![When Bill Schmidt purchased his home on Lake View Park this summer, he became the lucky owner of the bell tower from School #7 in northwest Rochester. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-school-7-bell-tower-02.jpg)
Every so often we’re contacted by a lucky homeowner who discovers a neat little historical treasure hidden away in their basement or roof rafters – usually an old book or a subway token. Then there’s Bill Schmidt. When Bill purchased his home on Lake View Park 
this summer, he became the lucky owner of an old bell tower from the long-demolished School #7 in northwest Rochester…
Posts Tagged ‘historic preservation’...
Bell Tower from Rochester School #7, Rediscovered
Sunday, November 1st, 2015Tags: architecture, demolition, Dewey Avenue, Fairview Heights, historic preservation, Lake View Park, Pierpont Street, Rochester, Rochester NY, school bell tower, Virgil I. Grissom School #7
Posted in Architecture, Rochester History, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure | 7 Comments »
72 Conkey Avenue: Lost
Sunday, October 25th, 2015![72 Conkey Avenue has been demolished. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/clifford-and-conkey.jpg)
Here’s a quick update on a story we brought attention to exactly five years ago. On this empty lot (shown above) once stood 72 Conkey Avenue. The old 19th century Victorian storefront had been the subject of a demolition-vs-rehabilitation debate—one between the City of Rochester and neighborhood resident, Jim Fraser, who has restored a handful of neglected homes in the area. Jim saw 72 Conkey as a diamond in the rough…
Tags: 14621, City of Rochester, Clifford Avenue, Conkey Avenue, demolition, historic preservation, Ibero, Jim Fraser, Jo Dickinson, Rochester, Rochester NY, urban renewal, urban revitalization
Posted in Rochester News, Urban Development | 8 Comments »
Meet Rochester Artist and Craftsman, Scott Grove
Monday, September 28th, 2015![Meet Scott Grove, a Rochester artist, sculptor, furniture designer, architectural preservationist, among other things. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/scott-grove-powers-building-maintenance-01.jpg)
On my almost daily walk along State and Main streets I’ve often noticed this boom lift blocking the sidewalks around the Powers Building . I’ve never given it much thought. I just figured Daniel Powers liked his windows really clean.
Then, last week while at the Fringe, my RocSubway teammate Joanne Brokaw got introduced to Scott Grove. As it turns out, Scott is that guy hanging high up over Rochester’s sidewalks—and he’s not cleaning windows…
Tags: architecture, artist, Bausch & Lomb Headquarters, Daniel Powers, downtown Rochester, Eastman Theater, H.H. Warner Building, historic preservation, Jonathan Child House, Neighborhood of the Arts, Piano Works Mall, Powers Building, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Public Market, Scott Grove, sculpture, State Street, University of Rochester
Posted in Architecture, Art + Culture, Interviews, Rochester History, Rochester News, Urban Exploration | 4 Comments »
Rochester’s Carousel is “Not Garbage Art”
Sunday, August 9th, 2015![This painted picaninny panel on Rochester's Dentzel carousel has been the subject of debate since the confederate flag was removed from South Carolina's State House in July. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-ontario-beach-carousel-04.jpg)
By Mike Governale with help from Carlie Fishgold.
In 1867 Gustav Dentzel founded the Dentzel Carouse Company in Philadelphia, PA. In 1905, Gustav’s “Duchess” menagerie carousel opened at Ontario Beach Park where it has since entertained many generations of Rochesterians.
Recently, a debate has erupted concerning one of the ride’s painted panels; two black children—or more accurately, picaninnies—being harassed by a rooster. Stereotypical depictions of black children such as these were intended to dehumanize blacks and provide entertainment for whites at their expense. There’s no debate here. It is what it is. The question is what do to with the panel…
Some have called for it to be removed or replaced with something different. Others believe it should be preserved – either in place, or in another setting where it can be used to educate future generations about America’s history and the pitfalls of racism and bigotry.
