This is Rochester’s fruit belt, and the inspiration behind a new collaboration between Greentopia and Shawn Dunwoody. The Fruit Belt Mural Project aims to transform one of Rochester’s most challenged neighborhoods (JOSANA, in the northwest quadrant) through art…
I received an email last week from George Conboy, Chairman of Brighton Securities. He asks, “Have you seen anywhere a photo of the transportation mural that was behind the long ticket counter at the old airport? I remember it as a vaguely Art Deco theme of general transportation with an emphasis, of course, on air transport.”
Mr. Conboy explained that he used to fly a lot during the “glory days” of air travel back in the 1960s when he was a kid. “I just liked that old mural. I used to see it all the time and it has always been in my mind.”
This is a great question. I had been told of this mural before but have never seen it myself. Photos of it online are practically non-existent, so this one will require some digging…
In 1867 Gustav Dentzel founded the Dentzel Carouse Company in Philadelphia, PA. In 1905, Gustav’s “Duchess” menagerie carousel opened at Ontario Beach Park where it has since entertained many generations of Rochesterians.
Recently, a debate has erupted concerning one of the ride’s painted panels; two black children—or more accurately, picaninnies—being harassed by a rooster. Stereotypical depictions of black children such as these were intended to dehumanize blacks and provide entertainment for whites at their expense. There’s no debate here. It is what it is. The question is what do to with the panel…
Some have called for it to be removed or replaced with something different. Others believe it should be preserved – either in place, or in another setting where it can be used to educate future generations about America’s history and the pitfalls of racism and bigotry.
Bill Dentzel is the great-grandson of Gustav Dentzel. In a letter to Rochester’s Preservation Board dated August 4, 2015, Bill suggests that the panel may be moved, but should not be discarded as “garbage”…
For those in the Rochester community who have a hard time understanding why the Dentzel carousel painted picaninny panel disallows African-American families and children from a carefree experience at Ontario Beach Park, I encourage you consider that you are not the butt of the joke…
The fourth First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival (Thursday, September 17 – Saturday, September 26) announced its complete lineup this week at its annual BIG REVEAL at The Little Theatre. The 2015 Fringe will include more than 500 performances and events (up from 2014’s 380) featuring all genres of art in 25+ venues in downtown Rochester, with more than 120 of them offered free of charge. The full schedule is available and all tickets are on sale as of now at RochesterFringe.com …
A good friend of mine, Ander Kazmerski , just posted some sweet drone footage of Rochester. The video focuses on two sites – the Rochester subway and the Carnegie building on Goodman Street just after its devastating fire. I don’t think I need to say much about it. These images speak for themselves. You’ll definitely want to go full-screen with this one…
Here’s an interesting video we stumbled upon while diddling around on YouTube this weekend. This 7 and a half minute long interpretive dance exploration of the Rochester subway tunnel will totally blow your mind. Grab some popcorn and roll film…
School’s out, Sea Breeze is open, and summer is officially in full swing. But before you head out to the beaches this weekend, take note of the latest trends in swimwear. You don’t want to be caught looking silly wearing last year’s style.
For 2015, that vintage look is back, and we’ve dug up some real classics – from Rochester’s old natatoriums to the shores of Lake Ontario…
During the early 20th century consumer photography—and Kodak in particular—was itself an emerging market, much like wearable technology today. People were super excited about these new photographic gadgets. But Eastman Kodak Company didn’t sit back and wait for customers to come to them – they advertised, and they were creative about it.
In fact, film and cameras weren’t the only things coming out of Kodak Park. In 1917, Kodak employees produced and performed an operetta (or a short musical) entitled Kodaki San. One of the featured songs was this piano tune and ode to Rochester…
Have you ever done something so crazy you started to question your own sanity? A few weeks ago a little voice inside my head said, “DUDE, you should totally organize a flash mob!” Most sane people would have chuckled to themselves and ignored the voice. Not me. I listened to it.
So now here I am, asking you to join me for what could be the most insane (yet wildly entertaining) 5 minutes that downtown Rochester has seen in quite a while. If you’re feeling a little bit crazy, the details are after the jump…
Here’s something that turned up in the RocSubway email box a few weeks ago and we thought it pretty neat. Rochester expatriate Marshall Allen designed this Greater Rochester / Monroe County subway map for no other reason than to satisfy his own geeky curiosity. Sounds familiar. We’ll add this one to our collection of fantasy Rochester subway maps…
Here’s some exciting news… Trolleys will be returning to Rochester’s streets this summer! Though not the electric kind. Philip Szal will be starting Rochester Pedal Tours, a pedal powered trolley that guests can take around downtown as a way to bounce between their favorite restaurants and bars…
On Monday April 27 at 7pm, Rochester Bicycle Film Festival will present its first of three films, Power to the Pedals, and panel discussion with the filmmaker and other cycling advocates at Little Theatre…
In 2012, four individuals came together to bring something new to Rochester’s airwaves – a community run, free-form radio station that would reflect the voices and vision of the citizens of Rochester. Johanna Buran, Genevieve Waller, Matt Werts, and Mike Yates have now put most of the pieces in place to begin broadcasting this June.
