FREE SHIPPING on all orders from RochesterSubway.com* now thru December 23.
Offer good on all items in the Gift Shop as well as with these great combo deals.
*Applies to U.S. and Canadian orders only. Excludes items from Zazzle.com. Local orders usually arrive within 1-2 business days!
The City of Rochester Bureau of Planning and Zoning is in the process of updating Center City Master Plan. From the City’s website, “The intent is for this document to be a strategic plan [to] help the city measure and celebrate downtown progress, prioritize further research and analysis, prioritize projects, and help secure funding.”
A draft plan can be viewed online , and in a series of open houses the City is now gathering public input on that draft. The last open house is this Wednesday evening (details at the end of this story).
I had a chance to catch up with Jason Haremza, senior planner with the City of Rochester, to ask a few questions about the update…
Today’s Fun Foto Friday is this 1920′s view of the Erie Canal aqueduct looking east. You’re looking at the covering over the old canal which would soon become Broad Street and the Rochester Subway beneath. In the background (center) is the Osburn House hotel. Eventually Broad Street would be extended eastward, right through that hotel. The stairwell to the City Hall subway station can be seen at the street corner. And next to the stairs, notice the construction site…
Welcome back, readers. It’s been a while. Today I’d like to look at a project that we could bring into the pipeline almost immediately. I say could, because there are almost assuredly zoning issues with what I’m proposing. That said, we could still get rolling on it immediately, because the site happens to already be on the market for $10,000! Let’s see what we’re getting for our money, what we’re building, and some numbers on the whole thing…
Are you sick of the crass commercialism of Christmas? Looking to add a little edge to your holiday festivities? Here’s a free event you won’t want to miss. On Saturday, December 7, at MuCCC (142 Atlantic Ave.) snag breakfast with everyone’s favorite holiday demon, Krampus, and help some needy kids at the same time.
Who the hell is Krampus? I’m glad you asked…
Krampus is a creature from Eastern European folklore. While St. Nicholas would go around handing out gifts and fruit to well-behaved children, his pal Krampus—covered in fur, long slithering tongue, horns and hooves like a goat—would take the bad children, put them in a sack, and beat them with sticks. If they were particularly naughty, he’d put them in a basket and drag them to hell.
Krampus is making a comeback in Europe and becoming popular around the world now too. Here in Rochester, a group of friends who call themselves the Kramplings, are eager to bring Krampus to Western NY.
“We don’t in any way encourage child beating – far from it. We see Krampus as a cautionary tale, a tool to help modern-day kids behave around the holidays, because the Santa threat no longer works,” the Kramplings said in a press release. “Those kids know they’re getting presents no matter what they do. But bad behavior equals getting spanked by a demon? That’ll motivate them to clean their rooms and stop kicking their brother/sister.”
To spread the bad word of Krampus, the Kramplings have put together Breakfast with Krampus, a FREE community on Saturday, December 7 from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Come down to MuCCC with a new, unwrapped toy to donate to less-fortunate kids. Krampus himself will be on stage. If he likes your toy, you’ll get a free breakfast treat of your choosing. If he doesn’t, he’ll publicly harass you. And if you’re particularly bad, he might just drag you to the underworld.
But that’s not all!
In addition to a visit with Krampus, you can also:
Get your photo taken with the holiday demon (for a nominal fee)
Check out an educational display on Krampus and other disturbing, archaic holidays icons
Make crafts with Krampus
Shop an alternative arts & crafts fair and bake sale
Take in a live performance by The Bloody Noes and other special guests
Admission to Breakfast with Krampus is totally FREE — however the event is intended ONLY for ages 16 and up. (We don’t want to scare any children – that’s your job.) All toys donated at the event will be given to a local charity. All funds raised at the bake sale and arts and crafts fair will be kept by the local artists and crafters.
WHAT: FREE community event. Learn about the stick-wielding European anti-Santa who terrorizes bad children. Bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to needy kids. If Krampus likes it, you’ll get a treat. If not, he’ll publicly harass you. PLUS: Get your photo with Krampus (nominal fee), make crafts, shop a local arts & crafts fair, buy Krampus merchandise, and take in a live performance by The Bloody Noes.
From the 1850′s to the 1930′s stereograms were considered cutting edge home entertainment technology. Two photos taken at the same time from slightly different angles would be view together using a special set of lenses called a stereoscope. The result would be an ever so subtle (yet mind-tingling) simulated 3D view…
If you’re camping outside some big box store in the freezing cold waiting to get trampled in an attempt to grab a “Black Friday deal,” here’s something that may just save your life.
