I get a ridiculous amount of email here in the Rochester Subway. Most of it isn’t really worth sharing but occasionally I get a diamond in the rough. So here’s one from the mailbag…
Al from Wolcott, NY sent me this great photograph today along with a question. He writes, “Someplace on the internet I recently ran across a comment that the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad terminal was the place where people boarded a passenger train for Charlotte and then got on a boat for a trip to Cobourg, Ontario. Can you confirm this?” Yes. Yes I can. But first, let’s look closer at this photo…
Sally Wood Winslow has operated the High Falls Visitor Center , gift shop, and art gallery for 20 years. During that time she has personally greeted every single visitor with a boisterous “HELLO THERE! Welcome to the Visitor Center at High Falls!!” And, she has become a very good friend of mine, so this one hurts me personally. Today Sally announced the visitor center and gallery will be closing on June 30…
Al Schneider has been working for decades to bring some pretty major sporting institutions to Western NY. After the Olympic Summer Games in London, he requested a meeting with Governor Cuomo to discuss bringing the Olympic Games to Rochester. Six months later Rochester ended up on a list of cities who have expressed interest in bidding for the 2024 games. But local officials quickly passed on the idea. Fear not. Schneider’s got other irons in the fire…
Dear readers, let’s take a short break from redeveloping Rochester. Instead, can we take a moment to consider that which we’ve lost? That which we can still repair?
This week, let’s talk about parks. Specifically, let’s talk about Lomb Memorial Park, and Schiller Park. But first, take a look at Columbus Circle in New York City (above). Oh man! Look at poor Christopher Columbus hanging out there all alone in the middle of traffic. At least he has a convenient parking spot for his car. Wait, what? You say that Columbus Circle doesn’t look anything like that? Well, I guess it doesn’t, now…
A few months ago we interviewed the local artist known only as Spaceman. You’ve seen the iconic images on the streets of Rochester. Now you can own them (and contribute to two great causes). Proceeds gathered from the sale of these stickers, prints and t-shirts will go towards Spaceman’s efforts to clean up waterways in the Genesee Valley; including the Genesee River and surrounding tributaries. Spaceman also requests that a portion of the proceeds go to RocSubway for the upkeep of the site. Thanks Spaceman!
But don’t wait. Quantities are EXTREMELY limited so grab this stuff while it’s here.
Danielle Raymo and Stephanie Rankin, two recent college grads, have just opened a new and exciting business in Village Gate. Rochester Brainery brings fun and affordable learning experiences to the public with sort of a no-strings attached philosophy. They seek out people in the community to come in and run educational workshops on various topics of interest, and anyone can sign up to take a class…
As some of you may or may not know, the city has finally released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on 88 Elm Street . Up front, here’s a link to the RFP , in case you run a development company, or if you’re Larry Glazer and you’re looking for another project to work on.
In any event, here’s some background on 88 Elm St. Somehow, despite being built sometime in the 60s, no one is exactly sure when 88 Elm St. was constructed, or where, exactly, it came from. You’d think that’d be impossible in this day and age, but it’s not. In 1998, the city decided it had enough of the owners of the property not paying their taxes and they took it. All well and good, except now it’s been empty for 15 years. It’s emptier than you might think. The city spent more than a million dollars on an asbestos abatement and a new roof. The building has no electrical system, no sprinkler system, no HVAC, no plumbing. It is a completely bare 13 story tower. That’s a bit of a rarity, and it could be yours for only $360,000. Apparently that’s the market rate for the 13-story husk of a building…
It was 37 years ago today when the greatest photo in RPD history was taken. David Bowie was in town on his 1976 World Tour. After giving a performance at the War Memorial Arena on March 20, Bowie was arrested in a hotel suite in the early morning hours of March 21. Three others were also booked including James Osterberg, or Iggy Pop, the “godfather of punk rock.” This infamous mugshot was taken when the rockstar returned to Rochester and pleaded “not guilty” to the felony drug charge in Rochester City Court. This was the story printed in the Democrat and Chronicle the morning of March 22, 1976…
On Monday I wrote a post about a Zoning Board public hearing coming up on Thursday (tomorrow). Marvin Maye, owner of an old church building on West Main Street will be challenging that building’s status as a Designated Building of Historic Value. If the building is removed from that list of protected city properties, he plans to demolish the church and build a Dollar General store.
