This week’s Fun Foto Friday is a snapshot from 1893. That’s Nick Brayer, an engineering contractor working on a new sewer beneath Front Street in downtown Rochester. In his hands is a tin box. It’s not a sewer pipe. It’s actually a time capsule and he’s preparing to lay it at the project site to be buried. Looks like quite the event; a crowd of neighborhood kids have formed behind him to get in on the photo op.
Fast forward to 2015 and the burning question for readers of this blog will undoubtedly be: Where is this capsule now? And what’s inside…
Check out this great photo of the Powers Building from 1968. Notice the workmen up on the ledge of the Mansard roof. Down at street level a shiny new, streamlined façade as been awkwardly forced on top of this 1869 building…
Today’s Fun Foto Friday is this 1920’s view of the Erie Canal aqueduct looking east. You’re looking at the covering over the old canal which would soon become Broad Street and the Rochester Subway beneath. In the background (center) is the Osburn House hotel. Eventually Broad Street would be extended eastward, right through that hotel. The stairwell to the City Hall subway station can be seen at the street corner. And next to the stairs, notice the construction site…
My friend over at RocPX.com snapped this photo in the men’s room at the Rochester Public Market. Now, I know Rachel Barnhart and I consider her a good friend. So I really don’t want to spread rumors… NAAAH! That’s what the internet is for. Here’s what it says..
How’s this for a summertime Fun Foto Friday? This is Robert Pernell. He’s a sand artist. Or was. This photo was printed in the Rochester Herald on August 6, 1922. Robert used to entertain the crowds at Charlotte Beach with his larger-than-life creations…
Hey kids, you know what today is? That’s right, Fun Foto Friday! I know you’ve probably had your fill of spandex-wrapped web-slingers, street closures, and NYC squad cars blowing up everywhere. But I just wanted to post some of my pics from the last couple days of Spider-Man filming. And I’d like to see yours too. If you were able to slip past the barricades and snag a few good shots, go ahead and post a link in the comments section…
Today’s Fun Foto Friday may not be very fun for rail fans and admirers of the old Hojack Swing Bridge near the Port of Rochester. This is an aerial photo of where the bridge used to be. The shot was taken just a few days ago, on January 14, by Bob Biakowski. Here’s what it looked like before it was dismantled…
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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.
![Nick Brayer preparing to lay a time capsule under Front Street, Rochester. 1893. [PHOTO: Rochester Municipal Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/front-street-time-capsule-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
![The Powers Building at Main & State Streets, 1968. [PHOTO: Winters, via Library of Congress]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/powers-building-rochester-1968.jpg)
![Rochester Subway, Broad Street tunnel construction. c.1925. [IMAGE: Rochester Municipal Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-broad-street-construction-01.jpg)
![Writing on the wall of the men's room at the Rochester Public Market. [PHOTO: RocPX.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rachbarnhart-gives-good-tweet-censored.jpg)
![Filming of Spider Man 2 in Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/spider-man-rochester-ny-01.jpg)
![Old site of the Hojack Swing Bridge near the Port of Rochester. [AERIAL PHOTO: Bob Biakowski]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/Swing-Bridge-Aerial-Photo-Bob-Biakowski.jpg)
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