Here’s an update to last Friday’s story about Marilyn Casserino, 79. Marilyn is the girl in the dark dress in the center of the photo above. This picture was taken c.1939 on the roof of the Children’s Building at Iola Tuberculosis Sanitorium where Marilyn was a patient, along with her mother Vivian.
Unfortunately, Marilyn’s mom passed away while at the hospital. Marilyn was just 6 at the time. Looking back at those days, she now wishes she could remember more – about her mom, and about this place where they were treated for well over a year.
For starters, she wanted to try and find out who the other girls in the photo were. Would you believe in less than one week we’ve now identified two of those girls…
In 2013 I gave myself a photo assignment. Pick 13 subjects, and take 13 snapshots of each… 13x13x13. Turns out this was much more work than I thought. So I’ve been accepting submissions from others. Today’s series of 13 comes to us from Tiny Fish Printing , a custom apparel printing company located near the public market.
T-shirts are an American staple. We all have our favorite one that we wear until our belly button shows through. They’re a great way to show our support for our favorite local institutions… restaurants, bands, clubs, etc. They allow us to show off our creative side, even we don’t have a creative bone in our body. And best of all, they keep us from being naked.
Uh, ok… Let’s just take a look at 13 awesome local t-shirt designs…
This former department store (Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Company) is truly massive. Rochester’s Sibley Building weighs in at over 1.1 million square feet (23 acres of floorspace) – easily the largest building in Monroe County.
WinnCompanies out of Boston now owns the property and plans to spend up to $200 Million over the next five years to bring it back to life as mixed-use space. Holy smokes, do these guys have their work cut out for them. You may have noticed new windows and awnings along Main Street? Some 2,000 windows have yet to be replaced.
Last week the UofR Urban Explorers Club went on a tour through the maze of hallways and spaces, from the dark sub-basement all the way up to the two massive water tanks on the tower rooftop…
A couple months ago we took a look inside the Iola tuberculosis hospital on Westfall Road. The buildings have since been demolished. But for Marilyn Casserino, 79, those photos triggered memories, and questions that will linger on…
Earlier this year we took a look at some amazing photos of this abandoned swimming pool on the University of Rochester campus. Within days of those photos being posted here, the university had cleaned up the scene. These new photos got lost in my computer which is why you’re just seeing them now. But I thought it was worth revisiting…
Are you looking for gift ideas this holiday season? Here’s one that’s sure to fill any proud homeowner with good cheer. Local artist Kimberly Kllc DiPietro makes awesome little house ornaments out of Sculpey®! There can’t possibly be a better way to commemorate one’s home than with America’s favorite oven-baked clay…
I was thinking about our collective reactions to the proposed D&C building, and the completed Windstream building. Clearly both buildings are more modest than what many of us hoped to see in this key downtown site (and what the zoning code spells out for downtown). It’s an issue that I think applies to all infill development downtown, and the ideas behind Incremental Urbanism shed some interesting light on it.
Recently, RochesterSubway.com asked Facebook fans who they were voting for in the upcoming race for Mayor. The results are in. Statistically speaking, no one should read too much into this crudely constructed poll. But it did attract some rather interesting results.
If this race were decided on Facebook likes, Tom Richards (Independent) wins hands down with 23. Alex White (Green) finished with 7. And Lovely Warren (Democrat) pulled in 2 (and one person voted for all three candidates). Richards also had the edge with the shear number of comments left.
If anything can be taken away from this, it’s that Lovely Warren supporters were missing in action. Not one positive comment was left for Warren. Either they don’t read RochesterSubway.com, or they are busy on the campaign trail. We’ll know for sure tomorrow night.
DO NOT miss your chance to voice your choice at the real polls tomorrow. In the meantime, check out the comments…
Recent commentary from the Green Party candidate for mayor made me realize that for many, there are simplistic black and white arguments regarding the value of investing in downtown versus investment in education and poverty alleviation.
The Green Party outrage over the sale of Midtown to Buckingham/Morgan developers for $2.00 is one example. I’d like to talk about how the economics work, and why I think there’s a bigger picture being overlooked…
Rochester is a city with a rich history that has experienced a steady decline in population, quality of life, and reputation. Despite this the city has many proud residents who are not satisfied with the status quo. Due to repeated failures we’re skeptical of large projects. This environment of pride mixed with skepticism has produced a generation of Rochester supporters who embrace progressive ideas, respect history, and proceed with caution. My personal contribution is a plan to establish a large State University in Downtown Rochester. We’ll call it SUNY Rochester.
Durand-Eastman Park. So peaceful and picturesque. This time of year the autumn colors are brilliant. And the water is so calm and reflective; the landscape seems to gently float up into the sky. This could be heaven.
