Ryan Green is a student at University of Rochester. Last month, after joining up with the University’s Urban Explorers (UrbEx ) club, he toured Rochester’s Times Square Building, formerly the Genesee Valley Trust Company . You probably know it by the enormous set of wings on top of it. Aside from maybe the Mercury statue, those “wings of progress” are easily the most recognizable element of Rochester’s skyline. And while they have a story all their own, there’s plenty more history to be found on the fourteen floors beneath.
Although the building is not open for public tours, Richard Calabrese Jr., who manages the property, says he likes touring the urban explorer group because of their genuine curiosity. Although, if a fundraising tour is requested, Calabrese says he’d consider that. “I have all kinds of history that I’ve learned over the years.” Ryan Green had such a good time touring the building, he wanted to share these photos, and his experience, with us…
The Portageville Bridge which carries the Norfolk Southern railroad over the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park was built in 1875 after a fire destroyed the former wooden bridge. The steel frame bridge, which towers over the river gorge and its waterfalls, has become a beloved feature of the park and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. But a 2008 inspection by Modjeski and Masters revealed structural deficiencies, and it was determined that the current bridge should either be rehabilitated or replaced. The question is what to do with the old bridge once a new one is built. State officials are now soliciting comments from the public on three different options…
Having kids has made me see the holidays in a different light. I find myself thinking about my own childhood and all the stuff I used to look forward to each December so I can do those same things with my own kids. Like when my dad would pile us all in the ’78 Caprice Classic and we’d cruise around to find the best—and most ridiculous—Christmas light displays in town. I know I know, not a very eco-friendly ritual; but most of us are gonna do it anyway. So last week on Facebook, I asked you where your favorite local light displays were. You answered. And I’ve begun mapping them all out in one convenient location so you don’t have to spend countless hours (and fuel) driving around Rochester trying to find them yourself…
It’s December 24, 1914, and two fashionably dressed little girls have Santa Claus cornered at the entrance to a downtown Rochester department store. And they are absolutely spellbound. Be sure to click on this image for a closer look. If this is not the definition of the holidays I don’t know what is. I like to imagine what the girls were saying at this moment; “Hey shouldn’t you be at the North Pole making our toys?! … Can we swing from your beard? … You know, you don’t look nearly as fat in real life, Santa.”
Yes, I am forever grateful to you, Mr. Photographer, for capturing this moment in time. A moment which would have otherwise been lost somewhere in the ether, has been wrapped up and handed to us with a great big bow. Yes, Virginia, Santa is real. Oh, and if you’re wondering where exactly this conversation with Santa took place…
A friend of mine, Scott Wischmeyer (from Our Tiny Earth ), has been looking for ideas for a project car that he could start next summer. While looking, he decided to Google “Cars made in Rochester, NY.” What he stumbled upon next was a true American classic – the Cunningham car…
I want to share with you an opinion piece from RustWire.com last week. The article was reposted on BuffaloRising.com and it’s now made its way down I-90 to RochesterSubway.com. Angie Schmitt begins by blasting attempts to market cities to young people. Angie cites an example from Columbus, Ohio where leaders spent a $30,000 grant to hire a so-called “Gen Y” expert to tell them how they could retain and attract the widely-coveted demographic. “Why didn’t they just ask the young people that live there what they want, and maybe put the $30,000 toward that?” she asks…
Rochesterians love to brag about how many cool things were invented right here in Rochester. The automobile, the automatic voting machine, fuzzy pipe cleaner, The Simpsons LEGO couch gag, Jell-o… hold up… what? You didn’t know the Simpsons LEGO couch gag was a product of Rochester? It’s true…
Ted Collins Tree & Landscape is proud to announce that it will be working with the Landmark Society of Western New York in the re-landscaping and re-opening of St. Joseph’s Park – a downtown park that has been closed for over ten years. Greg Frank, co-owner of the oldest landscaping firm in the Rochester area, became aware of this special site through a conversation with colleagues who shared their desire to see the park re-open. After visiting the area around the site, he realized that redevelopment was beginning to take place and so approached the Landmark Society about donating his company’s services – along with plant and landscape materials – to bring the park back as a special place for gathering and contemplation.