Bill Dentzel is the great-grandson of Gustav Dentzel. In a letter to Rochester’s Preservation Board dated August 4, 2015, Bill suggests that the panel may be moved, but should not be discarded as “garbage”…
Tags: African-American, Bill Dentzel, Charlotte, Charlotte Beach, Dentzel carousel, Dentzel Carousel Company, Edward P. Dentzel, Gustav Dentzel, historic preservation, Monroe County, Ontario Beach Park, Ontario Beach Park carousel, picaninny, preservation, race in Rochester NY, racism, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Preservation Board, slavery, William H. Dentzel
Posted in Art + Culture, Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester News | 15 Comments »
A Carousel of Debate: The Preservation of Ridicule
Friday, August 7th, 2015![Dentzel carousel at Ontario Beach Park. Rochester, NY. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-ontario-beach-carousel-01.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Carlie Fishgold, Associate Editor at POST Magazine and Independent Scholar. Submit your story today.
For those in the Rochester community who have a hard time understanding why the Dentzel carousel painted picaninny panel disallows African-American families and children from a carefree experience at Ontario Beach Park, I encourage you consider that you are not the butt of the joke…
Tags: African-American, Carlie Fishgold, Charlotte, Charlotte Beach, Dentzel carousel, historic preservation, Landmark Society of Western New York, Monroe County, Ontario Beach Park, Ontario Beach Park carousel, picaninny, preservation, race in Rochester NY, racism, Rochester, Rochester NY, Rochester Preservation Board, slavery
Posted in Art + Culture, Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester News | 39 Comments »
RocLinks 12/27/14
Saturday, December 27th, 2014![RocLinks for 12/27/14. [PHOTO: psyberartist, Flickr]](http://rochestersubway.com/images/photos/roclinks-2014-12-27.jpg)
From local development to just plain news of the weird, here are your RocLinks for this past week…
Tags: Barilla, best cities for singles, development, HGTV, historic preservation, House Hunters, Landmark Society of Western New York, Rochester, Rochester NY, RocLinks, web sites
Posted in Rochester News | No Comments »
New Life for Rochester’s Cunningham Carriage Factory: Before & After
Wednesday, December 17th, 2014![Carriage Factory, Rochester NY. [PHOTO PROVIDED BY: Preservation Studios]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-cunningham-carriage-factory-south-side-before.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Michael Puma.
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The transformation at the Carriage Factory building has been nothing short of amazing. Located at 33 Litchfield Street in the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood, the former factory building that was close to the landfill has been reborn as seventy-one affordable and special needs apartments. The rehabilitation of the building was a long time coming and was not without its challenges and delays…
Tags: adaptive reuse, architecture, Blanchard Dean, Carriage Factory, Christa Development, Cunningham car, Cunningham Carriage Company, Cunningham Carriage Factory, DePaul Properties, historic preservation, James Cunningham, James Karr, Preservation Studios, Rochester, Rochester apartments, Rochester NY, SWBR Architects, urban development
Posted in Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Urban Development | 6 Comments »
Historic Cunningham Carriage Returns to Rochester
Monday, October 6th, 2014
The following post by Amy Cavalier was originally published at DePaul.org.
Thousands of miles, several movie appearances and more than 140 years after leaving the Cunningham Carriage Factory on Litchfield Street in Rochester NY, a late-19th century brougham-style carriage returned home on Tuesday, September 30…
Tags: adaptive reuse, affordable housing, Carriage Factory, Cunningham Automobile Factory, Cunningham car, Cunningham Carriage Factory, DePaul, DePaul Properties, Gillian Conde, historic preservation, Inc., John Greenall, Litchfield Street, Rochester, Rochester New York, Rochester NY
Posted in Rochester Destinations, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 3 Comments »
Neglected Landmarks Need Protection
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014![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 following is a guest post submitted by Joel Helfrich.
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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.”
Tags: Bethlehem Steel, Brennan Motor Complex, Cataract Brewery, historic preservation, Howard Decker, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Joel Helfrich, Lackawanna, Otisca Brewery, Rochester, Rochester landmark, Syracuse, Westminster Presbyterian Church
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester History, Urban Development | 15 Comments »
Elusive Memories of Iola, Part 2
Friday, November 22nd, 2013![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)
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…
Tags: abandoned, abandoned places, AJ Costello & Son, Beverly Ferguson, Brighton, City Gate, CityGate, Costco, development, East Henrietta Road, historic preservation, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Jean Bissiett, Marilyn Casserino, Monroe Community Hospital, Monroe County, preservation, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, rochester photos, Vivian Casserino, Westfall Road
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 15 Comments »
Elusive Memories of Iola
Friday, November 15th, 2013
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…
Tags: abandoned, abandoned places, AJ Costello & Son, Brighton, City Gate, CityGate, Costco, development, East Henrietta Road, historic preservation, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Marilyn Casserino, Monroe Community Hospital, Monroe County, preservation, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, rochester photos, Vivian Casserino, Westfall Road
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 39 Comments »
Confessions of an Urban Explorer: “Damn Conscience”
Wednesday, October 9th, 2013![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium. [PHOTO: Matt Rieck]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-matt-rieck-01.jpg)
The following story and photos were submitted by Matt Rieck.
