Rochester is a city in Monroe County,
New York
, south of Lake Ontario
in the United States
. The Rochester metropolitan area is the
second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City
metropolitan area. Known as
The World's Image Centre, it
was also once known as
The Flour City, and more recently as
The Flower
City. It is the county seat for Monroe County.
Rochester's population is approximately 219,773 , making it New
York's third most populous city.
It is at the center of a larger Metropolitan Area
which encompasses and extends beyond Monroe
County and includes Genesee County
, Livingston County
, Ontario County
, Orleans County
and Wayne County
. This area, which is part of the
Western New York region, had a population
of 1,037,831 people at the time of the
2000 Census. As of 1 July 2005,
this population rose slightly, to 1,039,028.
Rochester was ranked as the sixth 'most livable city' among 379
U.S. metropolitan
areas in the 25th edition (2007) of the
Places Rated Almanac. The
Rochester area also
received the top ranking for overall quality of life among U.S.
metros with populations of more than 1 million in a 2007 study by
Expansion Management
magazine. In the same study,
Expansion Management rated
the area's public schools as sixth best nationwide.
The current mayor of Rochester is
Robert
Duffy, who was previously the city's police chief.
Founding and early history
An aerial view of downtown Rochester
from 1938
On
November 8, 1803, a
100 acre (ca. 40 ha) tract in Western New
York along the Genesee
River
was purchased by Col. Nathaniel Rochester, Maj.
Charles
Carroll, and Col. William Fitzhugh, Jr. (1761-1839), all of
Hagerstown,
Maryland
. The site was chosen because of three
cataracts on the
Genesee, offering great potential for water power. Beginning in
1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the
land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers
and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract
to form the village of Rochesterville.
By 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County. In 1823,
Rochesterville consisted of and 2,500 residents, and the Village of
Rochesterville became known as Rochester.
Also in 1823, the
Erie Canal aqueduct over the Genesee River was completed, and the Erie Canal east to the
Hudson River was opened. In the
early 20th century, after the advent of
railroad, the presence of the canal in the
center city became bothersome, and it was re-routed south of
Rochester. By 1830, Rochester's population was 9,200 and in 1834,
it was re-chartered as a city.
Rochester was first known as "The Young Lion of the West", and then
as the "Flour City". By 1838, Rochester was the largest
flour-producing city in the United States. Having doubled its
population in only ten years, Rochester became America's first
"
boomtown." By the mid-nineteenth century,
as the center of the wheat-processing industry moved west, the city
became home to a booming
nursery
business, giving rise to the city's second
nickname, the "Flower City." Large and small
nurseries ringed the city, the most famous of which was the one
started by German immigrant George Ellwanger and Irish immigrant
Patrick Barry in 1840.
In 1847,
Frederick Douglass
founded the
abolitionist newspaper
The North Star
in Rochester. Douglass, a former slave and an antislavery speaker
and writer, gained a circulation of over 4,000 readers in the
United States, Europe and the Caribbean. The
North Star
served as a forum for abolitionist views. The Douglass home burnt
down in 1872 , but a marker for it can be found in Highland Park
off South Avenue. The city was also home to abolitionist and
women's rights leader
Susan B.
Anthony. Anarchist
Emma Goldman also lived and worked in Rochester
for several years, championing the cause of labor in Rochester
sweatshops.
Rochester experienced another period of renewed industrial activity
in the post-Civil War years. It is in these years that companies
like
Eastman Kodak and
Bausch & Lomb were founded in the
city. This boom continued into the early twentieth century, when
Rochester became a center of the garment industry, particularly
men's fashions. It was home of enterprises such as
Bond Clothing Stores,
Fashion Park Clothes,
Hickey Freeman, and
Stein-Bloch & Co.. It was home to
the pioneer
automobile company
Cunningham, produced by
carriage maker James Cunningham and Sons.
The population reached 62,386 in 1870, 162,608 in 1900, and 295,750
in 1920. By 1950, population had reached a high of 332,488. It
declined to 219,773 by 2000.
Geography and climate
Rochester is at (43.165496, -77.611504).
The city is east of
Buffalo
, west of Syracuse
and sits on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The Genesee River bisects the city.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which,
of it is land and of it (3.42%) is water.
Rochester's geography comes from the
ice
sheets during the
Pleistocene epoch.