Recently I asked, “Who is Spaceman?” This guy’s work has been showing up in unexpected places around town for a while now. Although I’m still not sure who the guy in the space suit is, the actual artist did come forward. And I had a chance to sit down with him at Boulder Coffee in the South Wedge. Among other things I asked him what he thought about people who call his work “trashy” or “criminal.” With the Geico Gecko watching us from the billboard across the street, he pointed to it and said, “Would you rather see a Geico ad at every four-way stop? I’m just trying to make people smile.”
For two hours we talked about his work, what motivates him, life in Rochester, keeping our waterways clean, philosophy, Tibetan monks, and other stuff. For obvious reasons he wishes to remain anonymous, so I’ll refer to him in this interview as “Spaceman Artist”. Here’s a taste of our conversation…
Here’s a fun birdseye view of Fitzhugh Street in downtown Rochester. This photo was probably taken from the roof of the Powers Hotel or the Powers Building on Main Street sometime between 1900 and 1910. The large building in the lower right is what we know to be City Hall, at the time the U.S. Federal Building and post office. To its left and across the street is (or was) the First Methodist Episcopal Church. And across the street and to the left of it was the First Baptist Church…
Last week Rochester’s Zoning Board heard public testimony, both in favor of, and in opposition to a developer’s plan to demolish a historic church at 660 W. Main St. in Rochester and replace it with a Dollar General store. Of all the comments made during that 2-3 hour hearing, the one drawing the most buzz was made by a member of the Zoning Board itself, Patrick Tobin . As an article in the D&C recounted, this board member expressed frustration that, “while preservationists and others urge them to protect these buildings, little is done to keep the structures from falling into severe disrepair.”
Mr. Tobin’s comment is similar to one I hear in the comments section of this blog quite frequently where preservation vs. demolition cases are discussed. Let me paraphrase… “If you loved the building so much then why didn’t you ‘preservationists’ do something about it until now? Why’d you wait until the property owner wants to tear it down?” There are so many things wrong with this line of thought there isn’t a comment box big enough for me to fit an answer in to.
Coincidentally (or should I say, as luck would have it), Wayne Goodman, Executive Director of the Landmark Society, stepped up to the podium immediately after Mr. Tobin’s comment was fired at the preservation community. And, as I expected, Goodman took great exception to the remarks.
So I reached out to Goodman and asked him to help us understand why preservationists don’t do a better job of keeping these “historic” buildings from falling into disrepair. Goodman sent me the following statement…
For the past few days we’ve been doing some holiday window shopping at the old Sibley’s and McCurdy’s department stores. “But, WAIT! What about B. Forman’s?…” you say? Well, I searched around a bit, and though I wasn’t able to find many photos of window displays from B. Forman Co., fear not… I’ve got something you might like. Newspaper ads from December 18 – December 25, 1929! Don’t say I never gave you anything…
Do you remember window shopping at the big downtown department stores? Freezing cold holiday shoppers all pressed up against the plate glass like moths to a porch light. Dreams of sugar plums and reindeer and presents under the tree were fueled by these sparkling menageries of the latest and greatest stuff. The displays themselves were an art form; and drawing people in off the street was the ultimate goal. In all but our largest metros, scenes like these have been lost as retailers gradually moved to suburban malls. Yesterday we went window shopping at the old Sibley, Lindsay & Curr Co. department store. Today let’s browse a series of pictures (also from the Rochester Public Library) documenting some of the windows at McCurdy & Co. department store in downtown Rochester more than 70 years ago…
Do you remember window shopping at the big downtown department stores? Freezing cold holiday shoppers all pressed up against the plate glass like moths to a porch light. Dreams of sugar plums and reindeer and presents under the tree were fueled by these sparkling menageries of the latest and greatest stuff. The displays themselves were an art form; and pulling people in off the street was the ultimate goal. In all but our largest metros, scenes like these have been lost as retailers gradually moved to suburban malls. This series of pictures from the Rochester Public Library documents some of the windows at Sibley, Lindsay and Curr Co. department store in downtown Rochester more than 70 years ago…
A few months ago this woman caught the attention of motorists on I-490 near downtown Rochester. The image immediately made me think of early works by Banksy or Shepard Fairey , artists who catapulted themselves into pop culture stardom by plastering their towns with often graphic and politically-charged poster art. I wondered, was this Rochester artist making a political/social statement? Or is this half-nude character with the peace sign pasty simply a random piece of visual titillation?
