RochesterSubway.com : From Eyesore to Opportunity: Rochester’s Cataract Brewhouse

Posts Tagged ‘Cataract Brewing Company’...

From Eyesore to Opportunity: Rochester’s Cataract Brewhouse

Wednesday, April 4th, 2012

All the controversy over whether or not to demolish the 120 year-old brewhouse at 13 Cataract Street external link got us thinking. Those in favor of demolishing the building say it’s an eyesore and a haven for drug dealers; even prostitutes. So, just remove the building and our problems go away.

Right?

But if we demolished every eyesore in Rochester, would we have solved all the City’s problems? Or might we end up tossing the proverbial “baby” out with the bath water? Over the past two weeks we’ve reviewed at some local eyesores …or rather, opportunities, nearly lost. Those include the Flatiron Building, Station 55, Hoyt-Potter House, Lehigh Valley Railroad Station (Dinosaur Bar-B-Que), Parazin Building, Partners Building, and the Powers Building.

Tonight the Preservation Board and Planning Commission will hear public comments and decide whether or not 13 Cataract will join the ranks of the reborn, or go the way of Rochester’s Bragdon Station and others.

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Wednesday, April 4th, 2012
Tags: adaptive reuse, Cataract Brewery, Cataract Brewing Company, Cataract Street, From Eyesore to Opportunity, High Falls, Rochester, Rochester NY
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Development | 2 Comments »

Imagine, Rochester’s Historic Brewery Square

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Rendering of renovated buildings and GardenAerial trail

I realize that sometimes it’s a bit difficult to see the potential in something. Especially when that “potential” is hidden beneath layers of mustard yellow paint, rusty corrugated siding, and 25+ years of plain old tired…

The way things look now (click for larger views)

Why, just the other day Howard S. Decker, FAIA said, “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Holder. external link ” Mr. Decker is former Principal of DLK Architecture (Chicago) and former Chief Curator of the National Building Museum (Washington DC). He knows a thing or two about buildings, and places that are worth saving for future generations. His highly experienced eyes see the potential in 13 Cataract Street and the neighborhood it lives in.

But what about the rest of us? How can we be sure this building is worth the money and effort it will take to bring it back to life? What is the alternative to demolition? And will we lose our Brewery Visitor Center if we don’t tear this other building down??

Let’s start with an excerpt taken from a document filed by the Landmark Society in 1984 with the New York State Parks and Recreation Division for Historic Preservation…

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Sunday, December 4th, 2011
Tags: architecture, Cataract Brewing Company, Dorraine Kirkmire, GardenAerial, Genesee Brewery, Genesee Brewing Company, High Falls, Highline, KPS Capital Partners, Michael Psaros, New York City, North American Breweries, NYC, Rochester, Rochester Brewing Company, Rochester Historic Brewery Square, Rochester NY, Standard Brewing Company
Posted in Opinion, Rochester News, Urban Development | 13 Comments »

Prohibition in Rochester

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

A much anticipated documentary on the prohibition era external link will air Sunday night on WXXI. Ken Burns and Lynn Novick tell the story of “the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” which outlawed alcohol and tossed everything we thought we knew about America upside down.