saranac laboratory museum

Saranac Lab is where the thousands of sick city folks came to take the cure. I did not know about tuberculosis and the extent of it in the cities and how that changed upper New York. This is a must if you like to know and understand why people do what they do.

My wife found the museum on a side street and told me I had to go. The staff was very knowledgeable and proud to show us around. The story of Dr. Trudeau and tuberculosis as it played out in Saranac Lake is an important one. The WWI exhibit on the lower level was fascinating.

Based on the last review, we did not expect much. However, we were greeted by a docent who gave us a tour of the laboratoy where Dr. Trudeau did research into TB, the dreaded disease which killed so many in the first half of the 20th century. He spent a great deal of time explaining the history of the disease and its relationship to Saranac lake. What a fascinating story of Dr. Trudeau and of the people of Saranac Lake who welcomed those who were sick and dying from this dreaded disease into "cure cottages." The sick came from everywhere and represented all segments of the population; rich and poor, white, hispanic, black, German, Polish etc. in order to breathe in the fresh air of the Adirondacks. Some died but many lived as a result of this "fresh air cure." Robert Louis Stevenson and Bela Bartok were among those who came. Even without the tour, there was plenty of signage all over with detailed explanations. There is also a short video. Highly recommended. There is a recommended donationn of $5.00

While it is wonderful to preserve history this museum is very small and does not offer much information on why it was started, who were the key scientists and what was the eventual outcomes. Seems like a museum dedicated to one person and the others are lost to the times.

This fascinating, inexpensive museum in downtown Saranac Lake does a remarkable job of providing information about the science of TB, treatment in the sanitarium era, and the lives of those who came to the US's magic mountain in hopes of cure. It includes a tiny cottage where Bela Bartok spent his last summer composing fabulous music under the most Spartan conditions. The exhibits are presented with clarity and simplicity, simulating the visitor's imagination, undistracted by glitzy special effects. A couple of videos and a website where one can research the lives of individual patients and physicians provide unobtrusive, technologically sophisticated back up to the main exhibits. It is open year round and so interesting that even when the weather is good, it is well worth a visit! When you walk out, you will see the town and the region with different eyes

The original laboratory where Dr. Trudeau treated hundreds of tuberculosis patients in the 1930's. A nice display of medicine and equipment used to study the disease. There are a handful of interesting movies to watch as well. Worth the $5 donation fee.

"OK, and why are we going to a museum-laboratory?"After 30 minutes, I thought "how could I have ever thought I knew the Saranac area (my mother's family roots for 100+ years) without having understood the history of TB and "The Cure"?http://www.historicsaranaclake.org/the-saranac-laboratory.htmlIn 1873, Dr. Edward Trudeau (great grandfather of cartoonist Gary), came to Saranac Lake to die. He like 1-in-7 Americans at that time, had Tuberculosis. There was no cure. And it was thought of as a largely genetic disease - "poor people working in factories got it".Trudeau figured out how to cure himself with fresh air, deep breathing, sunshine and eating and more eating; he wrote a scientific paper in 1882 that documented his findings; built the lab, and by 1892 opened a sanitarium to apply his "Cure". As word got out, and the number of TB patients grew, the town boomed and became famous worldwide. WWI, its war causalities, and those wounded by disease, was concurrent with the growth and reputation of Saranac Lake. Not until around 1940 when a pharmaceutical cure was discovered, did the boom abate. Now we come to the Adirondacks to cure ourselves of "TV" and cynicism. :)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cure_Cottages_of_Saranac_LakeThis museum is the only window into how TB changed the character and reputation of the Adirondacks. I guarantee that even if you only spend 30 minutes at the Lab, your insight into this area and period in history will be forever changed and enhanced.

You don't need to be really into history or science to enjoy this museum, but I'm sure it'd help if you enjoy learning. I don't want to spoil potential visits, so simply know that it is very interesting and worth the small fee of $5 that helps keep the museum running. Many of you may be surprised to learn what an important role Saranac Lake has played over the years. Also, there's an additional display in the lower level that changes every so often. Right now, it's a display about World War II and it's connection with Saranac Lake and TB. It's included in your TB museum fee, so you might as well check out what's there. Next summer, it's supposed to be a display on medical marvels throughout the years and they're borrowing some items from Ripley's in Florida. I can't wait to go back next summer.

It provided a well rounded history of Dr. Trudeau's work treating TB. The curator there was most helpful in printing out other materials to aid us in finding the cure cottages and buildings at the Sanitorium which are not open to the public but interesting to drive by nonetheless. An added point of interest was that Ursula Trudeau stopped by while we were there to check on her hat display that was unique. I do like her art work as well.

Friendly people, well informed staff, innovative exhibits and it is in the historic lab where Dr. Trudeau did much of his work.

An excellent place to start if you're interested in learning how and why Saranac Lake developed. Volunteer was very informative.

This renovated home is now a museum and tells the history of curing in the Adirondacks back in the early 1900s. They share their story with the local school children and are very knowledgeable. Well worth stopping by and learning about TB.

Beautiful building with an interesting history. Curing TB was the reason this town grew. R and R in the fresh mountain air was the cure for TB at the time. Dr. Trudeau was the American leader in developing the cure. Learn more by visiting his lab.

many recent travelers to the ADK's don't even know he is credited with the "cure" for tuberculosis! See the old cure cottages and notice all the open front porches on the older homes in the area. As a registered nurse at the Adirondack Medical Center and a former Hospice Nurse you can understand my interest in this history.

Note first that The Saranac Laboratory for the Study of Tuberculosis is a museum, not an active research facility (as is its nearby descendant, the Trudeau Institute). Although we had run across the name in our AAA travel guide while visiting the Adirondacks, this book offered little description and nothing to entice a visit. Instead, we serendipitously stumbled across The Saranac Laboratory courtesy of wrong turn made during a driving tour of the serene town of Saranac Lake. The Laboratory was founded by physician and tuberculosis sufferer, Edward Trudeau, in 1894 (a time oddly characterized in the museum's brochure as "The Dawn of Science") to discover why his own health had improved upon coming to Saranac Lake, and to incorporate the findings of other researchers in developing a cure. Although housed in Trudeau's second laboratory building, the museum focuses less at the (literally) microscopic aspects than on the "mountain climate" curative process and, most importantly, its impacts on the patients who came to Saranac Lake and on the town itself. The focus on these latter impacts enables The Saranac Laboratory to appeal not only those interested in medicine or science, but also those many of us interested simply in "the human condition." It was, for example, surprising to learn that although the prognosis was decidedly poor for TB victims 100 years ago, life for patients in Saranac Lake was decidedly not all doom and gloom. We especially enjoyed a Ken Burns-like video of the Laboratory and town that included the commentary of a woman who came to Saranac Lake as a tuberculosis-stricken child, was "cured," and then chose to spend her many remaining decades of happy, healthy life in Saranac Lake. While the tour is self-guided, the museum's director, Amy, was very gracious in providing additional narrative and answering our many questions. Donations are requested to tour the museum, and fuzzy, tuberculosis germ stuffed toys (!) are among the for sale offerings.