The retreating ice sheets reached a standstill at what is now the
southern border of the city, melting at the same rate as they were
advancing, depositing sediment along the southern edge of the ice
mass. This created a line of hills, including (from west to east)
Mt. Hope, the hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill, and Cobb's
Hill. Because the sediment of these hills was deposited into a
proglacial lake they are stratified and classified as a "
kame delta." A brief retreat and readvance of the ice
sheet onto the delta piled unstratified (moraine) material there,
creating a rare hybrid structure called a "
kame
moraine."
The ice
sheets also left behind Lake Ontario (one of the five fresh-water Great Lakes
), the Genesee River with its
waterfalls and gorge, Irondequoit Bay
, Sodus Bay, Braddock Bay
, Mendon Ponds
, numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge, and
the nearby Finger
Lakes
.
According to the City of Rochester, the city has of public streets,
of water mains, 44 vehicular and eight pedestrian bridges, 11
public libraries, two police stations (one for the east side, one
for the west), and 16 fire stations.
The principal source
of water is Hemlock
Lake
, which, with its watershed, is owned by the
city. Other water sources are Canadice Lake
and Lake
Ontario. The 30-year annual average snowfall is The
mean July temperature is , and the mean February temperature is
.
Rochester lies in the
Humid
continental climate zone, and has four distinct seasons, with
often cold and snowy winters. Autumn features brilliant foliage
colors, and summer sees comfortable temperatures that usually stay
in the low to mid 80s (upper 20s Celsius) and it can be quite
humid. Precipitation is plentiful year round.
Demographics
According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey 3-Year
Estimates, the city's population was 50.3% White (41.0%
non-Hispanic White alone), 43.2% Black or African American (39.9%
non-Hispanic Black or African American alone), 0.9% American Indian
and Alaska Native, 3.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other
Pacific Islander, 5.4% from some other race and 3.0% from two or
more races. 13.6% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino
of any race.
[19094]
In the
census of 2000, there were 219,773
people (206,759 estimated as of 2007), 88,999 households, and
47,169 families residing in the city. The
population density was 6,132.9 people per
square mile (2,368.3/km²). There were 99,789 housing units at an
average density of 2,784.7/sq mi (1,075.3/km²). The racial
makeup was 48.30%
White, 38.55%
African
American, 0.47%
Native
American, 2.25%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific
Islander, 6.58% from
other races,
and 3.81% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any
race were 12.75% of the population. Ancestries include:
German (10.9%),
Italian (10.0%),
Irish (9.6%),
English (5.8%), and
Polish (2.7%).
[19095]
Rochester has the largest per capita deaf population in the United
States.
Rochester is home to internationally
recognized programs for the deaf at the National
Technical Institute for the Deaf
(part of the Rochester
Institute of Technology
) and at the University of Rochester
.
There were 88,999 households of which 30.0% had children under 18
living with them, 25.1% were
married
couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 37.1% of all
households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living
alone 65 or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the
average family size was 3.19.
Web site ePodunk estimates that Rochester has approximately 60%
more gay males and lesbians per capita than the national average
.
The city population was 28.1% under 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2%
from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 or older.
The median age was 31. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males.
For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a city household was $27,123, and the median
family income was $31,257. Males had a median income of $30,521,
versus $25,139 for females. The
per
capita income for the city was $15,588. About 23.4% of families
and 25.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 37.5% of those
under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The Rochester area is home to a number of international businesses,
including
Fortune 1000
companies
Eastman Kodak,
Constellation Brands, and
Paychex, as well as several national and regional
companies.
Xerox was founded in
Rochester in 1906 as The Haloid Company, and retains a significant
presence in Rochester, although its headquarters are now located in
Norwalk,
Connecticut
. The
Gannett
newspaper company and
Western Union
were both founded in the Rochester area by
Frank Gannett and
Hiram Sibley respectively.
Because of the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among
the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world
capital of imaging.
The
Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester is ranked number one in the country , and the
Rochester
Institute of Technology has one of the best imaging science departments in
the country . In 2006, the University of Rochester became
the largest employer in the Rochester area, surpassing Kodak.
Food and beverage
One food product that Rochester calls its own is the "
white hot," a variant of the
hot dog made by the local
Zweigle's company.
Another local specialty is the "garbage
plate," first served at Nick Tahou Hots
. Rochester was home to
French's Mustard, whose address was 1 Mustard
Street.
Rochester is also home to
Wet
Planet Beverages, producer of
Jolt
Cola and other beverages.
Genesee Brewing Company, maker of
the Genesee beers and JW Dundee's brand (Honey Brown) also calls
Rochester home.
Arbor Mist wines
are produced in nearby Canandaigua, NY
by owner Constellation Brands.
