RG&E’s Beebee power plant was one of the most formidable structures in Rochester. For half a century, this cluster of buildings covered an 8 acre site along the floor of the High Falls gorge – climbing up the west rock wall and looming hundreds of feet in the air over Platt Street and the neighborhood below…
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…
In late October I got the opportunity to go check out a place nearby that I had heard rumors about—a house that has been frozen in a state of construction since 2005. I don’t really feel comfortable sharing the exact location, but the property is in Fairport, NY, out near Egypt on a nice, quiet residential street – surrounded by woods and shrouded in mystery…
Rochestersubway.com was first brought to my attention when I saw the University of Rochester’s Lost Swimming Pool article posted on social media. The photos were so beautiful and haunting that I was inspired to explore more on the site.
I was just starting to get into urban exploring and Rochestersubway.com showed me amazing locations in Rochester that I had never heard of. So I started to use the website as a reference for new places to explore…
Welcome to the old Vacuum Oil plant on the west bank of the Genesee River in Rochester’s Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood. Abandoned for nearly a century, there has been very little desire to re-develop this 26-acre site due to contamination. Now, the City of Rochester is aiming to use New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program to clean it up and plan for its future redevelopment. But as of today, this property is still highly toxic. And you guessed it—we’re going inside…
Last week a Facebook message came in from RocSubway reader, Nate Sengillo. Nate wanted to share photos from his recent trip to Frontier Town. I’ve never been there myself, but I know I’ve heard of this place before as my family has spent more than a few summer vacations at nearby Lake George. But now seeing Nate’s photos, I wish I had…
Since 1955, Camp Haccamo has been a fun filled getaway for both adults and children with varying mental and physical disabilities. First established on Panorama Creek Drive in Penfield (just behind Panorama Plaza), Haccamo was free to the 300 plus campers per year who participated. But in 2009 camp organizers ended their relationship with the town of Penfield and moved to Rush, NY – while, oddly, leaving quite a bit of stuff behind…
The complex of the Rochester Psychiatric Center (a.k.a. Rochester State Hospital or Monroe County Insane Asylum) is legendary among urban explorers and history fanatics alike. Originally built in the early 1800s as the Monroe County Almshouse (or poorhouse), new buildings and facilities were gradually added to care for the mentally ill.
Although the hospital still operates to this day, a few buildings were closed in the mid-1990s and now sit in various states of decay. One notable example we’ve explored previously is the towering 16-story Terrence Building which looms over Elmwood Avenue. Another is the sprawling Walters Building (originally known as the Orleans Building) which we’ll be exploring today…
About a year and a half ago we shared some photos from inside the abandoned Sykes Datatronics building on Orchard Street (south of Lyell Ave). That building was part of a complex that was home to many different companies from 1915 until Sykes Datatronics (a computer company) left in 1992. Demolition crews have been slowly deconstructing the property since the fall…
Today’s RocLink photo was taken by Chris Seward on April 3, 2010 in an abandoned building in Lockport. Chris says the three-story building was brimming with antique motorcycles and parts. According to this article the bikes made their way here from Kohl’s Cycle Salvage shop on the north side of the Erie Canal. The Mr. Kohl died in 2002, and the motorcycles were left here until the building crumbled around them.
And now, from local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
My buddies Chris Clemens and Luke Myer (from the Burned Over District blog) recently shared these photos with me. Chris and Luke were on their way to Sodus on an unrelated exploration trip when they recalled stories of a nearby abandoned Girl Scout camp and decided to stop and check it out [map ].
Luke says his mother camped here when she was a little girl. In fact, many Girl Scouts earned a badge or two here over its 60+ year history. This was camp Beech-Wood and the following is an excerpt from NYfalls.com about its history…
The latest Midtown renderings from Buckingham Properties are a promising sign of things to come. Still, it’s difficult to ignore this 18-story skeleton which has been looming over Rochester’s streets since 2011. When most people look up at this hulking mass of steel and concrete they see a blemish on the Rochester skyline. But for one urban explorer, this is a photo op.
The same anonymous photographer who took us inside Terrence Tower and the Sykes Datatronics building, climbed to the tippy top of midtown last week. He submitted this collection of photos and the following narrative…
Last week we looked at some photos of the Beebee Station power plant at High Falls. That post drew some comments about another interesting facility nearby which is sometimes confused with Beebee; the City’s old garbage incinerator plant on Falls Street .
Here’s an update to last Friday’s story about Marilyn Casserino, 79. Marilyn is the girl in the dark dress in the center of the photo above. This picture was taken c.1939 on the roof of the Children’s Building at Iola Tuberculosis Sanitorium where Marilyn was a patient, along with her mother Vivian.
Unfortunately, Marilyn’s mom passed away while at the hospital. Marilyn was just 6 at the time. Looking back at those days, she now wishes she could remember more – about her mom, and about this place where they were treated for well over a year.