A few people on Facebook claimed to know the artist, but my attempts to track him (or her) down were fruitless. Then yesterday a friend* of mine spotted a similar image stuck to a 490/590 support column at the Can of Worms interchange…
I’m probably going to take a lot of heat from people for the comparison I’m about to draw, but hear me out first. Then you can tell me that I’m being overly dramatic. Here it goes…
The photo above was taken last week in Xiazhangyang, China. This is the home of Luo Baogen and his wife. When the Chinese government offered them 260,000 yuan ($41,573 U.S.) to vacate their home so a new highway could be built, the elderly couple refused the offer…
This Wednesday night, SyFy Channel will air a new episode of Ghost Hunters featuring Rochester’s Rundel Library (and possibly the subway tunnel). Sally Snow, Assistant Director at Monroe County Library, says the show approached them initially about the abandoned Rochester subway. “As scary as the subway is, the library is where the real haunting action is,” Snow said. “All I can say is that they found stuff, for sure. I can’t say what until the show airs.”
The Ghost Hunters team spent two full nights investigating the tunnels and the Rundel building. Sally says she’s never experienced paranormal activity in the library first hand, but she has seen security camera footage of a door opening and closing by itself. “This is a door that usually requires a really good tug to get it open. It’s very strange.”
Now personally, I’m not saying I believe in this stuff, but here’s the story of one mysterious death which occurred on this very spot in 1902…
Last week we explored some of the caves in Rochester’s Genesee River gorge. While digging around for information about Lower Falls, I came across some great stuff on the nearby Driving Park Bridge. The bridge that you know today was built in 1989. But the previous bridge (shown above) had been there for nearly 100 years. That’s pretty remarkable when you consider its length of 717 feet, the icy Rochester weather, and the relentless spray from the Lower Falls below. Be sure to click on the image above for a much larger view. And check out the link at the end of this article to watch the explosive demolition of the old steel bridge in the 1980’s…
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![A photo of a photo of a man atop the Times Square Building, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: Ryan Green]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/times-square-building-rochester-02.jpg)
) club, he toured Rochester’s Times Square Building, formerly the Genesee Valley Trust Company 
![Rochester's RKO Palace Theater, September 1965. A sign is hung on the marquee proclaiming this the site of new $10 Million dollar twin towers. The theater was demolished and no towers were ever built on the site. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rochester Theater Organ Society]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/RKO-Palace-051-New10MillionDollarTwinTowers.jpg)
![The Portageville Bridge over Letchworth State Park looking south from the Middle/Upper Falls Picnic Area. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/letchworth-portageville-bridge-overlook.jpg)
![Two little girls have a chat with Santa in front of the Duffy-Powers Department Store on the corner of W. Main and Fitzhugh Streets, Rochester, NY. Printed in Rochester Herald, December 24, 1914. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone collection]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-duffy-mcinnerney-santa.jpg)
![Cyclist on the sidewalk across the street from the Midtown development, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: Rick U, RocPX.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-midtown-cyclist.jpg)
![34 year-old Rochester native, Mike Battle, is a Color Modelist on the FOX T.V. series, The Simpsons. [PHOTO: Brooks Stonestreet]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/simpsons-mike-battle-01.jpg)
![These men are standing around a hole in the sidewalk where John Hornby and James Kenney fell through on December 11, 1901. In the background is the Clemson Hotel, with Charles R. Holliger, proprietor, at 52 South Avenue. [PHOTO: Rochester Municipal Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-sidewalk-accident-01.jpg)
![Birdseye view of Fitzhugh Street, Rochester, NY. c.1904. [PHOTO: Detroit Publishing Co. via Library of Congress]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-federal-building-fitzhugh-street-1904.jpg)
![A view of the the fac̨ade of the B. Forman Co. store at 46-50 Clinton Avenue South. Christmas decorations are visible. c.1930. [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-b-forman-department-store-02.jpg)
![The McCurdy & Norwell Company department store was located at 285-291 Main Street East, at the corner of Elm Street. The display windows are crowded with goods. The store occupied several attached buildings of various heights and styles. c.1901-1913 [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone Collection]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-mccurdy-department-store-windows-02.jpg)
![An exterior view of Sibley's as seen at nighttime and decorated for Christmas. 1939. [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-sibley-department-store-windows-02.jpg)
![A car stops beside a house in the middle of a newly built road in Wenling, Zhejiang province, November 22, 2012. [PHOTO: REUTERS/China Daily]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/china-highway-built-around-house-1.jpg)
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