July 29, 2005
Hello from Rochester: A Perfect Getaway
for Stressed Out Torontonians (and Other Urbanites)
Two days ago I took the CAT
fast ferry from Toronto to Rochester and arrived well-rested
after a 2.5 hour boat ride in the Port of Rochester, a scenic Rochester
suburb called Charlotte. I was greeted by Patti and Carrie from
the Rochester
Visitors Association who had helped me with my itinerary and
were kind enough to show me around.
It had been raining all day and Port Charlotte greeted me with
grey skies and deep-hanging clouds. But the first thing I noticed
as we drove towards downtown Rochester was the amount of green spaces
and parks. We drove through a number of nicely manicured neighbourhoods
and Patti showed me some of the amazing parks systems that Rochester
has to offer. We drove through Genesee Valley Park, designed by
famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead who also designed
Central Park in New York City.
We then headed to Highland Park where each May the City holds the
annual Lilac Festival, when more than 1,200 lilac bushes of different
varieties and colours burst into bloom. Driving through beautiful
neighbourhoods with large villas and expansive front lawns we made
our way to Cobbs Hill Park which is located on a hill and holds
a water reservoir with a fountain. The unique thing about Cobbs
Hill Park is that there is one spot in this elevated green zone
from where you can perfectly see the skyline of Rochester away in
the distance, past the lush green neighbourhoods that stretch in
front of downtown.
Rochester's skyline, from the Cobbs Hill Reservoir
After exploring some of the expansive parks of Rochester as well
as the beautiful Victorian-era Mt. Hope Cemetery, we slowly made
our way downtown on East Avenue, a historic street with extensive
mansions. One of Rochester's famous home-grown entrepreneurs is
George Eastman, the founder of the Eastman-Kodak Corporation, which
to this day has its headquarters in Rochester. Eastman was a great
benefactor to the city and donated the greatest part of his wealth,
estimated at $2 billion in today's dollars, to different medical,
cultural and educational institutions throughout the city. We briefly
stopped at his home, the Eastman House, an elegant 50-room Colonial
Revival Mansion surrounded by formal gardens.
Eastman House
Following the Eastman House, which also contains the International
Museum of Photography and Film, we crossed over to University Avenue
to the Neighbourhood of the Arts,
or also referred to as Artwalk. This is a stretch of road down University
Avenue which houses studios, galleries, art and antique retailers
in a neighbourhood of post-war apartment buildings, multi-family
Victorian mansions and charming cottages.
The award winning Artwalk features sidewalk imprints, artistic
benches, tiled light poles, sculptures and bus shelters all the
way from the George Eastman House towards the stunning neogothic
building of the Memorial Art Gallery. Every September this neighbourhood
hosts the Clothesline Art Show.
Art comes alive in the ArtWalk neighbourhood
After Artwalk we headed down Main Street into the downtown area.
I got a look at the Eastman Theatre, home of the Eastman School
of Music, one of the top music schools in the country. The Eastman
Theatre itself is an interesting building, curved and classically
styled, it is literally cut off on one side since a neighbour of
George Eastman demanded an exorbitant price for his property, and
rather than giving in to these demands, Eastman simply decided to
stop the building at the property line.
Our next stop was the Browns Race and High Falls Area: one of the
city's newest entertainment districts. Rochester was once known
as the Flour City for all the wheat grinding that occurred along
its River. Today, the Brown's Race area is a national register historic
district. The area sits above the Genesee River, right next to the
thundering High Falls. The Pont de Rennes bridge is a pedestrian
bridge, connecting the east and west side of the city, and is named
after Rochester's sister city in France.
The High Falls area
Many of the former industrial buildings have been renovated and
are now occupied by ad agencies, tech companies and engineering
firms. The streets in the district have cobble-stoned pavement and
feature historically styled street lighting. There are a number
of entertainment places in the area, including the Triphammer Grill,
which has a patio area overlooking the falls. Beside this restaurant
is an old water wheel, testimony to this area's milling history.
It's a very atmospheric place and an example of a successful conversion
of an old industrial area into a modern entertainment district.
The Kodak headquarters are not far away from the High Falls area,
and our tour continued past a number of the downtown streets. As
a true architecture buff, I marveled at how many of Rochester's
historic buildings have been preserved. There are entire blocks
that have an intact 19th century street front, some with cast iron
architecture. There was no time to explore the architecture in detail,
that would have to wait for my second day in town. But needless
to say, I knew I had found a city that had preserved a lot of its
architectural heritage that would require further exploration.
