![Rochester's RKO Palace Theater, September 1965. A sign is hung on the marquee proclaiming this the site of new $10 Million dollar twin towers. The theater was demolished and no towers were ever built on the site. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rochester Theater Organ Society]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/RKO-Palace-051-New10MillionDollarTwinTowers.jpg)
Russ Shaner, president of the Rochester Theater Organ Society has dug up another incredible photo of Rochester’s RKO Palace Theater…
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Rochester’s RKO Palace Theater and the $10,000,000 Twin Towers
Friday, January 4th, 2013Tags: downtown Rochester, RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Theater Organ Society, Russ Shaner, The Rochesterian
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Development | 5 Comments »
Never Before Seen Photos of RKO Palace Theater
Sunday, October 7th, 2012![Rochester's RKO Palace Theater during demolition. 1965. [PHOTO: D.O. Schultz / Rochester Theater Organ Society]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/RKO-Palace-013-AuditoriumNorthWall.jpg)
A few weeks after we discovered the RKO Palace Theater floor at the site of RGRTA’s future transit center, Russ Shaner, president of the Rochester Theater Organ Society 
contacted me. These were the guys who saved the old Wurlitzer pipe organ from the RKO Palace before the building was demolished. And as it turns out, one of their founding members, D.O. Schultz, captured a treasure trove of photographs and left them with the Organ Society before he moved to Florida years ago. Russ asked RochesterSubway.com for help, both archiving the photos, and sharing them with you, the public. Yesterday you saw part 1, and now, here is part 2 of this awesome collection…
Tags: Clinton Avenue, demolition, downtown Rochester, Mortimer Street, old photos, old photos of Rochester NY, RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester Theater Organ Society, Russ Shaner, Saint Paul Street
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 16 Comments »
Never Before Seen Photos of RKO Palace Theater
Sunday, October 7th, 2012![Rochester's RKO Palace Theater during WWII. Main entrance on Clinton Ave. 1942. [PHOTO: D.O. Schultz / Rochester Theater Organ Society]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/RKO-Palace-001-ClintonAveEntrance1942.jpg)
A few weeks after we discovered the RKO Palace Theater floor at the site of RGRTA’s future transit center, Russ Shaner, president of the Rochester Theater Organ Society contacted me. These were the guys who saved the old Wurlitzer pipe organ from the RKO Palace before the building was demolished. And as it turns out, one of their founding members, D.O. Schultz, captured a treasure trove of photographs and left them with the Organ Society before he moved to Florida years ago. Russ asked RochesterSubway.com for help, both archiving the photos, and sharing them with you, the public. Below is part 1 of this awesome collection…
Tags: Clinton Ave, demolition, downtown Rochester, Loew's Theater, Mortimer Street, old photos, old photos of Rochester, RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, Rochester Theater Organ Society, Russ Shaner, Saint Paul Street
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 33 Comments »
RGRTA Digs Up Rochester’s Old RKO Palace Theater
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
There are few places Rochesterians talk about with such fondness as the old RKO Palace Theater that once stood on Clinton Avenue. Looking at old pictures, I can see why. The place was all dressed up and sparkled inside and out like a glitzy Vegas showgirl. But like many of Rochester’s brick and mortar beauties, she grew old, was chopped up into little pieces, and buried where she stood. All in the name of “urban renewal.” Fast forward fifty years. RGRTA breaks ground on a new bus terminal. And guess what shows up? That’s right – the skeleton of Rochester’s most beautiful movie theater…
Tags: bus terminal, Clinton Avenue, demolition, downtown Rochester, old movie theater, old photos, old photos of Rochester, old theater, Regional Transit Service (RTS), RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), rochester images, Rochester NY, Rochester Theater Organ Society, RTS Transit Terminal, Saint Paul Street, urban explorers, urban renewal
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 101 Comments »
Loew’s Theater: Rochester’s Other Lost Movie Palace
Thursday, October 11th, 2012![Loew's Rochester Theatre, Rochester. On the marquee: Greta Garbo, Charles Bickford, Maria Dressler in “Anna Christie” and on stage Barto and Mann, Harry Girard’s Ensemble, and A. Robbins. Photo by George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann. April 26, 1930. [PHOTO: George Mann of the comedy dance team, Barto and Mann. Via Brad Smith's Flickr Stream]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/loews-theater-rochester-01.jpg)
Earlier this week a collection of photos of Rochester’s RKO Palace Theater was discovered thanks to the Rochester Theater Organ Society. Mixed in with those RKO Palace photos were a few interior shots of Rochester’s other lost movie palace… Loew’s Theater. So I thought it only fair to shine the spotlight on this one too. Loew’s Theater also happened to be on Clinton Avenue, just four or five blocks south of the RKO. Xerox Tower now occupies the spot. Take a look…
