|
This postcard depicts one of this country’s first great transportation
hubs. Looking south from downtown Rochester, the Genesee River, Lehigh Valley Railroad,
and Rochester’s new trolley & freight subway all converge at South Avenue
and Court Street.
The elevated roadway with automobiles parked on either side was a driveway that
led down to the barge canal terminal (the brick building perched on the left side
of the river in the distance). Beneath this elevated driveway are the subway tracks.
The four cars in the lower lefthand corner of the image are parked on South Avenue.
The brick building in the lower right corner, behind the driveway, is
the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station—today it’s the home of the Dinosaur
Bar B Que restaurant. The passenger platform and a railroad car can be seen directly
behind the station. Rollover the image to the left to read the sign over the passenger
platform. The water flowing between the railroad platform and the driveway was that of the
Johnson and Seymour Millrace. Constructed in 1817, water was redirected from the
Genesee River at the Johnson and Seymour Dam and used to produce 1300 horsepower of
energy for local mills.
Also noteworthy, to the left of the river along the horizon are the Pinnacle Hills.
And on the right side of the river behind the dam, the Erie Railroad station and
Corn Hill neighborhood can be seen.
The handwritten message on the back of this postcard is fitting for the image
on the front. It reads:
| 