Craig Walker is a developer who has been working with Mr. Maye on this project. He tells us that while he would have liked to see the church converted into a jazz/blues club and dance hall, conversion of the church would be cost prohibitive. And while the building was on the market, “not one ‘preservationist’ stepped forward to advance any plan.”
Here are Mr. Walker’s comments in full, with a few follow-up questions afterwards…
She’s a thing of beauty, don’t you think? Hundreds of thousands of square feet packed with mind-strengthening knowledge, all wrapped in 16 stories of brick and limestone, and capped off with 6,668 pounds of bronze bells. It’s the largest musical instrument in the city of Rochester, and also one of the top 50 research libraries in North America.
Proudly watching over the Eastman Quad , Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester seems to call out, “Come to me. Come to me and get your education on.” Personally, I’ve always wondered what the views are like from the top of that bell tower. What do you say we all climb up inside there and race to the top? Let’s go…
Two important cases will go before the Zoning Board this Thursday: the ongoing saga of one historic church on Main Street, and design concerns regarding the future College Town. Salvation for the church, as well as the promise of a pedestrian-friendly College Town, may hang in the balance.
First, if you’ve been following the story of the little white church at 660 W. Main Street, owner Marvin Maye will make one more appeal to challenge the building’s status as a Designated Building of Historic Value. If he succeeds, he could have a clear path forward to demolish the 140-something-year-old church.* And in its place would go a Dollar General store…
One of the best places to put additional density is near public parks. Why you ask? Well, that’s an excellent question. Not only do parks double as excellent backyards that homeowners don’t need to mow, but they provide excellent views (that will never go away), and density around parks makes the parks themselves more attractive to passers-by.
All of this translates to adding housing around pre-existing parks. This should be a priority for the city. While I am hoping to tackle a master plan for Brown Square Park (by Frederick Law Olmsted, no less!), let’s start out with something a little smaller…
I’ve given myself a photo assignment for 2013. Pick 13 subjects, and take 13 snapshots of each. Simple. We started last month with 13 mailboxes. This month I turned my lens on what I thought were some of Rochester’s most intriguing storefronts. These images were taken on the city’s east side, from Monroe Ave up to East Ridge Road…
“The units at Erie Harbor are very poorly designed and overpriced… The ground floor units don’t even have a view of the river – it is blocked by a berm… Shoddy construction… The stairs creak… Tacky… Ugliest building in Rochester…” These are all comments you may have heard about the Erie Harbor Apartments which were officially opened last fall .
When comments like these were left under a recent post on RochesterSubway.com, Jim Mayer didn’t take it sitting down. He contacted me and invited me to visit his home. He and his wife Irene sold their home in Brighton and now live at Erie Harbor. I admit, after nearly a three hour visit, I left feeling a bit jealous at just how much this couple is loving life in their new digs…
Well, dear readers, I must admit that this is not exactly what I had planned when I left you the last time. That said, please bear with me while we look at something a little bit different.
John Baker, Steve Gullace, Chris Gullace have proposed to construct a new gym and a 48 unit apartment building at 759 Park Ave . The gym would be for the Talmudic Institute next door, while the apartments would be for rent. This has, not surprisingly, drawn a raft of criticism from the residents of the Park Ave neighborhood…
When I first moved to Rochester’s Swillburg neighborhood thirteen years ago, my favorite place to eat was Highland Park Diner. I remember this Rochester Landmarks poster, by Richard Margolis, hung over one of the booths there. I used to stare and study those landmarks all the while shoveling Aunt Bee’s Homestyle Meatloaf into my face. Ah, my first taste of Rochester. Today I own that poster, and I’ve now been to all but one of the 38 landmarks on it. It’s a great feeling!
