If you’re a RocSubway reader and you love learning about Rochester as much as I do, you might want to check out 585 Magazine. It’s a pretty slick new bimonthly packed with tasty local bits on every topic imaginable. Plus, you might catch an occasional story on local places & history written by yours truly. In the current issue I attempt explore Rochester’s incredible, Olmsted-designed park system – in 800 words or less! Completely impossible, but I tried.
First, head over to 585 Mag and check out the story . Then come back here for fun extras, including Olmsted’s original plan drawings of Highland, Seneca, and Genesee Valley Parks, AND audio from my interview with JoAnn Beck, cochair of the Landmark Society’s Olmsted subcommittee…
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 live in America’s first boom town—Rochester, New York—on Linden Street. Linden trees, unsurprisingly, line much of my street. Down the street is the Genesee River, once one of America’s most polluted—and possibly still. My street is a historic district that was once part of the world’s largest nursery. The Ellwanger and Barry Company supplied the first fruit trees to California…
Stop everything… do you smell that? No sir, I showered yesterday so it’s not me. That lovely aroma you just caught a whiff of is coming from Highland Park. Oh yeeeyah, since 1898 Springtime in Rochester means more than just flowers. Flowers are for pansy-ass towns. Here in the R-O-C we do LILACS. So grab your old lady and your Kodak—we’re taking a trip to the early days of Rochester’s Lilac Festival…
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![One of the pedestrian bridges in Genesee Valley Park. This was not originally part of Olmsted's plan. [PHOTO: Rochester Public Library, Local History Division]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/genesee-valley-park-bridge.jpg)
. Then come back here for fun extras, including Olmsted’s original plan drawings of Highland, Seneca, and Genesee Valley Parks, AND audio from my interview with JoAnn Beck, cochair of the Landmark Society’s Olmsted subcommittee…![Rochester Landmarks Poster [IMAGE: Richard Margolis]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-landmarks-poster-richard-margolis.jpg)
![Lilacs in Highland Park, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: Rich Engelbrecht, via Flickr]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/lilacs-highland-park-rochester.jpg)
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