Every year the BBoy BBQ showcases some of the best graffiti crews anywhere in the world—right here in Rochester NY. Live graffiti art, live music, DJs, breakdancing artists, food, etc etc… all free and open to the public. This year rumors are swirling around the Rochester Subway that something big may be brewing…
The latest subway performance making the rounds actually has a tech-angle. A band known as Atomic Tom recently staged an “impromptu” show on the B train, but played one of their songs using only iPhones. The video was uploaded to YouTube and has since logged more than 633K views.
In light of some of recent civic developments in our town over the past few months (high speed rail, transit centers, new theaters, etc.) I thought it appropriate to pull this old film out of the archives to take a look at the history of Rochester through the eyes of some good old-fashioned propaganda. Rochester: A City of Quality is the title of a film made in 1963 by Rochester Gas and Electric. The film presents Rochester in the most glowing light possible through a narrative that is clearly a product of Cold War industrialism. In one section the narrator declares “Rochester has made peace with the automobile”. And in another, “Change is necessary to keep competitive in industry as well as cities. If you don’t change, change will change you.”
Back in January I stumbled upon a Flickr photo collection full of urban exploration photos from all around the Great Lakes and several “rust belt” cities… with several shots from Rochester and the abandoned subway tunnel. Shot after shot revealed some pretty unique views of Rochester’s underground world plus other amazing abandoned structures. As it happens, the owner of these wonderfully gritty photo streams is Chris Luckhardt, organizer of the Toronto Exploration Society. Chris is also the creative force behind Motionblur Studios —a low budget, high quality studio located west of Toronto.
Originally from Stratford, Ontario, Chris Luckhardt’s creative exploration has driven him from New Foundland to Pheonix in search of forgotten places—strangely spiritual, places we’re not ‘supposed’ to go. I contacted Chris to find out a little more about these photos and what enticed him to visit the bowels of downtown Rochester…
ROCHESTERSUBWAY.COM: Hi Chris, I noticed you have a couple of nice shots of the abandoned Rochester Subway. How often do you visit the subway tunnel? Can you tell me a bit about yourself and your photos?
CHRIS: Sure, thanks for the feedback! I’m the organizer for the Toronto Exploration Society . The group, founded in February 2005, specializes in urban exploration (mostly around the Great Lakes region) and photo walks (mostly in Toronto). I’m currently west of Toronto in Cambridge, Ontario. Rochester was the first US city I visited strictly for urban exploration. I have lots of photos and video from inside the [Rochester] subway. I’ve been down there 5 times in the past 4 years, the last time being a couple of months ago. I also have lots of SD and HD video, but I haven’t processed anything yet.
The story of the Rochester Subway is not complete without at least mentioning Rochester’s deep-rooted hip hop culture. If you’re less than familiar with Rochester, I assure you, this shizzle is fo’ real. The “Flower City” has street cred, and our abandoned subway tunnel has long been used as a canvas to show off some of our best underground talent…
It’s been widely reported that RochesterSubway.com is spending millions on a new Super Bowl TV spot this year featuring rapper and hip hop megastar 50 Cent. We’re not going to rain on the parade—maybe the ad will air during the Super Bowl, maybe it won’t. You’ll have to watch the game to find out. But you won’t have to wait to see it. Watch the spot… then read the rest of this post to find out how we got 50 to star in our Rochester Subway production…
I hope you like model trains. Because if you don’t, you’re about to get an eyeful. This is simply unbelievable. The Miniature Wunderland model railroad in Hamburg, Germany is the largest in the world, covering 16,146 square feet of space with more than 10,000 train cars running around its 6.8 MILES of HO scale track! Now that’s large, but it’s not even the size of this plastic micro-world that’s most impressive—it’s all in the details. See for yourself…
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the “subway”) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
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
its route was converted into Interstate 490 — built to connect Rochester
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.
showcases some of the best graffiti crews anywhere in the world—right here in Rochester NY. Live graffiti art, live music, DJs, breakdancing artists, food, etc etc… all free and open to the public. This year rumors are swirling around the Rochester Subway that something big may be brewing…
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