![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)
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…
Posts Tagged ‘Main Street Four Corners’...
Powers Building, Main & State Streets, 1968
Friday, February 28th, 2014Tags: Crossroads Building, downtown Rochester, Elwood Building, First National Bank, Four Corners, Fun Foto Friday, Main Street, Main Street Four Corners, Monroe County Savings Bank, old photos, old photos of Rochester, old photos of Rochester NY, Powers Building, Powers Hotel, Rochester, Rochester NY, State Street
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 8 Comments »
Snapshots of Rochester’s Labor Days
Sunday, September 2nd, 2012![Six unidentified female railroad workers pose at Lincoln Park Station. The railroad line is the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Company. In 1917-1918, many jobs traditionally held by men were filled by women, while the men served in the Armed Services in World War I. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone Collection]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-woman-railroad-workers-c1917.jpg)
“I believe when we’re born into this world we’re entrusted with certain things. Our grandparents trust that we’ll work hard to keep and maintain the world that they’ve broken themselves to build. And our children need us to preserve it, and leave it a little bit better than how we inherited it. Preservation is often difficult. But in many ways it’s all we have to keep us grounded; as a society and as people. Future generations need to know what came before them. What was it that made this city great? Who designed and built this place? Who worked here and why? If we destroy the evidence, we cut our children off from the answers forever; and impede our own ability to progress.”
These are words I live by. They’re also the reason I keep this web site. While my family and I are enjoying this sunny Labor Day weekend on the shores of Lake Ontario, I’ll take pause to think about why we have it so damn good in this time and place. For me, the answer can be found in the portraits that follow. These are some of the men, woman, and even children who labored to make the way of life we enjoy today…
Tags: Adler Bros., Bert Bitting, Buffalo Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, East Rochester, Eastman Kodak, Egypt Canning Co., Egypt NY, factory workers, Four Corners, Garment Workers Strike, Hanna's Dryhouse, Hilton NY, history of Rochester, Jerry Kellerer, Kodak, Labor Day, Main Street Four Corners, Merchants' Despatch Transportation Co., Michael Stern Building, old photos, old photos of Rochester, Rochester, Rochester Association of Workers for the Blind, Rochester Brewery Union Members, Rochester history, Rochester Industrial Exposition, Rochester Labor Day Parade, Rochester NY, Rochester Shoe Workers Union, Rochester water supply system, Silver Platers and Metal Polishers Union, strikebreaker, Womans Union Label League
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images | 6 Comments »
From Eyesore to Opportunity: Rochester’s Powers Building
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
All the controversy over whether or not to demolish the 120 year-old brewhouse at 13 Cataract Street 
got us thinking. Those in favor of demolishing the building say it’s an eyesore and a haven for drug dealers; even prostitutes. So, just remove the building and our problems go away.
Right?
But if we demolished every eyesore in Rochester, would we have solved all the City’s problems? Or might we end up tossing the proverbial “baby” out with the bath water? For the next two weeks we’ll take a look at some local eyesores …or rather, opportunities, nearly lost.
Tags: adaptive reuse, Eagle Hotel and Tavern, Four Corners, From Eyesore to Opportunity, Hamlet Scrantom, Main Street, Main Street Four Corners, Powers Banking House, Powers Building, Rochester, Rochester NY, State Street, Value Properties
Posted in Architecture, Rochester History, Rochester Images, Urban Development | 6 Comments »
Rochester’s Case for a Streetcar Line
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
America seems to have taken a renewed interest in mobility. Maybe due to President Obama’s recent commitment to high speed rail—or perhaps the positive results seen in towns like Portland and Denver have caught our collective attention. Whatever the reason, from the top down, people are rethinking our automobile-oriented culture—and getting excited about the possibilities.
There’s also good reason to focus on transportation as a way of jump-starting economic development. Industry requires access to people. And people need to have easy access to centers of employment. Continually improving access makes further development possible. Interrupting access will have the opposite effect. Likewise, doing nothing or simply maintaining existing infrastructure for an extended period of time will also hinder development.
For 30+ years Rochester has relied on the infrastructure choices it made in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s. At that time we made development choices that encouraged our population to emigrate from the downtown core. We scrapped our extensive streetcar system, choked off downtown with the construction of the inner-loop, and paved super highways to take us from the city to the NY State Thruway and beyond. Since then that’s exactly where our money, our workforce, and our future have gone—down I-490 and out of state.
Tags: 19th Ward neighborhood, Amtrak, B&L, bus, bus routes, Cornhill neighborhood, Denver, downtown Rochester, Eastman Theater, Fast Ferry, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Greater Rochester International Airport, GRI Airport, hub-and-spoke system, infrastructure, Kenosha, Kodak Theater, light rail transit, light-rail, Main Street, Main Street Four Corners, Mark Aesch, mass transit, Midtown Plaza, Monroe County Civic Center, New York, Paetec, Park Ave neighborhood, Portland, public transportation, rail transit, Regional Transit Service (RTS), Riverside Convention Center, Rochester, Rochester Amtrak Station, Rochester Art Gallery, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA), Rochester Museums, Rochester NY, Rochester Regional Community Design Center, RRCDC, RTS, SAFETEA-LU, Seattle, Small Starts program, streetcar, streetcars, Tampa, transportation, trolley, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), University of Rochester, urban planning, urban renewal, urban revitalization, War Memorial Arena, Xerox
Posted in Opinion, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Video | 38 Comments »
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