For starters, she wanted to try and find out who the other girls in the photo were. Would you believe in less than one week we’ve now identified two of those girls…
A couple months ago we took a look inside the Iola tuberculosis hospital on Westfall Road. The buildings have since been demolished. But for Marilyn Casserino, 79, those photos triggered memories, and questions that will linger on…
I stopped by Iola on Sunday to check on what’s left, and I snapped these pics. In front of the main building there was once a circle with concrete benches and lamp posts. To be perfectly honest I coveted the abandoned lamp posts and thought of ways I could possibly “reclaim” them, but my conscience always prevented me from doing so. Well, I should have because the picture above shows the careful attention the deconstruction crew is taking to features that could be re-used. That’s the base and the flattened steel post is above it. I think my reclamation would have been better than this treatment. Damn conscience.
If you’ve ever driven down the eastern end of Lyell Ave., or been to a soccer game at Sahlen’s Stadium, you’ve probably seen an enormous old shell of a building looming in the distance. Many times I had seen it’s old edifice sitting silent and, as I usually do, I wondered what the walls contained, what stories it could tell, and what it once was. That’s why one cool September morning I went to meet with the building and see what it could tell me…
This is probably the most intimidating building in all of Rochester. The 16-story Terrence Building was once heralded as a “tower of hope” for the mentally ill (see this blog post ). Today the vacant structure looms over Elmwood Avenue and the Rochester Psychiatric Center campus like a nightmare. The Elmwood psych center campus was originally constructed as the Rochester State Hospital. This state-run mental hospital took over responsibilities from the Monroe County Insane Asylum in 1891. The Terrence Building was opened in 1959 and housed over 1,000 beds until 1995 when the last patients were moved to newer facilities elsewhere on the campus.
If you’ve ever wondered what’s inside, you’d not be alone. One RocSubway reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) found a way into the secured building. He submitted several photos, along with this written account of his expedition. Be sure to watch the related video at the end of this post to learn more about the Terrence Building…
RocSubway fans, This past Sunday morning (6/2/13), I went with a friend of mine to check out the Iola Campus site . I have lived in Rochester all my life and I have always been intrigued by those buildings (my aunt actually used to live in the apartments across the street). About 6 months ago, I started a little urban exploring group with some friends and coworkers; Iola was one of the first places of interest. With the CityGate project fast approaching, I knew I had to take the risk and visit Iola while I still could. Rather than taking a big group, just two of us went since we were not sure what the security situation would be like. The whole campus was great. A lot of the buildings had pretty easy access points, but there were a couple we could not get in to, due to time constraints (and proximity to the main road!). I hope that you all enjoy the shots! – Sarah Barnes
John Failings Barber settled in the area of Portage, NY during the pioneer days. He struggled with tragedy and hardship and eventually became a prosperous farmer and banker. He built this home—which he called, “Chestnut Place”—on the corner of Short Tract and Oakland roads . Before I continue, please be advised, this house is on posted private property.
Emily Stauring is a photographer from Arkport, NY. She took most of these photos while out for a drive with a friend…
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![RG&E Beebee power station prior to demolition. Rochester, NY. Summer 2016. [IMAGE: Anonymous]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-rge-beebee-station-00.jpg)
![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)
![In late October I got the opportunity to go check out a place nearby that I had heard rumors about—a house that has been frozen in a state of construction since 2005. [PHOTO: Anonymous]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-abandoned-glass-house-01.jpg)
![Abandoned cars in the Four Mile Creek Preserve trails. Webster, NY. [IMAGE: Nate Sengillo]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-four-mile-creek-preserve-abandoned-cars-01.jpg)
![Abandoned Vacuum Oil building. Flint Street, Rochester, NY. [IMAGE: Snoop Junkie]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/vacuum-oil-refinery-rochester-02.jpg)
![Frontier Town. [IMAGE: Nate Sengillo]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/frontier-town-abandoned-theme-park-01.jpg)
![Abandoned Camp Haccamo, Penfield NY. [IMAGE: Snoop Junkie]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/camp-haccamo-rochester-56.jpg)
![Inside the abandoned Walters psychiatric building. [IMAGE: Snoop Junkie - Rochester Urban Exploration Squad]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-state-hospital-walters-building-04.jpg)
![Abandoned Sykes Datatronics building on Orchard Street. Demolition work has been going on since the fall. [PHOTO: Anonymous]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/return-to-abandoned-sykes-datatronics-building-04.jpg)
![Motorcycles in an abandoned warehouse in Lockport, NY. [PHOTO: Chris Seward, Flickr]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/lockport-motorcycles-chris-seward.jpg)
![Beechwood Park in Sodus, NY is a former Girl Scouts of America summer camp. The property has been left as it was abandoned in 1996. [PHOTO: Chris Clemens and Luke Myer]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-abandoned-camp-beechwood-01.jpg)
![The Garbage Incinerator at High Falls, Rochester. [PHOTO: Robert Cunningham]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-garbage-incinerator-plant-00.jpg)
![Children (patients) on the roof of Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium (c.1939). That's Marilyn Casserino in the center. [PHOTO COURTESY OF: Marilyn Murphree]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-children-crop.jpg)
![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium. [PHOTO: Matt Rieck]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-matt-rieck-01.jpg)
![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium. [PHOTO: Sarah Barnes]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-001.jpg)
![The old Barber House at the corner of Short Tract and Oakland Road in the Town of Portage. [IMAGE: Emily Stauring]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/abandoned-barber-house-portage-ny-01.jpg)
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