![Rochester buildings were illuminated in red yesterday for National Wear Red Day, an event to raise awareness about heart disease & stroke for the American Heart Association. [Image: Kathy Oehling Photography]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-buildings-go-red-for-heart-disease-01.jpg)
You may have noticed the City of Rochester went red last night. February is American Heart Month and buildings including Xerox Tower, Kodak Tower, One East Avenue, Rundell Library, and City Hall were lit up to show support for National Wear Red Day and raise awareness about heart health…
Archive: ‘Rochester News’...
Rochester Goes Red for Heart Health
Saturday, February 6th, 2016Tags: American Heart Association, American Heart Month, City of Rochester, health care, heart disease, Kodak Tower, Marc Natale, National Wear Red Day, One East Avenue, Rochester, Rochester American Heart Association, Rochester City Hall, Rochester NY, Rochester skyline, Rundel Library, Rundel Memorial Building, Xerox Tower
Posted in Architecture, Rochester News | 1 Comment »
Inside Abandoned Medley Centre (a.k.a Irondequoit Mall)
Sunday, January 24th, 2016![Abandoned Medley Centre / Irondequoit Mall. Rochester, NY. [IMAGE: Random Retail, Flickr.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-medley-center-irondequoit-mall-01.jpg)
By Snoop Junkie
Last week Medley Centre finally went up for auction. Angelo Ingrassia, former owner of Irondequoit Dodge, won 
the vacant building plus nine adjoining properties for the bargain basement price of $100,000.
The following images were taken last month (December 2015) inside Medley Centre…
Tags: abandoned, abandoned mall, Irondequoit Mall, Lonely Medley Centre, Medley Center, Medley Centre, Rochester, Rochester NY, Skyview, Skyview on the Ridge, Snoop Junkie
Posted in Architecture, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Urban Development, Urban Exploration | 34 Comments »
Please Donate to Save the Seneca White Deer
Saturday, January 16th, 2016![Fawn running through the First Baptist Cemetery, which is located within the Depot. At least three Colonial soldiers are buried there. [IMAGE: Dennis Money]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/seneca-army-depot-08.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Joel Helfrich.
Submit your story today.
The fate of the largest herd of white white-tailed deer in the world is at stake. But you can do something to help.
Although these deer are not albino, they are extremely rare. Their very presence is a small miracle. The Seneca white deer have thrived for decades within a 10,000-acre fenced former military munitions supply base called the Seneca Army Depot, about an hour-long drive from Rochester, which provided munitions for all U.S. wars between World War II and the first Gulf War…
Tags: Joel Helfrich, petition, Seneca Army Depot, white deer
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester News | 2 Comments »
Local Actor Plays First Black Police Officer in ‘Dark Justice’
Monday, January 11th, 2016![Local actor Che Holloway stars in a new series called 'Dark Justice', streaming now on StreamNowTV.com. [Image: StreamNowTV.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/che-holloway-dark-justice-01.jpg)
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.
You can watch all of season 1 after the jump…
Tags: actor, African-American, Che Holloway, Dark Justice, entertainment, movie, race in Rochester NY, Rochester, Rochester NY, School Of The Arts (SOTA), video
Posted in Art + Culture, Rochester News | No Comments »
Downtown Model Train Display Restored; PLUS a Peek at The Metropolitan
Thursday, December 17th, 2015![An old model train display has been dusted off and restored at the former Chase Tower in downtown Rochester. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-chase-tower-metropolitan-tower-01.jpg)
The following story was submitted by Gallina Development Corp..
Submit your story today.
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…
Tags: Chase Tower, downtown, downtown Rochester, Gallina Development, holidays, Iron Horse Club of Rochester, miniature, model railroad, model trains, One Chase Square, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester Model Railroad Club, Rochester NY, The Metropolitan, trains, urban development
Posted in Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Train/Railroad Stuff, Urban Development | 13 Comments »
Help Throw a Christmas Bash for EMMA’s Kids
Saturday, December 12th, 2015
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…
Tags: Beechwood, Culver University East, donate, Dorothy Parham, EMMA neighborhood, EMMA Neighborhood & Business Association, EMMA Neighborhood Christmas Bash, Kim Batten, NotA, Roland Williams, St. Louis Rams
Posted in Events, Rochester News | 1 Comment »
Draft Bill Cala as next RCSD Superintendent
Thursday, December 10th, 2015
The following is a guest post submitted by Joel Helfrich.
Submit your story today.
