You might have stepped out of your house any day this month and thought to yourself, ‘Self, it’s kinda cold out. Maybe even colder than normal.’ If you did, you’re correct , it was the coldest month on record. If you did not, then please consult your doctor.
From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
Some of you may know that there is a shiny, new-ish, giant Wegmans in Rochester. It’s over at East and Winton. Savvier readers may know about another grocery store nary a block away (but clearly on the wrong side of the tracks!). That’s right, there’s also a Tops. In addition, it has come to my attention that there are plans for an Aldi across the street on the site containing the old Roly-door building and Jim’s. For a city with few urban grocery stores, there’s food for everyone over here…
I just returned from a trip to Strong Memorial Hospital to visit Debbie, a cyclist who was seriously injured and taken by Mercy Flight to Strong after being hit and left to die by a drunk driver near Palmyra last week.
Debbie is recovering satisfactorily, but is badly hurt and clearly in pain. Her nurse says she asks if she will be able to ride a bicycle again. The answer is “yes, but not tomorrow.” She was clearly touched and pleased to have a visitor and to know that we care…
Did you hear, last week Rochester earned a spot on a top ten list of most creative cities? It’s true. From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
As someone who can’t sit still and loves hanging out with his friends, I’ve found I’m a bit of an anomaly in Rochester, NY. I eat out every night for dinner and I believe in mixing up the locale often. I try not to eat at the same place within 6 months. I will travel anywhere from Spencerport to Henrietta to Victor to Webster and everywhere in between for a great meal. I will eat at the greasiest spoons to the finest in dining that Rochester has to offer, as long as the food is decent. I give every restaurant 3 chances, if they can make it that long. And I try to keep my dollars local, keeping my money in the hands of local entrepreneurs. But sometimes I can’t resist stopping into Chipotle…
Have you ever discovered a piece of living history in your own home? It can be a thrilling moment when something that’s been hiding under your feet (or above your head) for decades suddenly reveals itself, opening a little window onto the past.
Last week Brenda Washington sent us these photos and a note that read:
“Hello! I have a home in the Highland section of town (circa 1870) and have a really cool wooden block “for sale” sign that was found in the attic, from Neil Real Estate Co. Its a pretty cool sign… Never have seen one like it!”
We know the feeling, Brenda. And we’re happy to share your discovery. Here are the photos of the sign and an old Rochester business directory Brenda also found from 1921 showing an old advertisement for Neil Real Estate Co…
Today I’d like to take a slight departure from our normal Filling In fare. No, I don’t propose to fill in all the banks in Rochester, although that’s not such a bad idea, now that I think about it. What I’d like to talk about is banks and buying stuff. Well, not just any stuff, specifically real estate…
This week’s Fun Foto Friday is a snapshot from 1893. That’s Nick Brayer, an engineering contractor working on a new sewer beneath Front Street in downtown Rochester. In his hands is a tin box. It’s not a sewer pipe. It’s actually a time capsule and he’s preparing to lay it at the project site to be buried. Looks like quite the event; a crowd of neighborhood kids have formed behind him to get in on the photo op.
Fast forward to 2015 and the burning question for readers of this blog will undoubtedly be: Where is this capsule now? And what’s inside…
I wrote you back in December about the issue of sidewalks not being shoveled. After every snow storm there are large areas of sidewalks that are not shoveled throughout the city. I think it’s great that the City of Rochester provides supplemental sidewalk plowing. However, I think many people think it’s now the city’s job to shovel…
This week’s photo takes us back to March 21, 1976. That’s glam rock legend David Bowie (center) being arrested on drug charges by undercover cops at the Americana Rochester Hotel on State Street after a concert at the War Memorial. This rare “behind the scenes photo” was passed among the RPD for decades and this week a copy of it found it’s way onto eBay for an asking price of $25,000 $20,000. Get your bids in now – the auction ends tomorrow morning. [Read more about the Bowie arrest here ]
From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
A recent email from a RocSubway reader asks: “There is a building on Moore Road in Genesee Valley Park that looks like some kind of bird house, maybe a pigeon coop. It’s so close to the edge of the [University of Rochester] property that I wondered if it was theirs, rather than part of the park. Someone is taking care of it as the paint doesn’t appear to be that old. Thought its origin might be interesting. Any ideas?”
I’ve noticed this building before too, and because of those tiny holes in the upper level, I’ve always assumed it was a birdhouse. But I admit, I really am not sure. So I asked JoAnn Beck, Senior Landscape Architect with the City of Rochester…
Last week, Carnegie Place was largely destroyed by fire. Its life spanned some of the most crucial and drastically changing times in Rochester’s history. I had a chance to stop by after the fire and take some photographs of a building I have always enjoyed; in a part of town that was vibrant and still is the heart of the arts movement in Rochester…
This week Eric Mamajek, an astronomer at the University of Rochester discovered an object—either a planet or a failed star—with a ring system 200 times the length of Saturn’s. Mamjek’s discovery is blowing the minds of astronomy geeks worldwide.