Now you can get your hands on a copy of this Landmark poster from the RochesterSubway.com Gift Shop, and start checking them off your list too. Can you name all 38 landmarks? No peeking! The answers are after the jump…
I took a few hours to have some fun this week at The Strong, National Museum of Play. They’ve got a killer exhibit going on right now, through May 12. A history of transportation built entirely out of LEGO! I haven’t geeked out this bad since Norm Abrams came to Chase-Pitkin for a “This Old House” book signing. Check this out…
This weekend, Wegmans closed their current East Avenue store so they could transition into their new, larger building . The new store replaces a historic area that was once the center of Brighton in the 19th century. The old Village of Brighton was served by the Erie Canal (now I-490). The canal was rerouted in the early 20th century and the entire area was annexed to the City of Rochester in 1905…
Mary Smith has lived at 53 Cutler Street on the city’s north side for 30 years. After her husband died, and some serious health problems (spinal surgeries and years of therapy) Mary says she fell behind on her taxes – by about $30,000. The City of Rochester and Monroe County then sold her tax debt to a Florida company called American Tax Funding . Mary says she now has the ability to pay her debt, but American Tax Funding will not negotiate. On Tuesday, they may throw her out of her house and auction off the property. Volunteers with a group called Take Back the Land is helping Mary with a petition to ask CEO, Matthew A. Marini, to cancel the foreclosure auction and negotiate a settlement…
Last week RocSubway learned that developer Thomas Masaschi is converting the old Ted Cohen’s Office Furniture store into three upscale penthouses, lofts and retail space on the first floor. You know the place ; behind the Hess gas station on Monroe Ave. So we thought, for this week’s edition of “Filling In,” why not look at Monroe Ave, and how we could make one of Rochester’s most walkable strips even better! We’ll focus on a few small changes that could be implemented quickly, and then a few bigger ideas for the corridor going forward…
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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.
![Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: Provide by Al from Wolcott, NY]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/baltimore-and-ohio-railroad-station-rochester.jpg)
![High Falls Visitor Center will be closing at the end of June. [PHOTO: Wayne Senville, Flickr]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/center-at-high-falls-01.jpg)
![U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame [PHOTO: Steve Hutchinson, Flickr]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/us-soccer-hall-of-fame.jpg)
![Columbs Circle, maybe early 1970's? [PHOTO: andrewcusack.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/filling-in-reparations-01.jpg)
![Spaceman artwork now available for you to own. [IMAGE: SPACEMAN]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-spaceman-sticker.jpg)
![88 Elm Street. 13 floors of empty waiting for you to do something with it. [PHOTO: City of Rochester]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/filling-in-88-elm-01.jpg)
![David Bowie's mugshot after being arrested in Rochester NY for possession of marijuana. [PHOTO: Provided by Todd Hess]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/david-bowie-mugshot-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
![The former Westminster Presbyterian Church at 660 West Main Street could become a Dollar General store. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-westminster-church-660-west-main-01.jpg)
![University of Rochester's Rush Rhees Library, originally completed in 1930 and named for Rush Rhees, the university's first president (1900-1935). What do you say we climb up inside this? [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/university-of-rochester-rush-rhees-library-01.jpg)
![Jim Mayer and his wife Irene invite us into their home at Erie Harbor Apartments. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/erie-harbor-apartments-01.jpg)
![John Baker, Steve Gullace, Chris Gullace have proposed to construct a new gym and a 48 unit apartment building here at 759 Park Ave. [IMAGE: Bing Maps]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/filling-in-park-avenue-02.jpg)
![Rochester Landmarks Poster [IMAGE: Richard Margolis]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-landmarks-poster-richard-margolis.jpg)
![LEGO Travel Adventure exhibit at The Strong, National Museum of Play. Now thru May 12, 2013. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/lego-travel-adventures-01.jpg)
![Former site of historic Brighton Village. March, 2010. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/brighton-village-east-avenue-wegmans-01.jpg)
![Mary Smith is fighting to keep her home of 30 years. [PHOTO: Julie Gelfand]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/mary-smith-take-back-the-land-rochester-01.jpg)
![This week's edition of 'Filling In' looks at some small changes that could make Monroe Avenue even better. [PHOTO: RocPX.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/monroe-avenue.jpg)
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