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…
I have a soft spot in my heart for Juan & Maria Contreras. Their family has been serving up the tastiest (and friendliest) Spanish-American food at the Public Market for almost as long as I myself have been a Rochesterian. Their homemade empanadas have earned their place alongside the Garbage Plate and the Zwiegle’s white hot. Over 1,000 empanadas have been known to fly out of this little food stand on any given day at the market, but no matter how busy they are, Juan always has time to greet each customer with a warm, “How are YOU my friend?”
Now our friends need our help. Their daughter, Carolina (33) has been locked in a battle against a rare and deadly form of cancer known as Clear Cell Sarcoma. This Sunday at the Rochester Public Market the Contreras family will host a garage sale to help raise money for Carolina’s fight for life…
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..
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’ve given myself a photo assignment for 2013. Pick 13 subjects, and take 13 snapshots of each. Simple. We started last month with 13 mailboxes. This month I turned my lens on what I thought were some of Rochester’s most intriguing storefronts. These images were taken on the city’s east side, from Monroe Ave up to East Ridge Road…
“The units at Erie Harbor are very poorly designed and overpriced… The ground floor units don’t even have a view of the river – it is blocked by a berm… Shoddy construction… The stairs creak… Tacky… Ugliest building in Rochester…” These are all comments you may have heard about the Erie Harbor Apartments which were officially opened last fall .
When comments like these were left under a recent post on RochesterSubway.com, Jim Mayer didn’t take it sitting down. He contacted me and invited me to visit his home. He and his wife Irene sold their home in Brighton and now live at Erie Harbor. I admit, after nearly a three hour visit, I left feeling a bit jealous at just how much this couple is loving life in their new digs…
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 love collecting fun little bits of Rochester history. So a few years ago I bought this Rochester jigsaw puzzle on eBay. Well somehow it slipped behind my sofa and I just recently found it again. It’s like Christmas in July!
Entirely hand drawn, this 513 piece puzzle is jammed with local landmarks, businesses, and fun historic facts. Now I realize I’m a total geek-dork, but I could stare at this thing for days picking stuff out—it’s THAT much fun…
Community supported urban agriculture is an idea that’s been taking root in neighborhoods across Rochester for several years now. Brian Pettit and his partner Eugene are disabled veterans who have been working to convert empty lots near Rochester’s public market into community gardens. They dubbed their first garden lot “2nd Chance Central Park” because of its location (2nd Street & Central Park), its rejuvenating impact on the neighborhood, as well as the recycled materials in use.
This “2nd Chance” garden had been producing heirloom tomatoes, peppers and potatoes since 2009 until it was accidentally bulldozed by the City last Spring. And suddenly the name has taken on a whole new meaning…
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.
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.
My family has a Saturday morning tradition. We all grab our eco-friendly shopping bags and pile into our not-so-eco-friendly family car. But that’s alright. Even if my car is a clunker I usually feel a lot better about myself after a trip to the Rochester Public Market. I can’t explain it—this place just makes me feel good. So how do you improve on a good thing?
I recently heard a rumor that the cool people down at Rochester’s very cool Public Market were considering buying a trolley. Yup, that’d be an improvement! Is the rumor true? I asked James Farr, Assistant Director of Recreation for the City of Rochester.
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After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
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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.
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future is written in her past. Let's rediscover it.
![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)
. I’ve never given it much thought. I just figured Daniel Powers liked his windows really clean.
![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)
![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)
![Jim Mayer and his wife Irene invite us into their home at Erie Harbor Apartments. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/erie-harbor-apartments-01.jpg)
![Rochester Landmarks Poster [IMAGE: Richard Margolis]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rochester-landmarks-poster-richard-margolis.jpg)
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