Kodak headquarters
We crossed into the city's west end and passed by a famous tavern
called Nick Tahou's House, which is the home of the "garbage
plate": a plate full of hamburgers, fries, and a variety of
other heart-attack inducing delicacies. This route took us past
a beautiful modern townhouse development that, surprisingly enough,
holds recently built subsidized housing. We then made our way towards
Susan B. Anthony's house. Anthony was a daring social activist who
insisted on voting rights for women and was arrested in 1872 for
voting in the presidential election, challenging the law. Her house
was a congregation for many of her activist friends, including the
famous suffragettes Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Rochester's
history includes another famous activist, the abolitionist Frederick
Douglass, and both Susan B. Anthony and Federick Douglass are featured
in sculptures in a little park just down the road from the Susan
B. Anthony House.
Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass
We then took in the Corn Hill neighbourhood, an area with tidy
historic homes that hosts the Corn Hill Arts Festival every July.
The next stop on our itinerary was the Strong Museum, ranked one
of the top 10 children's museums in the United States. It holds
the National Toy Hall of Fame and many world renowned collections
of toys, miniatures, dollhouses as well as the world's most comprehensive
collection of dolls. The entrance area features an authentic 1950s
diner still in operation and an antique carousel.
Entrance to the Strong Museum
Crossing the city again into the east end, past tree lined avenues
with attractive homes, we headed outside of town to a quaint Rochester
suburb called Fairport, located on the Erie Canal. On the way we
passed through the wealthy suburb of Pittsford, which is the location
of the Oak Hill Country Club where the 2003 PGA Championships were
held. On our way to Fairport we drove past St. John Fisher College
which is the location of the Buffalo Bill's training camp. Fairport
itself is a gorgeous little village with beautiful storefronts,
a river walk and public docking facilities. We caught a glimpse
of the Colonial Belle, a 2-deck sight-seeing boat that cruises the
Erie Canal.
From Fairport we went back to Pittsford, whose quaint historical
center is also located right on the Erie Canal. Pittsford has a
number of retail stores and restaurants that are built around an
old lumber mill and it is the home of the Sam Patch, an excursion
and charter boat that is a replica of an old canal packet boat.
Both Fairport and Pittsford reminded me of Niagara-on-the-Lake with
beautifully restored architecture, colourful overflowing flower
baskets, and a variety of shopping and dining opportunities.
Erie Canal in Pittsford
Well, after this comprehensive sightseeing program it was time
to go for dinner. We headed up towards the Lake Ontario shoreline
and into beautiful Irondequoit Bay. The name for this large bay
of water is from the Iroquois Nation and means "where the two
waters meet." The Native Americans once used this bay and the
incoming Irondequoit Creek for canoe travel to avoid the high falls
on the Genesee River. At the southern end of the bay is a large
attractively styled new restaurant called Bazil's which features
casual Italian cuisine.
Although the restaurant is fairly new, the place was absolutely
packed, and the first thing we noticed was the chandelier in the
front entrance hall which is made completely of wine bottles. We
waited for about 15 minutes and then had a great dinner in the bay-side
dining room area. I enjoyed the dinner which was capped off by the
largest and most delicious funnel cake I have ever seen.
Downtown Rochester
After this long day of sightseeing Patti and Carrie dropped me
off at the Holiday Inn Express where I had well-deserved night's
rest since another round of sightseeing would await me in just a
few hours. My first day in Rochester had left me with a number of
impressions:
- the large expanses of green spaces within the city
- meticulously manicured neighbourhoods with attractive well-kept
homes
- several vibrant entertainment districts, including the historic
High Falls area
- one of my favourite spots: the outdoor art experience of ArtWalk
- the historic buildings of the downtown core
- and the beautiful bayside dining at Bazil's.
I admit I didn't know much about Rochester before I got there,
but the scenic quality of its suburban and downtown neighbourhoods
definitely struck me. Combined with convenient access to water sports
on the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario as well as to a huge variety
of sports activities including golf, hiking, biking and skiing ust
minutes from the downtown core, I realized why Rochester's slogan
is "Made for Living".
Related Articles:
Hello from Rochester: The
CAT - An Awesome Beast
Hello from Rochester: A perfect getaway
for stressed-out Torontonians (and other urbanites)
Hello from Rochester: Exploring ArtWalk
- A Fabulous Outdoor Art Experience
Hello from Rochester: Discovering
its Architectural Treasures
Useful Links:
The
Rochester Visitors Association
The CAT Fast
Ferry website
|