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…
Tags: Bill Cala, Bishop Kearney High School, Common Core, East High School, education, Fairport Central School District, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Joining Hearts and Hands, Kenya, Lovely Warren, Rochester City School District (RCSD), schools, William Cala
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester News | 3 Comments »
Bell Tower from Rochester School #7, Rediscovered
Sunday, November 1st, 2015![When Bill Schmidt purchased his home on Lake View Park this summer, he became the lucky owner of the bell tower from School #7 in northwest Rochester. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-school-7-bell-tower-02.jpg)
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…
Tags: architecture, demolition, Dewey Avenue, Fairview Heights, historic preservation, Lake View Park, Pierpont Street, Rochester, Rochester NY, school bell tower, Virgil I. Grissom School #7
Posted in Architecture, Rochester History, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure | 7 Comments »
72 Conkey Avenue: Lost
Sunday, October 25th, 2015![72 Conkey Avenue has been demolished. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/clifford-and-conkey.jpg)
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…
Tags: 14621, City of Rochester, Clifford Avenue, Conkey Avenue, demolition, historic preservation, Ibero, Jim Fraser, Jo Dickinson, Rochester, Rochester NY, urban renewal, urban revitalization
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 8 Comments »
Marshmallows and Rochester
Sunday, October 25th, 2015![The former Rochester Marshmallow Company factory located in the High Falls District. [PHOTO: India Lombardi-Bello]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-marshmallow-company.jpg)
Story via Rochester Brainery
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…
Tags: High Falls, history of Rochester, history of the marshmallow, Joseph B. Demerath, marshmallows, Mill Street, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester Marshmallow Company, Rochester NY, The Mills at High Falls
Posted in Architecture, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Apartments, Rochester History, Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
Rochester Street Films… Coming 11/19
Sunday, October 18th, 2015
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…
Tags: Alex and Ander, Elizabeth Murphy, Erik Frisch, event, fundraiser, Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, Karen Elam, Kerry Ivers, Maxwell Motorbikes, Miguel Velázquez, Reconnect Rochester, Street Films, Streetfilms, Sweet Beez honey bike, The Little Theatre
Posted in Rochester News, Train/Railroad Stuff, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 1 Comment »
UPDATE: Little House in the City
Wednesday, September 30th, 2015![Tucked away in a remote corner of downtown Rochester, facing the back side of the Geva Theatre and surrounded on all sides by parking lots, stands this unassuming brick house. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/st-marys-place-01.jpg)
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…
Tags: Patrick Dutton, St. Mary's Place
Posted in Architecture, Rochester News, Urban Development | 10 Comments »
Meet Rochester Artist and Craftsman, Scott Grove
Monday, September 28th, 2015![Meet Scott Grove, a Rochester artist, sculptor, furniture designer, architectural preservationist, among other things. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/scott-grove-powers-building-maintenance-01.jpg)
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…
Tags: architecture, artist, Bausch & Lomb Headquarters, Daniel Powers, downtown Rochester, Eastman Theater, H.H. Warner Building, historic preservation, Jonathan Child House, Neighborhood of the Arts, Piano Works Mall, Powers Building, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Public Market, Scott Grove, sculpture, State Street, University of Rochester
Posted in Architecture, Art + Culture, Interviews, Rochester History, Rochester News, Urban Exploration | 4 Comments »
Park(ing) Day 2015
Wednesday, September 16th, 2015![An empty parking lot in downtown Rochester at Franklin & Pleasant Streets. [PHOTO: Young Urban Preservationists]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/parking-day-2015-02.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Sara Jenks, Young Urban Preservationists. Submit your story today.
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…
Tags: Eat Me Ice Cream, Franklin Street, Inner Loop Country Club, Neighborworks Rochester, North Winton Village, Park(ing) Day, parking, parking lots, parking madness, Pleasant Street, Reconnect Rochester, Rochester, Rochester NY, Ugly Duck Coffee, Young Urban Preservationists (YUP)
Posted in Events, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development, Urban Exploration | No Comments »
Help Nurture Rochester’s Fruit Belt
Wednesday, August 26th, 2015
Orange Street, Lime Street, Grape Street, Orchard Street…
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…
Tags: Dutchtown, Fruit Belt Project, Grape Street, Greentopia, Indiegogo, Jay Street, JOSANA neighborhood, Lime Street, Maple Street, Orange Street, Orchard Street, Rochester, Rochester NY, Shawn Dunwoody, The Big Paint Out!, Walnut Street
Posted in Art + Culture, Rochester News, Urban Development | No Comments »
Rochester’s Carousel is “Not Garbage Art”
Sunday, August 9th, 2015![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)
By Mike Governale with help from Carlie Fishgold.
