Rochester is a city with a rich history that has experienced a steady decline in population, quality of life, and reputation. Despite this the city has many proud residents who are not satisfied with the status quo. Due to repeated failures we’re skeptical of large projects. This environment of pride mixed with skepticism has produced a generation of Rochester supporters who embrace progressive ideas, respect history, and proceed with caution. My personal contribution is a plan to establish a large State University in Downtown Rochester. We’ll call it SUNY Rochester.
Durand-Eastman Park. So peaceful and picturesque. This time of year the autumn colors are brilliant. And the water is so calm and reflective; the landscape seems to gently float up into the sky. This could be heaven.
On the edge of one great Lake Ontario, two much smaller lakes, Durand and Eastman are named for the two men who donated the land for this beautiful park. In the early 1900’s Dr. Henry S. Durand owned a summer camp here. He and his friend George Eastman saw a need for a public park with access to the beach. So they bought a number of farms around the Durand property, and in 1907 they offered the land to the City of Rochester.
But to willingly give away this place, I have to believe Dr. Durand knew contained something that was not quite right. Maybe something terrifying…
If you live, work or own a business in downtown Rochester, yesterday you might have received a request to answer a few questions. Do NOT throw it away! Trust me. It’s important.
That Downtown Satisfaction Survey is intended to gather insights which will help in establishing a Business Improvement District. What’s that? I’m glad you asked…
This final part serves to tie up some loose ends, and to showcase additional trail options and connections in the region. Here, we will go on an alternative route North to the lake, this time on the east side of the river gorge, and check out the parkway and Route 390 trails, which provide us with additional connections. [View this route in Google Earth using this .KMZ file]
Meet Victor Jackson. The year is 1918 and Victor has no family. He’s an orphan at the Dorsey Home for Dependent Colored Children. You might say the cards are stacked against Victor. But he doesn’t mind…
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.
I often get asked if there are tours of the Rochester subway. The short answer is no. The longer answer is while there is no official tour of the “subway,” every October there is usually a tour of the “historic Erie Canal aqueduct.” And it’s coming up this weekend…
Last week a reader, Michael Krauklis, sent me this picture and asked two perplexing questions. Michael said, “I’ve worked downtown just next to the Broad Street bridge for 11 years now, and the entire time there has been a strange feature in the river just south of the bridge . Upon first glance it appears to be a spring, in the middle of the river, but with further inspection one can see the carcass of an old abandoned structure surrounding it… What was the original purpose of this and where is the water is coming from?”
I have seen these strange concrete triangles in the river myself, and I know there are more than one of them. But I had never noticed the spring water bubbling up! In either case, I had no good answer for Michael. So, I started digging. Here’s what I found out…
If you’ve ever driven down the eastern end of Lyell Ave., or been to a soccer game at Sahlen’s Stadium, you’ve probably seen an enormous old shell of a building looming in the distance. Many times I had seen it’s old edifice sitting silent and, as I usually do, I wondered what the walls contained, what stories it could tell, and what it once was. That’s why one cool September morning I went to meet with the building and see what it could tell me…
Rochester’s old subway tunnel hasn’t seen a passenger car come through here in nearly sixty years. But lately, redevelopment ideas are arriving with unbelievable frequency. A few weeks ago we were talking about the ROC Low Line; an underground park designed by a team of RIT students. This week, another local group has come forward with a different plan. And these guys want to take theirs beyond just an academic study. Stand clear of the yellow line folks – here comes the “Broad Street Underground” concept…
The Ehrmentraut Farm Bridge is easily one of the oldest and most unique bridges in the entire United States, and that kind of distinction is something that piques my interest. There isn’t exactly a ton of information out there on the internet about old bridges on private property, but I’ve managed to piece together its pretty cool history, and then went to check it out myself…
What could be more fun than a barrel of monkeys? How about one filled with the body parts of a Rochester mobster? Yeah, I thought so. Ok, so here’s the story…
I happened to be walking by Eastman Business Park this week when I noticed workers messing with the big Kodak sign. My heart of skipped a beat as my first thought was, they must be taking the sign down. I know it’s just a sign. But it’s also part of our collective story. I’d be disappointed to see it go. So I stopped and asked one of the guys if this was the case…
In what’s being called one of Rochester’s biggest election upsets, City Council President Lovely Warren handed Mayor Tom Richards his hat in this week’s Democratic primary for mayor.
In another, unrelated election race, Rochesterians are now asking if RochesterSubway.com has any shot of upsetting CITY Newspaper for Best Local Website of 2013 in CITY Newspaper’s own “Best Of” contest (on line #74).
Spoiler alert: The answer is NO! — N… O.
I mean, come on! It’s CITY’s own contest. This ain’t no mayoral race.