Tags: downtown Rochester, Loew's Theater, old photos, old photos of Rochester, RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, South Clinton Avenue, Washington Square, Xerox Tower
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 26 Comments »
RocLinks 8/27/16
Sunday, August 28th, 2016![Never built Voyager Towers at the site of the award-winning RTS Bus Terminal [PHOTO: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 8/15/1965]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/topics/wp-content/uploads/Voyager_Towers.jpg)
From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
RGRTA Digs Up More Buried Treasure: Seven Masonic Stone Carvings
Thursday, January 9th, 2014![A stone from the Masonic Temple that once stood at Clinton Avenue and Mortimer Street. [IMAGE: RGRTA via Democrat & Chronicle]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/stone-from-masonic-temple-rochester.jpg)
In 2012 we were surprised to learn that RGRTA had dug up the foundation of the RKO Palace Theater while excavating for the new transit terminal. This week, Jim Memmott reported on some more fantastic treasures that were unearthed at the same site. Some time last year seven heavy stones (some weighing a ton) were pulled up from depths of up to 30 feet below street level. Each stone bore a symbol of the Freemasons…
Tags: Clinton Avenue, construction, downtown Rochester, excavation, Freemasons, Jim Memmott, Masonic Temple, Mortimer Street, RKO Palace Theater, Rochester, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), Rochester NY, RTS Transit Terminal
Posted in Art + Culture, Rochester History, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 9 Comments »
RochesterSubway.com Talks at TEDxRochester
Monday, January 21st, 2013![Mike Governale at TEDxRochester. Mike is a designer, blogger, and founder of a local public transit advocacy group, Reconnect Rochester. [PHOTO: Jeffrey Hamson]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/TEDx-Rochester-2.jpg)
Last November I had the ridiculously huge privilege to give a talk at TEDxRochester. The gravity of the honor may have been too much for my little brain to comprehend. In fact, when they initially asked me to do it I said “no thanks” – twice. Long story short, I gave in. And I’m glad I did, because the experience was one of those “once in a lifetime” things.
Since much of my talk was influenced by you, RocSubway readers and participants, I thought you’d like to watch (and share) the official video which has just been released. A word of caution: I’m not the most riveting public speaker, but there is lots of good stuff buried within this 12-minute presentation, so watch thru to the end if you can…
Tags: Amanda Doherty, downtown Rochester, Gary Jacobs, history of Rochester, Jen Indovina, mass transit, mass transportation, Michael Governale, public transportation, Reconnect Rochester, Rick U., Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, suburban sprawl, TED Talks, TEDxRochester, Tony Karakashian, transit, transportation, transportation alternatives, urban revitalization
Posted in Opinion, Rochester History, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development, Video | 4 Comments »
The Mystery of the Stone (Benvenuto) Lions
Sunday, January 11th, 2015![Here's hoping maybe YOU can help us solve the case of the stone lions. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/benvenuto-stone-lions-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
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.
Cue the Pink Panther Theme Song , this one’s a doozy…
Tags: Benvenuto Brothers, Benvenuto Wrecking Company, corbel, demolition, John Tachin, Lake Avenue, lintel, lion head, local history, mystery, Rochester history, stone lion, urban renewal
Posted in Architecture, Art + Culture, Rochester History, Urban Development, Urban Exploration | 33 Comments »
A 100 Ton Discovery at the Port of Rochester
Monday, June 17th, 2013![Did an asteroid land in the parking lot at Ontario Beach? Not quite. This 100 ton hunk of slag is a remnant from an old steel mill. [PHOTO: Fred Amato]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/slag-button-charlotte-beach-rochester-01.jpg)
David DiPonzio, a firefighter with the Lake Shore Fire District in Greece, sent me these photos (taken by friend Fred Amato) of a strange-looking crater in the middle of the parking lot at Ontario Beach Park. An asteroid? Uh, not quite. This may be the most interesting archeological find since RGRTA dug up the RKO Palace. That big rock you see in the center of the crater is actually a giant hunk of slag – left over from the iron or steel mill that once operated here…
Tags: Bethlehem Steel, blast furnace, Charlotte Beach, City of Rochester, construction, David DiPonzio, iron button, iron mill, Jim McIntosh, Lake Shore Fire District, Ontario Beach Park, Port of Rochester/Charlotte, Quinnesee Iron Mining Co., Rochester, Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E), Rochester NY, slag, steel mill
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 19 Comments »
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