On the edge of one great Lake Ontario, two much smaller lakes, Durand and Eastman are named for the two men who donated the land for this beautiful park. In the early 1900′s Dr. Henry S. Durand owned a summer camp here. He and his friend George Eastman saw a need for a public park with access to the beach. So they bought a number of farms around the Durand property, and in 1907 they offered the land to the City of Rochester.
But to willingly give away this place, I have to believe Dr. Durand knew contained something that was not quite right. Maybe something terrifying…
If you live, work or own a business in downtown Rochester, yesterday you might have received a request to answer a few questions. Do NOT throw it away! Trust me. It’s important.
That Downtown Satisfaction Survey is intended to gather insights which will help in establishing a Business Improvement District. What’s that? I’m glad you asked…
This final part serves to tie up some loose ends, and to showcase additional trail options and connections in the region. Here, we will go on an alternative route North to the lake, this time on the east side of the river gorge, and check out the parkway and Route 390 trails, which provide us with additional connections. [View this route in Google Earth using this .KMZ file]
Meet Victor Jackson. The year is 1918 and Victor has no family. He’s an orphan at the Dorsey Home for Dependent Colored Children. You might say the cards are stacked against Victor. But he doesn’t mind…
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
became a relic of a bygone era. In 1956 the subway was abandoned and much of
its route was converted into Interstate 490 — built to connect Rochester
with the New York State Thruway (I-90). Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
RochesterSubway.com exists to help spark
public dialogue around how we can better connect the neighborhoods of Rochester
NY, surrounding communities, and their cultural offerings. Rochester’s
future is written in her past. Let's rediscover it.
![Rochester Center City [PHOTO: RocPx.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-center-city-master-plan-01.jpg)
, and in a series of open houses the City is now gathering public input on that draft. The last open house is this Wednesday evening (details at the end of this story).
![Rochester Subway, Broad Street tunnel construction. c.1925. [IMAGE: Rochester Municipal Archives]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-broad-street-construction-01.jpg)
![Matthew Denker looks at the feasibility of filling in this empty lot on Genesee Street. [IMAGE: Google Maps]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/filling-in-446-genesee-street-01.jpg)
![A FREE community event, 'Breakfast with Krampus' will bring subversive holiday humor to Rochester. [PHOTO: Provided by Eric Rezsnyak]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/breakfast-with-krampus-2013-01.jpg)
![A greeting card featuring Krampus. [IMAGE: Wikipedia]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/krampus.jpg)
![The Kramplings, a group of friends/idiots in Rochester, are eager to bring Krampus to Western New York. [PHOTO: Provided by Eric Rezsnyak]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/breakfast-with-krampus-2013-02.jpg)
![3D Stereogram of High Falls (c.1885) [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/high-falls-rochester-1885.gif)
![Get 20% off the Rochester Subway or Rochester Neighborhoods maps, then take it to Black Radish Studio for 25% off a custom framing job! Happy Holidays! [PHOTO: Black Radish Studio]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-frame-by-black-radish-01.jpg)
![Children (patients) on the roof of Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium (c.1939). That's Marilyn Casserino in the center. [PHOTO COURTESY OF: Marilyn Murphree]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-children-crop.jpg)
![13 Rochester T-shirts [PHOTO: Tiny Fish Printing]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/13-rochester-tshirts.jpg)
![The Sibley Building, Rochester NY. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-sibley-building-01.jpg)
![The abandoned swimming pool at University of Rochester has been cleaned of its desk chairs. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/university-of-rochester-abandoned-pool2-01.jpg)
![Recently, RochesterSubway.com asked Facebook fans who they were voting for in the upcoming race for Mayor. The results are in. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-race-for-mayor-2013.jpg)
![Midtown Tower construction site. [PHOTO: Jimmy Combs]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/public-private-investment-midtown-rochester-01.jpg)
![Donald J. Sullivan would like to see a SUNY college in downtown Rochester. [PHOTO: Flickr, PatrickHashley]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/sunyroc-suny-rochester-skyline-patrickhashley.jpg)
![Durand-Eastman Park, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-durand-eastman-park-01.jpg)
![Ambassadors with the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District provide a variety of services including street cleaning and beautification, providing information, and security. [PHOTO: MinneapolisDID.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/downtown-improvement-district-01.jpg)
![The fifth and final part of Ryan Green's Bike Rochester Series... the El Camino and Route 390 Trails! [PHOTO: Ryan Green]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rg-bike-rochester-el-camino-and-route-390-trails-014.jpg)
![Meet Victor Jackson. October, 1918. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-dorsey-home-orphans-pumpkins-01.jpg)
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