Within the last year I have written a great deal about cities and the historic buildings they should be obligated to see maintained. Many cities cannot, will not, or do not want to penalize or fine the industrial and commercial property owners who fail to maintain the buildings within their care. Often what happens is that these neglected buildings are then demolished because they are supposedly beyond repair or structurally unsound.
It should be noted that buildings are rarely too far gone, even when roofs are missing and the “elements” have begun to reek havoc, and that often these very buildings are “structurally sound.”
For the past few weeks workers have been attacking a 100 ton hunk of slag that was discovered at the Port of Rochester last spring. Yesterday I noticed the giant plume of smoke from the O’rorke Bridge and made my way down to the scene of this epic battle. When the dust settles, who will remain standing? Man? Or The Slag?
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…
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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.
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![The demolished Bethlehem Steel North Office Building in Lackawanna, NY. [PHOTO: Chris Smart]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/bethlehem-steel-administration-building-lackawanna.jpg)
![The Port of Rochester shrouded in a thick orange haze. Smoke from an epic battle going on right now. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/slag-button-charlotte-beach-rochester-07.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)
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