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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.
Tags: abandoned, abandoned places, AJ Costello & Son, Brighton, City Gate, CityGate, Costco, development, East Henrietta Road, historic preservation, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Matt Rieck, Monroe Community Hospital, Monroe County, preservation, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, rochester photos, urban development, urban exploration, urban explorers, Westfall Road
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Exploration | 17 Comments »
Hope for Pulaski Library
Monday, July 22nd, 2013![Rochester is trying to save the vacant Pulaski Library before it's too late. [IMAGE: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-pulaski-library-01b.jpg)
Last winter the City of Rochester made a Hail Mary pass to save the historic Pulaski Library. They posted an offer to sell the vacant building for a thousand dollars to anyone with a serious plan to fix it up. I’m not sure how many proposals were submitted, but I’ve learned that Providence Housing Development Corporation has been given the green light.
[ Take a look inside Pulaski… ]
Providence Housing has worked on similar adaptive reuse projects such as Paul Wolk Commons on State Street, and the Holy Rosary Apartments on Dewey. Although Pulaski may be smaller, it could prove to be a much bigger challenge…
Tags: adaptive reuse, Designated Building of Historic Value, historic preservation, history of Rochester, Hudson Avenue, New York State Historic Preservation Office, Norton Avenue, preservation, Providence Housing Development Corporation, Pulaski Library, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester landmark, Rochester NY, Rochester Public Library, urban exploration
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester News, Urban Development | 2 Comments »
Sense of Place: Lessons from Elsewhere
Thursday, June 13th, 2013![Monroe County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Children's Building. To be demolished. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone, 1911.]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-1911.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Joel Helfrich.
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It is through the process of defining what we want as a town that we are becoming a real community. It is through the act of participation that we change.
This is not simply a story of not-in-my-backyard. It is the unfolding tale of how a small community … is rising to its own defense, saying, we believe we have a stake in the future of our own community, which we choose to define beyond our own boundaries of time and space and species…
Tags: Cataract Brewery, CityGate, demolition, Greece, historic preservation, Hojack Swing Bridge, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Joel Helfrich, Our Lady of Mercy, Rochester, Rochester NY, St. Ann's Community, Terry Tempest Williams, The Open Space of Democracy
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Urban Development | 4 Comments »
Inside the Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium
Monday, June 10th, 2013![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium. [PHOTO: Sarah Barnes]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-001.jpg)
The following photographs were submitted by Sarah Barnes. The historical text is taken from a Historic Resource Evaluation prepared for Monroe County in 2000 by Bero Associates.
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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
Tags: abandoned, abandoned places, AJ Costello & Son, Brighton, Charles F. Crandall, City Gate, CityGate, Costco, development, East Henrietta Road, historic preservation, Horace T. Hatton, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Monroe Community Hospital, Monroe County, preservation, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, rochester photos, Sarah Barnes, Siegmund Firestone, urban development, urban exploration, urban explorers, Westfall Road
Posted in Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Exploration | 51 Comments »
Enhancing CityGate
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Nurses' Building. [PHOTO: Mike Bouwmeester]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-iola-sanatorium-nurses-building.jpg)
The following is a guest post submitted by Mike Bouwmeeester.
Submit your story today.
Welcoming Costco and RGRTA to CityGate is great. Ignoring walkability and losing all historic buildings isn’t. Our community needs walkable places. We need development that calms traffic and makes walking easy and safe. Moreover, our community needs to preserve its historic fabric. We need development that repurposes old buildings for new uses…
Tags: AJ Costello & Son, Brighton, City Gate, CityGate, Costco, demolition, development, development plans, East Henrietta Road, Henrietta, historic preservation, Iola Campus, Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, land use, Mike Bouwmeester, preservation, Rochester, smart growth, transit-oriented development, urban development, Westfall Road
Posted in Opinion, Reader Submitted Stories, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Development | 10 Comments »
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