then wanted to add a similar addition to the end of the other wing of the hotel for a billiards room. Low rented the billiards tables out at $10 per day and backgammon at $6 per day. Balls were held in the front hall, which was hung with elegant chandeliers and where live music was played.
Cost in the first year for a stay at the Sans Souci was about $8 per week; poorer lodging in the Ballston Spa area could be found for $4 per day.
Eventually the hotel was expanded so that it had 162 feet of frontage, the two wings 152 feet deep. The hotel then had 180 rooms and accommodated 300 guests. A white picket fence wrapped around the property, bordering the sidewalks.
The hotel included many outbuildings, including a stable, wash house, manager’s home, small four-season hotel, bath house, billiards room, and a three-story outhouse that dumped waste into Gordon Creek. Reference 15
Guests to the Sans Souci included the most elite members of politics and economy during the 19th century. These included Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
, John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, Martin VanBuren, General John E. Wool
John E. Wool
John Ellis Wool was an officer in the United States Army during three consecutive U.S. wars: the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. By the time of the Mexican-American War, he was widely considered one of the most capable officers in the army and a superb organizer...
, James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. He is best remembered as a novelist who wrote numerous sea-stories and the historical novels known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo...
, Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
, Commodore Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull
-External links:* *...
, Commodore Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur, Jr. , was an American naval officer notable for his many naval victories in the early 19th century. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester county, the son of a U.S. Naval Officer who served during the American Revolution. Shortly after attending college Decatur...
, Commodore Thomas Macdonough
Thomas MacDonough
Thomas Macdonough was an early-19th-century American naval officer noted for his roles in the first Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was the son of a revolutionary officer, Thomas Sr. who lived close to Middleton, Delaware. Being the sixth child born, he came from a large family of ten...
, Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, Stephen Douglas, William Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, William L. Marcy, Edward Everett
Edward Everett
Edward Everett was an American politician and educator from Massachusetts. Everett, a Whig, served as U.S. Representative, and U.S. Senator, the 15th Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to Great Britain, and United States Secretary of State...
, Silas Wright
Silas Wright
Silas Wright, Jr. was an American Democratic politician. Wright was born in Amherst, Massachusetts and moved with his father to Weybridge, Vermont in 1796. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1815 and moved to Sandy Hill, New York, the next year, where he studied law, being admitted to the bar...
, Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
, Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
ex-king of Spain (stayed there in 1821), and many others.
The Sans Souci operated only in the summertime because of the expense of heating it during the off-season.
A travel journal from guests Mr. Elkanah Watson and Mr. Bayard in 1805 describe the hotel as such: “We seated ourselves at a sumptuous table, with about a hundred guests of all classes, but generally, from their appearance and deportment, of first respectability, assembled here from every part of the Union and from Europe, in the pursuit of health and pleasure, or matrimony or vice. This is the most splendid watering place in America and is scarcely surpassed in Europe in its dimensions, and the taste and elegance of its arrangement. The building contains about one hundred apartment, all respectability furnished. The plan upon which it is constructed, the architecture, the style of the outbuildings and the gravel walks girted with shrubbery—are all on a magnificent scale…In the evening, we attended a ball in the spacious hall, brilliantly illuminated with chandeliers, and adorned with various other appliances of elegance and luxury. Here was congregated a fine exhibition of refinement of the ‘beau monde…” Instead of the ol-fashioned country dances and four-hand reels of revolutionary days, I was pleased to notice the advance of refined customs, and the introduction of the graces of Paris…There was a large display of servants, handsomely attired, while the music of a choice band enlivened the occasion.”
Decline of the Hotel
There are several reasons cited for the decline of the Sans Souci hotel. The first was the business sense of the owner, Nicholas Low. A New York City native, Nicholas Low sought to import goods from merchants that he knew in New York City and servants from New York City. Very little of the money that the Sans Souci hotel generated during its heyday was used to develop the Town of Ballston Spa.Low was a major landowner in Ballston Spa, and he leased out (99 year leases) most of the downtown area for commercial pursuits. Low saw that the town’s geographical area situated close to the Hudson River would be beneficial for manufacturing and then shipping goods down to New York City. Consequently, he built and leased out many factories and mills along the Kayderosseras Creek beginning in 1790, such as the “Blue Mill” which he sold to Hezekiah and Michael Middlebrook in 1792. While these were largely profitable to Low, it had a negative impact on the Sans Souci Hotel. The rich and elite did not care to spend their money and vacation time looking at the backs of factories and mingling with factory workers. That, combined with the success of the hotel industry in nearby Saratoga Springs, meant that most of the wealthy moved to the large hotels in Saratoga and abandoned the Sans Souci.
Another reason cited for the decline of the Sans Souci was the failing of the mineral springs. The springs were prone to block and stop flowing, and tapping into the waters was an expensive endeavor. Furthermore, Low sought to create a monopoly on the springs. Consequently, he arranged and subdivided his land so that the springs were only accessed by private homesteads; this is in contrast to the springs in Saratoga Springs which were frequently located in the middle of roadways and in parks, where they were free for the public to use and enjoy. The private nature of the springs in Ballston Spa was a deterrent to vacationers looking for the health benefits of the water.
A recession hit the upstate New York region in 1808 and 1809, and the Sans Souci saw significantly fewer guests that previous years. At the height of summer, the hotel only had 40 guests, which devastated Low.
Law School (1849-1853)
In 1849 the Sans Souci hotel was sold to John W. Fowler, who there established the State and National Law SchoolState and National Law School
State and National Law School was an early practical training law school founded in 1849 by John W. Fowler in Ballston Spa, New York located in Saratoga County. It was also known as New York State and National Law School, Ballston Law School, and Fowler's State and National Law School. In 1853 the...
in the hotel. The school opened with a faculty of eminent professors and secured a large student body. At the examination in 1849, Ex-president Martin Van Buren, Governor Hamilton Fish, Horace Greeley, and Henry Clay were present. Ex-present Tyler was present at the commencement of 1850. Chester Arthur was a student of the law school. The law school closed its doors after only three years of operation.
Only July 25, 1860, during the presidential nominee Stephen A. Douglas spoke to a large assembly on the piazza of the Sans Souci. He was introduced by Judge Scott.
Ladies’ Seminary & Later Years (1853-1887)
The hotel was again opened as a hotel under the direction of Richard Chase until it was sold to Reverend D. W. Smith of Galway Ladies’ Seminary for a women’s boarding school in 1863. It ran as a boarding school until 1886.The hotel was opened a third time as a hotel and ran as such until 1887 when the property was purchased by Hon. Eugene F. O’Connor of New York.