RocSubway recently caught up with Mike Yates to find out what still needs to be done to make this dream a reality, and what listeners can expect when they tune in to the new WAYO 104.3 FM…
At a cost to the New York taxpayer of just about half that of the Louisiana Purchase fourteen years earlier, “Clinton’s Ditch” faced the ageless and indestructible rancor of the New York State Legislature and the animosity of the press statewide. It is hard to overstate the impact the investment taxpayers made in building the canal had on the development of Rochester and New York State. Now, it is almost impossible to imagine a project like the canal ever being built in today’s political climate and maybe that is not such a good thing. In this edition of Wear to Where we stop by Lock 33 and ask, “What’s the big idea?”…
GREENTOPIA | FILM, a documentary film festival that lives at the intersection of Art and Ideas, is back for a fourth year. In partnership with Monroe Community College, the festival’s documentaries hale from around the globe and illuminate sustainability in its most wide-ranging sense. The films empower audiences to discuss the important topics of today and create sustainable changes in their own lives and communities. Screenings during the five-day festival, March 17th-21st, will be preceded by artistic performances from local buskers and followed by lively panel discussions with filmmakers from across the nation or local experts…
A local collective of artists/illustrators known as Hope Mountain have been publishing art books in Rochester for the past 4 years. Now they’re in the middle of Kickstarting this year’s Volume 5 and they’re asking for our help…
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…
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.
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
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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
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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.
is Rochester’s fruit belt, and the inspiration behind a new collaboration between Greentopia and Shawn Dunwoody. The Fruit Belt Mural Project ![Do you remember the mural at the old Rochester Monroe County Airport? A reader asked if we could share photos of it. [IMAGE: Rochester Public Library Local History Division]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-monroe-county-airport-00.jpg)
![This painted picaninny panel on Rochester's Dentzel carousel has been the subject of debate since the confederate flag was removed from South Carolina's State House in July. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-ontario-beach-carousel-04.jpg)
![Dentzel carousel at Ontario Beach Park. Rochester, NY. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-ontario-beach-carousel-01.jpg)
![Rochester Fringe Festival [IMAGE: RochesterFringe.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fringe-festival-2015-01.jpg)
![Aerial drone footage of Rochester; the subway and Carnegie Place after fire. [IMAGE: Ander Kazmerski]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-carnegie-building-drone-video-01.jpg)
![Scene from 'Infiltration'. An interpretive dance film shot in the abandoned Rochester subway tunnel. [IMAGE: Breakbone DanceCo.]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-dance-video-01.jpg)
![Vintage swimwear. Rochester NY. [IMAGE: Albert R. Stone]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-vintage-swimsuits.jpg)
![The Girl From Kodak Town [IMAGE: AbeBooks.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/the-girl-from-kodak-town-01.jpg)
![On Thursday, June 18, at exactly 9:07a.m. we're going to start the biggest spontaneous dance party ever to take place in downtown Rochester. For the exact location and to learn the dance moves, watch the video. [IMAGE: ReconnectRochester.org]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-flash-mob-01.jpg)
![Greater Rochester and Monroe County fantasy subway map. [IMAGE: Marshall Allen]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/monroe-county-subway-map-01.gif)
![Rochester Pedal Tours coming July 2015. [PHOTO: BuffaloPedalTours.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/pedal-tours-01.jpg)
![It is almost impossible to imagine a project like the canal ever being built in today’s political climate and maybe that is not such a good thing. In this edition of Wear to Where we stop by Lock 33 and ask, 'What’s the big idea?' [PHOTO: Clarke Condé]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fashion-wear-to-where-erie-canal-lock-33-01.jpg)
![A local collective of artists/illustrators known as Hope Mountain is Kickstarting to produce a new book and put some artwork on Main Street. [Image: Peter Lazarski]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/hope-mountain-02.jpg)
![Victoire, Rochester NY. [PHOTO: www.BenjaminFerro.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/happy-hour-in-rochester-victoire.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]](https://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]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/benvenuto-stone-lions-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
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