Almost all of Saranac Lake's street numbers and a number of street names were changed as part of the implementation of the Enhanced 911 Emergency Response System in 2004. This was presumably an effort to standardize the system of street addresses across the country. Numbers are now required to run from south to north and west to east; naturally, Saranac Lake village numbers generally ran north to south and east to west!
The fire department sold green reflective plaques with the new numbers, so if you see one, you'll know it's a new number. Many residents have posted their new number and left the old one — very helpful to history sleuths!, but likewise, have never notified the telephone book publishers of their new numbers, so don't rely on the phone book, even in 2010. We generally give both the old and new addresses, but we mostly use the old address, since most books and documents referring to these buildings use the old address.
Some street names were changed to eliminate any that began with a direction, such as "East Pine Street" and South Street. Between any streets that used the same name, such as "Park Avenue" and "Park Place," the more prominent was chosen to keep the name and the less prominent street was renamed.
The changes were meant to help fire, police and rescue personnel find an address quickly and without confusion, but it has increased confusion for historians dramatically!
