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Lena at her Caffè
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The Caffè Lena History Project
Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York is widely recognized as the oldest continuously operating coffeehouse in the United States. It is an internationally renowned cultural center and an American treasure. Started by Lena Spencer in 1960, the café provided a seminal venue for such influential artists as Bob Dylan, Bernice Johnson Reagan, Arlo Guthrie and Don McLean. Many of America's best-loved
musicians credit Caffè Lena's longstanding tradition of showcasing emerging artists.
The Caffè Lena History Project will expand national awareness of the café's cultural importance and heritage. It will explore the history of Caffè Lena and report on the people, the place, and the events that shaped the café and made it the cultural center it has become.
An on-site exhibit opening celebrating Caffè Lena's 45th Anniversary entitled, "Caffè Lena: 45 Years of Community, Culture and Creativity, 1960-2005" opened on July 12th, 2005 at Caffè Lena.
The Caffè Lena History Exhibit is co-produced by Caffè Lena history project director Jocelyn Arem and Torey Adler, a local musician (www.torey.com) and Vice President of the Board of Directors, with the help of many dedicated volunteers and the support of the newly formed, "Friends of Caffè Lena," started by Sally Harder in January 2004.
The opening of the new exhibit is highlighted by our new history website:
www.CaffeLenaHistory.org created by Caffè Lena Board Member
and photographer, Joseph Deuel.
Jocelyn Arem, a member of Caffè Lena's board of directors initiated the Caffè Lena History Project in 2003 to expand national and local awareness of the café's cultural importance and heritage. A local musician and Skidmore College graduate with a degree in Ethnomusicology, Jocelyn completed her senior thesis on the early history of Caffè Lena, invited by the Library of Congress to be a part of its American Folklife collection.
In 2004 she began developing the only existing permanent historical archive of Caffè Lena memorabilia in the Saratoga History Museum with plans to donate a comprehensive finding aid and index to the Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. Ms. Arem continues her historical research with support from the Skidmore College President's Discretionary Fund and the Sparkplug
Foundation.
The Caffè Lena archive and exhibit will be of enormous benefit to musicians, music lovers and historians of American culture. Please continue to check back on this website and at www.Caffelena.org to learn more about the history project and current programming at Caffè Lena.
"Compiled and edited by Jocelyn Arem, Caffè Lena historian/Board of Directors with special thanks to the Saratoga History Museum"
This project is made possible by the generous support of The Sparkplug Foundation & Skidmore College’s President’s Discretionary Fund
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