From outer space, to local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
Tucked away in a remote corner of downtown, facing the back side of the Geva Theatre and surrounded on all sides by parking lots, stands this unassuming brick house. In downtown Rochester there are several lonely buildings like this one, still hanging on long after its neighbors have all been read their last rites.
I admire old little structures like this. Maybe it doesn’t have a glamourous story to tell. But it’s stuck it out for the last 150+ years – from Rochester’s boom, all the way through the toughest times this rusty city could throw at it. Whenever I’ve visited Geva Theatre I’ve taken notice of this one and wondered if it would find new life…
Today’s RocLink photo was taken by Chris Seward on April 3, 2010 in an abandoned building in Lockport. Chris says the three-story building was brimming with antique motorcycles and parts. According to this article the bikes made their way here from Kohl’s Cycle Salvage shop on the north side of the Erie Canal. The Mr. Kohl died in 2002, and the motorcycles were left here until the building crumbled around them.
And now, from local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
You may have heard FSI Development of Rochester has purchased the empty lot at 186 Atlantic Ave (a.k.a. The Gleason Lot). Here at RocSubway we’ve fantasized about filling in this empty lot for quite some time. And although it’s not our original vision, the actual plan may be even better than how we dreamed it – primarily because it involves a local brew.
FSI is planning to build a brewery and tasting room on the southeast corner of the site to lease to Three Heads Brewery  of Honeoye Falls. Damn, why didn’t we think of this…
The image above was created by Tristan O’Tierney last October in the Rochester Subway. Tristan attached a common kitchen whisk to some string, put some fine grade steel wool inside the whisk, lit the wool on fire, and then swung the whisk around for a 30 second exposure. The result is perhaps the most beautiful version of spin art we’ve ever seen.
From local development, to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
We brave the cold in this edition of Wear to Where to visit the oldest place in Monroe County – the Landmark Society’s Stone-Tolan House and their heirloom apple orchard…
Last summer Rochester developer and restauranteur, John Tachin called up RocSubway with a history mystery for us to solve. After four months of digging, we came up empty. But here’s hoping maybe YOU can help us solve the case of the stone lions.
Get Email Updates...
Stay up-to-date on Rochester-related stories, artifacts, and ideas that you won't find in the mainstream news.
Totally free, never spammy, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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.
![Icicles in the Subway [PHOTO: Ian Wescott - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/iandavid/]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/links/subway_icicles.jpg)
, it was the coldest month on record. If you did not, then please consult your doctor.
![Tops Plaza on Winton Rd south of Blossom [PHOTO: Google Streetview]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/tops/Tops_Plaza_Streetview.jpg)
![Scott Wagner, a local cycling advocate, visited a fellow cyclist who was seriously injured last week by a drunk driver. [PHOTO: ✿Low✿, Flickr]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/lonely-bike-in-snow.jpg)
![High Falls in the Snow. [PHOTO: Rich Engelbrecht, Flickr]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-and-freddie-sue-bridge-arches.jpg)
![Victoire, Rochester NY. [PHOTO: www.BenjaminFerro.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/happy-hour-in-rochester-victoire.jpg)
![Rochester Savings Bank [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/denker/banks/Rochester_Savings_Bank.jpg)
![Nick Brayer preparing to lay a time capsule under Front Street, Rochester. 1893. [PHOTO: Rochester Municipal Archives]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/front-street-time-capsule-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
![Sidewalk snow removal is a safety issue that requires action from all of us. [PHOTO: Nearsoft Inc, Flickr]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/snow-sidewalk-02.jpg)
![Last week, Carnegie Place was largely destroyed by fire. [PHOTO: PuddleJumper Photography]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-carnegie-building-fire-01.jpg)
![Tucked away in a remote corner of downtown Rochester, facing the back side of the Geva Theatre and surrounded on all sides by parking lots, stands this unassuming brick house. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/st-marys-place-01.jpg)
![Motorcycles in an abandoned warehouse in Lockport, NY. [PHOTO: Chris Seward, Flickr]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/lockport-motorcycles-chris-seward.jpg)
![Tristan O'Tierney creates a fiery version of spin art in the Rochester Subway. [PHOTO: Tristan O'Tierney, Flickr]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-sparks-tristanotierney.jpg)
![We brave the cold in this edition of Wear to Where to visit the oldest place in Monroe County – the Landmark Society’s Stone-Tolan House and their heirloom apple orchard. [PHOTO: Clarke Condé]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fashion-wear-to-where-stone-tolan-orchard-01.jpg)
![Here's hoping maybe YOU can help us solve the case of the stone lions. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](http://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/benvenuto-stone-lions-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
![From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week... [PHOTO: Martin Frost]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/roclinks-2015-01-10.jpg)
![\"RochesterSubway.com\"](\"http://rochestersubway.com/images/pixel_white.gif\"){kind=tracking}
