Che Holloway, 25 of Rochester, is starring in a new series called Dark Justice, released today on StreamNowTV.com .
Holloway, who studied at Rochester’s School of the Arts, plays Amir Snow, the first black police officer in a small American town. The subject matter is highly relevant for these racially charged times, but it’s handled in a pretty hilarious way.
In late October I got the opportunity to go check out a place nearby that I had heard rumors about—a house that has been frozen in a state of construction since 2005. I don’t really feel comfortable sharing the exact location, but the property is in Fairport, NY, out near Egypt on a nice, quiet residential street – surrounded by woods and shrouded in mystery…
Gallina Development , with the help of the Rochester Model Railroad Club , has restored a favorite old model railroad display for the holiday season. The model trains, which have sat in storage for a decade, will be in the lobby of The Metropolitan (formerly Chase Tower) at One Chase Square in Downtown Rochester through the holidays…
A Rochester city neighborhood is asking for our help this year to throw a Christmas Bash for kids in need. EMMA (East Main Mustard and Atlantic) is a sub-section of the Beechwood neighborhood. Like the adjacent NOTA and Culver University East neighborhoods, this neighborhood is mostly an old industrial area, but there are some 367 households with over 200 school age children living here, and an extremely high rate of poverty…
Let us save a great amount of time and money, for once. If the Rochester City School District school board truly wants a “foot soldier,” as board President Van White stated in a recent City Newspaper article , I strongly encourage the board to select Bill Cala, former superintendent of Fairport Central School District, as Rochester’s next superintendent. As a former Spanish language teacher, whose first student teaching assignment was at East High School, Cala will likely garner the support of parents and the union…
While doing research for a recent story on the Rochester Marshmallow Company, we came across another interesting story right around the corner. This one had nothing to do with marshmallows. Wulff’s Hotel (shown above) at the corner of State and Factory Streets, was the scene of a notorious murder case…
Searching for the perfect stocking stuffer this holiday season? How about an itty bitty version of Kodak tower? ReplicaBuildings.com manufactures replica scale models of famous buildings from around the globe. And two of them have been plucked right from Rochester’s skyline…
Last week Justin Schmidt sent us this incredible old illustration of Rochester Savings Bank. Justin writes, “I thought you would enjoy this; in my collection of Rochester ephemera, I came across this page in The American Architect (Sept. 20, 1928 issue) that shows the ‘complete’ design for the old Rochester Savings and Loan building. I never knew it was incomplete!”
Rochestersubway.com was first brought to my attention when I saw the University of Rochester’s Lost Swimming Pool article posted on social media. The photos were so beautiful and haunting that I was inspired to explore more on the site.
I was just starting to get into urban exploring and Rochestersubway.com showed me amazing locations in Rochester that I had never heard of. So I started to use the website as a reference for new places to explore…
Here is a neat view I came across while rummaging around in the Local History Department at the Rochester Public Library. The image is of State Street with downtown Rochester in the background, taken from one of the top floors of Kodak tower…
Welcome to the old Vacuum Oil plant on the west bank of the Genesee River in Rochester’s Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood. Abandoned for nearly a century, there has been very little desire to re-develop this 26-acre site due to contamination. Now, the City of Rochester is aiming to use New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program to clean it up and plan for its future redevelopment. But as of today, this property is still highly toxic. And you guessed it—we’re going inside…
Every so often we’re contacted by a lucky homeowner who discovers a neat little historical treasure hidden away in their basement or roof rafters – usually an old book or a subway token. Then there’s Bill Schmidt. When Bill purchased his home on Lake View Park this summer, he became the lucky owner of an old bell tower from the long-demolished School #7 in northwest Rochester…
Last week a Facebook message came in from RocSubway reader, Nate Sengillo. Nate wanted to share photos from his recent trip to Frontier Town. I’ve never been there myself, but I know I’ve heard of this place before as my family has spent more than a few summer vacations at nearby Lake George. But now seeing Nate’s photos, I wish I had…
Here’s a quick update on a story we brought attention to exactly five years ago. On this empty lot (shown above) once stood 72 Conkey Avenue. The old 19th century Victorian storefront had been the subject of a demolition-vs-rehabilitation debate—one between the City of Rochester and neighborhood resident, Jim Fraser, who has restored a handful of neglected homes in the area. Jim saw 72 Conkey as a diamond in the rough…
This former Rochester Plumbing Supply building at 281 Mill Street has recently been renovated and converted into 14 new apartments in downtown’s growing High Falls district. This is an exciting development not only because of the new life it will add to this neighborhood, but because this building has a pretty sweet past…
I am SUPER excited to be working with the volunteers at Reconnect Rochester to organize Rochester’s first ever Street Films event at The Little Theatre on November 19. If you follow this blog, you clearly have a passion for Rochester and the infrastructure that makes our city run. And I think you’ll enjoy the thought-provoking film clips and live discussion that will take place at this event. Don’t wait to reserve your seat. Here are the details…
Quick update on this story I posted in January about the sole remaining house in the Capron neighborhood downtown. Patrick Dutton has been working extremely hard to save and repurpose the structure. I know because he told me directly and I also have had conversations with contractors I know personally who have said the same. Unfortunately the house at 35 St. Mary’s Place has partially collapsed during the work, and now may be unsalvageable. Here’s an update directly from Dutton…
On my almost daily walk along State and Main streets I’ve often noticed this boom lift blocking the sidewalks around the Powers Building . I’ve never given it much thought. I just figured Daniel Powers liked his windows really clean.
Then, last week while at the Fringe, my RocSubway teammate Joanne Brokaw got introduced to Scott Grove. As it turns out, Scott is that guy hanging high up over Rochester’s sidewalks—and he’s not cleaning windows…
Over the past year I’ve been itching to move downtown (“Oh, you live really downtown” is the common response upon mentioning my address). This past spring I finally ripped the bandaid and moved out of my mom’s house. In the month between choosing where to live and moving in, I scoped out my new neighborhood nearly every day. It was always obvious that surface parking lots dominated the usable land in the St. Joseph’s Park neighborhood, or as I like to call it, St. Joseph’s Parking Lot. What shocked me was one particular lot that never saw a car. Morning, noon, and night I drove by the lot on the Northwest corner of the intersection at Franklin & Pleasant Streets . Every time there sat only a rusty chain and two cones across the entrance…
For years I’ve wanted to camp overnight near the Seneca Army Depot and see if I could get some photos of the famed Seneca White Deer. Finally, I decided it was worth getting up before sunrise and just driving out there . The morning had perfect conditions. Hazy clouds extended the sunrise until at least 7:30 AM. Prime time activity for the deer population…
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
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