Rochester has a number of famous people buried within its cemeteries, but Francis Tumblety (spelled: “Tumuelty” on the grave stone because Francis’ parents changed it) is probably one of the few infamous people to rest in peace, right in the historic Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on Lake Ave. Known for a number of his high profile arrests, Tumblety’s name has been cleared numerous times of various committed atrocities, but the stigma associated with his sordid lifestyle and relationships has managed to remain his legacy…
Welcome readers. I’m going on a slight deviation from my usual “Filling In” article to talk about the mean streets of Rochester. Let’s take a look at, eh, Main St. Yeah, Main St. What’s that looks like? Ok, well, there’s some tall(ish) buildings built to the street. There’s sidewalk, theoretically two driving lanes in each direction, and (supposedly) some street trees. If I were to give this street a grade, it would get an “in-complete.”
Oy, how I wish I could reconfigure things! Just pick stuff up and move it around. Maybe add a cycle track or a tree-lined median. Heh heh… can you say, STREET REMIX?!
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?
Reconnect Rochester has alerted us to an important informational meeting tonight about the Inner Loop’s future (or lack thereof). As we wait to find out whether or not this project will be a recipient of a USDOT TIGER grant, the City is moving forward with plans to scale down a large portion the underutilized 12-lane highway. Ultimately that will mean greater connectivity between downtown and the neighborhoods to the east, and lower road maintenance costs in the long run. If there was ever a big road project to support, this is it.
On Saturday, August 17th the Rochester Beardsmen Society hosted the Northeast Regional Beard and Moustache Championships at Water Street Music Hall in downtown Rochester, NY. Competitors from the U.S. and Canada assembled to show off their facial hair and compete in 17 in different categories to determine who’s facial follicles could produce the top ranking tufts…
One of the sites that the city has, let’s say aspirationally, earmarked for development is the site of the former Sherwood Shoe Company. The shoe company itself was incorporated in 1905 by Frederick A. Sherwood, and the factory for it was built on this site at roughly the same time. I’m less sure when it was torn down, but it is on the 1935 plat maps, so it was certainly there through the depression. (UPDATE: the photo above is from 1956)
As for what to do here, I think there are a million great ideas, and I am hoping that we are able to get a good conversation of the various uses: lofts where the factory used to be? More houses? All of these things and more? All great ideas, and I’m not one to come to the table empty handed, so let’s take a look at what I think should go 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.
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.
![Donald J. Sullivan would like to see a SUNY college in downtown Rochester. [PHOTO: Flickr, PatrickHashley]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/sunyroc-suny-rochester-skyline-patrickhashley.jpg)
![Durand-Eastman Park, Rochester, NY. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-durand-eastman-park-01.jpg)
![Ambassadors with the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District provide a variety of services including street cleaning and beautification, providing information, and security. [PHOTO: MinneapolisDID.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/downtown-improvement-district-01.jpg)
![The fifth and final part of Ryan Green's Bike Rochester Series... the El Camino and Route 390 Trails! [PHOTO: Ryan Green]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rg-bike-rochester-el-camino-and-route-390-trails-014.jpg)
![Meet Victor Jackson. October, 1918. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-dorsey-home-orphans-pumpkins-01.jpg)
![The abandoned Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium. [PHOTO: Matt Rieck]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/iola-tuberculosis-sanatorium-matt-rieck-01.jpg)
![A tour of Rochester's abandoned subway tunnel. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/abandoned_rochester_subway_05.jpg)
![I have seen these concrete triangles in the river before. But I had never noticed the spring water bubbling up. What is this strange water feature? [PHOTO: Michael Krauklis]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/genesee-river-triangle-rochester.jpg)
![Lewis Childs, co-founder of Broad Street Underground, explains how Rochester's abandoned subway tunnel could be converted into commercial and retail space. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-broad-street-underground-01.jpg)
![The Ehrmentraut Farm Bridge is easily one of the oldest and most unique bridges in the entire United States. [PHOTO: Chris Clemens]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/ehrmentraut-farm-bridge-01.jpg)
![A whiskey barrel lies among the shrubs and fallen leaves in a Webster gully. This close-up photograph, showing cloth in the top of the barrel, was taken before the dismembered body of Francesco Manzello had been removed from the barrel. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-mafia-barrel-murder-01.jpg)
![Grave of Francis Tumblety at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. [PHOTO: Chris Clemens]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/francis-tumblety-01.jpg)
![The current view looking west down Main Street, Rochester. Blah. If only we could rearrange things. [IMAGE: Google Streetview]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/remix-your-street-01b.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)
![On Saturday, August 17th the Rochester Beardsmen Society hosted the Northeast Regional Beard and Moustache Championships at Water Street Music Hall. [PHOTO: Chris Clemens]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/beard-and-moustache-championships-01.jpg)
![A view of the Rochester Subway looking east from the Meigs Street bridge. A westbound car is shown approaching the Goodman-Meigs station. The Sherwood Shoe Company building on Goodman Street and Uhlen Place is seen in the right background. [PHOTO: Rochester Municipal Archives]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-subway-and-sherwood-shoe-company-1956.jpg)
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