William C. Whitney certainly left his mark on Saratoga Springs in so many positive ways. It is difficult to begin a historical narration of any sort without mentioning his name; please count this as one more.  He had retired from a busy professional life and political career and sought satisfaction by improving the Race Course to the facility we now enjoy and acquired large pieces of property along Union and Nelson Avenues to achieve this end. He planned a personal retreat on property he had purchased from the Eddy Family, where Nelson met Crescent Avenue, but his unexpected 1904 passing prevented this arrangement. 

His son and executor, Harry Payne Whitney, sold the property in the early spring of 1906 to his friend Francis C. Bishop. Both these men were among the best polo players in the world and also owned Thoroughbred stables.

Frank Bishop and his wife, the former Gertrude Pell, who was well known on the ladies’ tennis circuit, decided to continue the elder Mr. Whitney’s vision for a country home, with training stables and a track, at One Nelson Ave. The couple had only recently wed, and G. Blair Painter and Andrew Miller, Saratoga Association secretary-treasurer, were attendants. These two gentlemen were Frank Bishop’s partners in Newcastle Stable, which they had formed the year before, and placed under the care of trainer Thomas Welsh to contest in their red and white colors.

During August of 1906 Newcastle Stable sponsored a clambake for horsemen, and at this symposium the Jockey Club‘s recent resolutions were read aloud. This summer was tapering into election season, where a serious foe to Thoroughbred racing, Charles Evans Hughes, was nominated for Governor by the dominant party in upstate New York, and the knife-held-to-the-throat of Saratoga commerce would be decided at the polls.

Gertrude and Frank Bishop continued to plan their Saratoga summer-place-to-be, despite the harsh political winds, and contracted with Boston/Baltimore architect Arthur Wallace Rice to design their dream home. The Bishops wanted their summer home to be constructed in the then leading-edge of architecture. The style that Architect Rice chose was the Craftsman bungalow, which resulted from the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 1900s.

The attractive building, still existing and in use today, is a two-story structure with many windows, those on the first floor framed by engaged columns, which created a stylistic segue between the indoor and outdoor spaces. The roof is a pleasant combination of gable and hip styles, with multiple dormers, and open eaves with exposed rafter tails. The overhangs are supported by decorative yet functional corbels, with the exterior surface covered with split cedar shakes painted forest green.

The Craftsman style differed from the ornate Victorian homes mostly constructed during that era, with undisguised features such as exposed structural elements, quality natural materials and detailed millwork. Function, simplicity and handcrafted details were major tenets of this style.

The exterior of The Lodge is clad in green cedar shakes, accented by the white trim of the numerous windows. Near the close of the Victorian era, the taste which fashioned design of the country house changed toward simplicity and practicality. Author-supplied photo.

The main and center room of what was then known as the “Bishop Bungalow” is open for the full two stories, and is surrounded by a second story balcony, which provides an excellent view of the room below and the large fireplace and hearth, while also providing access to the second-floor rooms. The quartersawn balusters support a railing and ornamental parapet around the balcony and complement the turned balusters of the accessing main stairway. This great-room, or central hall, is finely paneled and flanked by a parlor on each side that includes built-in storage. In the tradition of the Craftsman cottage, all the assembly rooms have exposed ceiling beams.

Architect Arthur Wallace Rice used an interesting fenestration with a series and parallel arrangement of windows to emphasize the vertical line that draws the eye upward, demonstrating the height of the central hall. The windows are both in horizontal bands and vertically stacked, illuminating the main gathering place during the day and projecting warmth after dark. Recently, stained-glass panels in the colors of several racing stables were added, enhancing the effect.

The stained glass panels extend the racing motifs used in The Lodge great room. Author-supplied photo.

The Craftsman style balusters of the balconies accent the extensive woodwork featured throughout the building. Author-supplied photo.

Construction of the Bishop Bungalow continued, with the local firm of Jesse S. Mott & Son acting as the contractor. Mrs. Bishop and her mother oversaw the work from their United States Hotel domicile between trips to Newport, where she competed in the National Tennis Championships (presently known as the US Open). Before the structure was completed, Governor Hughes was elected and Thoroughbred racing, especially in Saratoga, would see a paradigm shift take place due to his executive objection to the sport. This would culminate in a ban on racing across the Empire State for the years 1911-12, leading the partners to dissolve Newcastle Stable.

This parlor features built-in cabinets that exemplify the Craftsman-style bungalow. Author-supplied photo.

Stockbroker and Jockey Club member Frank Bishop and his athlete wife started their family at the same time their Saratoga abode was completed, and the residence was desirable to others during the track season. They leased the new structure in succeeding years to Mr. and Mrs. Herman Duryea, William Fanshawe, Saratoga Association president Richard T. Wilson, Andrew Miller and Gifford Cochran, where the Thoroughbred world enjoyed many banquets. The couple sold the Bishop Bungalow in 1923 to a consortium who planned to operate a restaurant there.

The stable on Nelson Avenue would be the quarters for French sensation Epinard when he visited the Spa in 1924. The property was then transferred to Anita V. Trempher of New York City, who operated a restaurant and guesthouse she called Cedar Lodge.

Title to Cedar Lodge next transferred to Nathaniel Evens, whose notorious reputation was well known to law enforcement from his possible connection to Arnold Rothstein and the 1919 World Series fix and his silent partner in operation of the fabulous Brook Roadhouse out Church Street where illegal gambling was conducted in arguably the most extravagant speakeasy to have ever existed in Saratoga Springs. Nathaniel Evens leased the Cedar Lodge long-term during most of the 1930s to Joseph Leiter and later Walter Schuttler, both owners of racing stables.

Numerous windows with engaged columns provide a stylistic segue from outside to inside spaces. Author-supplied photo.