Olympic Winter Games - Historic Saranac Lake

Olympic Winter Games have twice been held in nearby Lake Placid, in 1932 and 1980. In both years, Saranac Lakers participated as athletes and volunteers, and certain Saranac Lake facilities were used as support venues.

2010 area Olympians, in front of Harrietstown Town Hall. From left, Mark Grimmette, Lowell Bailey, Haley Johnson, John Napier, Chris Mazdzer, Peter Frenette, Bill Demong The Saranac Lake Red Devils, Ed Horton (right), and the Stevens brothers Red Devils bobsled team, Charlie Keough, center top According to The Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT), seventeen Olympians were born in Saranac Lake and many more Olympic hopefuls have called it “home.”

A number of changes in the region came about due to the 1980 Olympics, including major road improvements and the rehabilitation of the old New York Central line from Utica through Saranac Lake to Lake Placid; the original plan was for the railroad to remain open, but it failed by late 1980. In 2000, the Adirondack Scenic Railroad resumed operation during summer tourist months, before being shut down by the State in 2016.

Petrova Field was used for parking for the 1980 Olympics, so Petrova Rink was not built that year and was never resumed after that.

Lake Placid News, May 23, 1930

SARANAC CAN HOUSE 3000 OLYMPIC GUESTS

While the Lake Placid Olympic committee is endeavoring to get up-to-the-minute information as to the number of guests the resort can accommodate at the time of the Third Olympic Winter games of 1932, nearby communities have not been idle in completing their plans for assisting Lake Placid to take care of the throng of Inter-national visitors two years hence.

A house-to-house survey of accommodations in Saranac Lake elicited the information that that village can house 3,245 extra guests at the time of the Olympic games.

A committee of the Saranac Lake chamber of commerce conducted the survey, which shows that substantial assistance can be rendered by that resort to Lake Placid in its efforts to provide adequate housing facilities for ail who will come to view the great international contests in 1932.