The Downtown Merchant's Association was founded by Norman Fox of N. Fox Jewelers in the early 1960s.  This was in response to a proposal that the Route 50 arterial be routed around downtown Saratoga Springs.

The downtown merchants united to fight this proposal and, as you can see today, were successful.  With the fight over, the Downtown Merchants Association began to wane and in the early 1970's the Downtown Merchants Association changed it's name to the Downtown Business Association.

Norman was later involved in the founding of the Saratoga Springs Special Assessment District in 1978.  If a person owns a building and is a downtown landlord, that person pays a special tax that is earmarked for particular downtown improvements such as benches, new Victorian street lights, flowers, holiday decorations, special events, etc. Norman Fox's visions for the future of our city are a story in themselves, and we owe him tremendous gratitude.