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”…
Tags: African-American, Bill Dentzel, Charlotte, Charlotte Beach, Dentzel carousel, Dentzel Carousel Company, Edward P. Dentzel, Gustav Dentzel, historic preservation, Monroe County, Ontario Beach Park, Ontario Beach Park carousel, picaninny, preservation, race in Rochester NY, racism, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Preservation Board, slavery, William H. Dentzel
Posted in Art + Culture, Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester News | 15 Comments »
A Carousel of Debate: The Preservation of Ridicule
Friday, August 7th, 2015![Dentzel carousel at Ontario Beach Park. Rochester, NY. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-ontario-beach-carousel-01.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Carlie Fishgold, Associate Editor at POST Magazine and Independent Scholar. Submit your story today.
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…
Tags: African-American, Carlie Fishgold, Charlotte, Charlotte Beach, Dentzel carousel, historic preservation, Landmark Society of Western New York, Monroe County, Ontario Beach Park, Ontario Beach Park carousel, picaninny, preservation, race in Rochester NY, racism, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Preservation Board, slavery
Posted in Art + Culture, Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester News | 39 Comments »
2015 Rochester Fringe Festival Lineup
Thursday, July 16th, 2015![Rochester Fringe Festival [IMAGE: RochesterFringe.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-fringe-festival-2015-01.jpg)
Story via Rochester Fringe Festival
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 …
Tags: Abilene, Absinthe, Bernunzio Uptown Music, Blackfriars Theatre, Brown Bag Disco, Bushwacked, Dance Ministry, Dashboard Dramas, Downton Abbey, Eagles Network International, East Main Street, Eastman School of Music, Eastman School of Music’s Kilbourn Hall and Sproull Atrium, Erica Fee, Gallery r, Garth Fagan Dance Studio, George Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre, Geva Theatre Center’s Fielding Stage, Gibbs Street, Gospel Sunday on Sunday, Grounded Aerial, Hot Tub: The Musical, HSBC Plaza, Jamie Lissow, Java’s Café, Jay Pharoah, Kilbourn Hall, Lady Natasha House, Lewis Banks, Luke Kempner, Lyric Theatre, Matt and Heidi Morgan, MuCCC, Nazareth College, Patton Oswalt, Rimini Protokoll, Rochester, Rochester Association of Performing Arts (RAPA), Rochester Contemporary Art Center (RoCo), Rochester Fringe Festival, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester NY, School of the Arts, Silent Disco, Spiegelgarden, Spiegeltent, Spiegelworld, SUNY Geneseo, The Aurora, The College at Brockport, The Little, The Strong, TheatreROCS Stage, Tribute to Man sculpture, University of Rochester, Upside Downton, Writers & Books
Posted in Art + Culture, Events, Rochester News | No Comments »
Inner Loop Redevelopment Recommendations
Wednesday, July 1st, 2015![A recent report from Stantec outlines recommendations and suggestions for the redevelopment of Union Street after the Inner Loop is filled. [IMAGE: Philip Michael Brown Studio / City of Rochester]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-inner-loop-development-00.jpg)
Yesterday we took a bike ride down inside the Inner Loop with Matthew Ehlers to see how Rochester’s “big fill” was progressing. Quite nicely I’d say. But once filled, the next question becomes, what will fill the void.
RocSubway reader Ben Voellinger pointed us to a recent document posted to the City’s website that outlines recommendations for future development(s) along the new Union Street. Thanks Ben! Let’s take a look…
Tags: Charlotte Street, City of Rochester, East Ave, Great Wolf Lodge, infill development, Inner Loop, Inner Loop East Reconstruction Project, Manhattan Square Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park, parking, parking garage, parking lots, Philip Michael Brown Studio, Pitkin Street, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rotterdam, Stantec, Strong National Museum of Play, Union Street, urban development
Posted in Architecture, Rochester Destinations, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 33 Comments »
Sticky Lips Restaurant Owner: “I’m fighting for the survival of my business”
Sunday, June 21st, 2015![Sticky Lips BBQ owner Howard Nielsen went to NYC on June 15, 2015, to speak at the NY State Wage Board hearings. [PHOTO: Google Streetview]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/sticky-lips-owner-fights-minimum-wage-01.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Howard Nielsen.
Submit your story today.
Howard Nielsen, owner of Sticky Lips BBQ, is currently in the process of renovating the 33,000 square foot building at the corner of Culver and Atlantic. He plans to rebrand the complex into a neighborhood entertainment district called “Photo City Junction” (derived from Rochester’s history in film and camera manufacturing).
Last week Nielsen went to New York City to speak at the NY State Wage Board hearings. He says his concerns for New York State’s proposed minimum wage increase led him to represent business owners like himself. Nielsen sent a copy of his speech from June 15 to RochesterSubway.com. Here it is in its entirety…
Tags: Affordable Health Care Act, fast food restaurant, Howard Nielsen, labor, local business, minimum wage, New York state, Rochester, Rochester NY, Sticky Lips BBQ, workers
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester News | 34 Comments »
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