Reconnect Rochester has alerted us to an important informational meeting tonight about the Inner Loop’s future (or lack thereof). As we wait to find out whether or not this project will be a recipient of a USDOT TIGER grant, the City is moving forward with plans to scale down a large portion the underutilized 12-lane highway. Ultimately that will mean greater connectivity between downtown and the neighborhoods to the east, and lower road maintenance costs in the long run. If there was ever a big road project to support, this is it.
One of the sites that the city has, let’s say aspirationally, earmarked for development is the site of the former Sherwood Shoe Company. The shoe company itself was incorporated in 1905 by Frederick A. Sherwood, and the factory for it was built on this site at roughly the same time. I’m less sure when it was torn down, but it is on the 1935 plat maps, so it was certainly there through the depression. (UPDATE: the photo above is from 1956)
As for what to do here, I think there are a million great ideas, and I am hoping that we are able to get a good conversation of the various uses: lofts where the factory used to be? More houses? All of these things and more? All great ideas, and I’m not one to come to the table empty handed, so let’s take a look at what I think should go here.
Over the years there have been many proposals for the reuse of Rochester’s abandoned subway tunnel. Some would like to see the tunnel preserved and turned into a living museum open to the public. Others would like to turn back the hands of time even further, converting the tunnel back into a water canal – as it was part of the Erie Canal pre-1920s.
Even today as the City continues to take steps towards the latter option, new ideas continue to surface. The most recent concept comes from RIT’s architectural program, and a very interesting student project being called the ROC Low Line…
I went to a big expensive university to study art for four years. I’ve traveled to Italy and marveled at the work of the great masters. I’ve gone out of my way to tip-toe through all the fancy art museums and galleries in New York and Toronto.
Earlier in the week I rode my bike down Rochester’s El Camino Trail. I’m not sure why, but art has never taken my breath away quite like this…
If you’re a RocSubway reader and you love learning about Rochester as much as I do, you might want to check out 585 Magazine. It’s a pretty slick new bimonthly packed with tasty local bits on every topic imaginable. Plus, you might catch an occasional story on local places & history written by yours truly. In the current issue I attempt explore Rochester’s incredible, Olmsted-designed park system – in 800 words or less! Completely impossible, but I tried.
First, head over to 585 Mag and check out the story . Then come back here for fun extras, including Olmsted’s original plan drawings of Highland, Seneca, and Genesee Valley Parks, AND audio from my interview with JoAnn Beck, cochair of the Landmark Society’s Olmsted subcommittee…
Last winter the City of Rochester made a Hail Mary pass to save the historic Pulaski Library. They posted an offer to sell the vacant building for a thousand dollars to anyone with a serious plan to fix it up. I’m not sure how many proposals were submitted, but I’ve learned that Providence Housing Development Corporation has been given the green light.
Providence Housing has worked on similar adaptive reuse projects such as Paul Wolk Commons on State Street, and the Holy Rosary Apartments on Dewey. Although Pulaski may be smaller, it could prove to be a much bigger challenge…
Welcome back dear readers. Today we’re going to try something a little different at Filling In. Let’s actually walk through a lightweight proposal in response to the city’s RFP for 19 and 21-23 Berlin St (due by 4pm this Friday, 7/19). Just as a disclaimer; I do not intend to submit this proposal. Additionally, you are welcome to take it and submit it, but I am not to be held liable for any damages should you do so.
I have been arguing about CityGate for some time, but have come to the realization that this project appears mostly a “done deal” and that it appears to have community support, which is unfortunate given the atrocious new Site Plans and Renderings.
What I hope to show in this post is that although the project appears to be moving forward and that Anthony J. Costello and Son appear to be “listening” to the community, I beg to differ. Here are some of the fallacies, as I see them and as have been reported on this blog, as well as my responses. Let us call them the “seven myths” of CityGate…
Wow it’s been a while! This week, Let us take a look at Rochester’s best shot at an iconic piece of post-modern architecture downtown. No, not Midtown Tower. I’m talking about Midtown Plaza’s undeveloped “site 6”. As a quick refresher, here are the current plans:
New renderings were released this week of the proposed development called CityGate. Wow, look at all the fake pedestrians. Very exciting! Here’s my full analysis…
The shuttered National Clothing building on East Main and Stone Streets will soon be seeing new life as a Hilton Garden Inn. After reading the original post here I wanted to take an opportunity to expand on the history of the building and offer a more in-depth idea of what the rehabilitation entails. The $16 million project is being completed by DHD Ventures and is utilizing historic tax credits. The RBA Group of North Carolina is the project architect and Preservation Studios is providing all services relating to the historic tax credit program.
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…
It is through the process of defining what we want as a town that we are becoming a real community. It is through the act of participation that we change.
This is not simply a story of not-in-my-backyard. It is the unfolding tale of how a small community … is rising to its own defense, saying, we believe we have a stake in the future of our own community, which we choose to define beyond our own boundaries of time and space and species…
The photo above was taken in January, 2011. Late last year we looked at the plans for the new public spaces at Midtown Plaza. Work on the site is now progressing quickly – and those plan drawings are becoming reality. The old Midtown buildings are gone. The new Windstream building is mostly complete. And this week, the first street curbs have been installed giving shape to the new Cortland Street. Here’s a birds-eye view of the past 30 months progress…
In 1970 a Lincoln Rochester Trust Co. advertisement in the Daily Record hailed, “Lincoln Tower… a tangible expression of our belief in the growth of Upstate New York… Through 1970 and beyond.”
The Lincoln First Tower, now called Chase Tower was completed in the summer of 1972 at a cost of $20 million. It is 398 feet tall. It contains about 356,000 square feet of office space. It is a big building. Just like the Xerox Tower, Chase Tower has roots in Seattle. John Graham and Company is an architecture firm based in Seattle…
Rumors have been swirling around the internet that the famous Bull’s Head that marks the historic Bull’s Head section of Rochester has been lost in a recent demolition on West Main Street. It is true this landmark has recently lost several important neighbors, but for now, the Bull in Bull’s Head is still with us…
Oh 1926, it seems like you were only 87 years ago. Oh wait, what, it was only 87 years ago? Ok then. Well, since the Neighborhood of the Arts is receiving so much press these days, let’s take a look at a piece of the neighborhood from then and see what was happening.
Welcoming Costco and RGRTA to CityGate is great. Ignoring walkability and losing all historic buildings isn’t. Our community needs walkable places. We need development that calms traffic and makes walking easy and safe. Moreover, our community needs to preserve its historic fabric. We need development that repurposes old buildings for new uses…
No, seriously – give CityGate to ME, because I want to redesign it. The current plan is not worthy of the name. I may be the only person in western NY who didn’t crap themselves when they learned Costco was coming to town. I mean, Costco? Really? We need another one of these discount warehouses? Ok fine, I’ll let you have your Costco. No complaints from me. On one condition: Re-do this idiotic site plan! Look at this…
A great deal has already been written about the development planned at 933 University Ave. (see: here , here , and here ). Even so, it is important that we take a step back and really think about the kinds of arguments that are being made. Further, let us consider how the neighborhood could benefit from this development, how George Eastman House can meet its needs going forward (and better integrate with Neighborhood of the Arts, as they express a desire to do), and how to move the entire neighborhood towards the increased success it deserves…
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has alerted us to an important informational meeting tonight about the Inner Loop’s future (or lack thereof). As we wait to find out whether or not this project will be a recipient of a USDOT TIGER grant, the City is moving forward with plans to scale down a large portion the underutilized 12-lane highway. Ultimately that will mean greater connectivity between downtown and the neighborhoods to the east, and lower road maintenance costs in the long run. If there was ever a big road project to support, this is it.![A view of the Rochester Subway looking east from the Meigs Street bridge. A westbound car is shown approaching the Goodman-Meigs station. The Sherwood Shoe Company building on Goodman Street and Uhlen Place is seen in the right background. [PHOTO: Rochester Municipal Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-and-sherwood-shoe-company-1956.jpg)
![Nine RIT students collaborated to design a subterranean urban park inside the old Rochester subway called the ROC Low Line. [RENDERING: RocLowLine.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-lowline-aquaduct.jpg)
![Art from the Wall Therapy project along Rochester's El Camino Trail. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/wall-therapy-el-camino-trail-rochester.jpg)
![One of the pedestrian bridges in Genesee Valley Park. This was not originally part of Olmsted's plan. [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library, Local History Division]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/genesee-valley-park-bridge.jpg)
![Rochester is trying to save the vacant Pulaski Library before it's too late. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-pulaski-library-01b.jpg)
![19-23 Berlin Street [IMAGE: Google Maps]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/19-23-berlin-street-rochester.jpg)
![Iola Building 1 with copper wire removed and other trash. [PHOTO: Joel Helfrich]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-building-1-with-copper-wire-removed-and-other-trash-01.jpg)
![The shuttered National Clothing building on East Main and Stone Streets will soon be seeing new life as a Hilton Garden Inn. [PHOTO: Preservation Studios]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/national-clothing-store-01.jpg)
![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)
![Monroe County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Children's Building. To be demolished. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone, 1911.]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-1911.jpg)
![Midtown Plaza site, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: Earthcam.com Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-midtown-plaza-01.jpg)
![The Lincoln First Tower, now called Chase Tower was completed in the summer of 1972 at a cost of $20 million. It is 398 feet tall. [Looking North. Stone St. is on the left, and Broad St. on the bottom]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-chase-tower-04.jpg)
![Rumors have been swirling around the internet that the famous Bull's Head that marks the historic Bull's Head section of Rochester has been lost in a recent demolition on West Main Street. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-bullshead-stores-03.jpg)
![The corner of Atlantic and Anderson in the Holmes Tract. Gleason doesn't want this lot anymore. Maybe we can put it to good use? [PHOTO: Google Streetview]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/filling-in-holmes-tract-01.jpg)
![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Nurses' Building. [PHOTO: Mike Bouwmeester]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-iola-sanatorium-nurses-building.jpg)
![Plan view of proposed CityGate project. [IMAGE: AJ Costello & Son]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/city-gate-site-plan-01.jpg)
![Proposed new development at 933 University Ave. [IMAGE: Morgan Management]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/933-university-ave-06.jpg)
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