National frozen food manufacturer
Birds
Eye is headquartered in suburban Rochester. The
Ragú brand of pasta sauce was originally produced
in Rochester, and the Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauce is manufactured
in Rochester.
Barilla and
Kraft Foods have food manufacturing plants in
nearby Livingston County, in the Village of Avon.
Heluva Good Cheeses are in nearby Wayne County
and
Seneca Foods are in nearby Marion,
Wayne County and Mount Morris, Livingston County,.
Other local franchises include:
Bill
Gray's (a hamburger/hot dog joint that lays claim to having
"The World's Greatest Cheeseburger"), Country Sweet (known for
their chicken wings and BBQ sauce),
Boss
Sauce, described as a "tantalizing sweet, spicy-hot gourmet
after-sauce," was born from the restaurant Eddie's Chicken Coop,
Tom Wahl's,
Dibella's, Great Northern Pizza Kitchen, John's
Tex-Mex, Zebb's, Don's Original, and
Abbott's Frozen Custard.
Dinosaur Bar-b-que, which originated in
Syracuse, also operates their second franchise downtown in
the former Lehigh Valley
Railroad station on the Genesee River.
The Rochester area is the birthplace of the
Wegmans Grocery store chain, which has
locations throughout the Northeast and Northern Virginia. In 2005,
Wegmans was ranked the best company in America to work for by
Fortune magazine; it has
been ranked the best grocery store in America by
Consumer Reports and
Food Network.
Major shopping centers
Former shopping centers
Tallest structures
As of February, 2008 the top ten tallest buildings in the city
are:
According to the April 4, 2008, issue of
The Democrat and
Chronicle,
PAETEC Holding
Corp.'s CEO
Arunas Chesonis
stated that
the new tower to be built
as the company's headquarters will rise slightly taller than the
Xerox Tower.
More recently, however, the height of the proposed Paetec building
has shrunk to approximately 8-12 stories, reflecting the realities
of the real estate market for leaseable office space in downtown
Rochester.
Top private employers
As of 2009, the top ten private employers in Greater Rochester are:
- University of Rochester/Strong Health—19,441
- Wegmans Food
Markets—13,381
- Eastman Kodak—8,500
- Rochester General Health System—7,210
- Xerox—6,935
- Unity Health System—5,280
- Lifetime Healthcare-3,542
- Paychex—3,331
- Rochester Institute of
Technology—3,138
- ITT
Industries—2,845
Companies
Several companies have corporate headquarters in the Greater
Rochester area.
Locally founded corporations that have since moved their
headquarters to other locations include
French's,
Gannett,
Western Union,
Champion and
Xerox.
Many other large companies have a significant presence in
Rochester.
Government
Rochester is governed by a mayor and city council consisting of 4
district members and 5 at-large members . The city's police
department is the
Rochester
Police Department.
Neighborhood Empowerment Team
Enforcement of property code violations in Rochester is currently
handled by the Neighborhood Empowerment Team, or NET. Rather than
utilizing a centralized code enforcement office as most cities do,
each neighborhood in Rochester is assigned its own NET office,
leading to considerable discrepancies in the manner and severity of
enforcement. On July 16, 2008, it was announced that two of the NET
offices would be closed, and another one relocated, due to the high
cost and low value of operating the decentralized network.
Cityscape
Principal suburbs
Principal
suburbs of the city include Brighton
, Chili
, East
Rochester
, Fairport
, Gates
, Greece
, Henrietta
, Irondequoit
, Penfield
, Pittsford
, Spencerport
, Hilton
, Brockport
, Victor
, and Webster
.
Neighborhoods
Rochester
has a number of neighborhoods, as well as popular communities in
the inner ring suburbs, Brighton, Irondequoit and Greece and Pittsford. 10th ward, 19th Ward, 14621
Community, Barnard, Beechwood, Browncroft, Cascade District, Cobbs
Hill, Charlotte, Corn Hill, Dewey, Dutchtown, Edgerton,
Ellwanger-Barry, German Village, Grove Place, High Falls District,
Lyell-Otis, Maplewood, Marketview Heights, Mt. Read, Park Avenue,
Plymouth-Exchange, Southwest, East End, South Wedge, Swillburg,
University-Atlantic, Upper Monroe, and more are all recognized
communities.
Joseph Avenue
Extending across much of the north-central cityscape of Rochester,
now including parts of the old Hudson Avenue and North Clinton
neighborhoods, is the Joseph Avenue community. Also known as Polish
Town or simply Avenue D and today almost entirely African American,
this community suffered being the center of the 1964 riots ,. The
riots did produce some benefits in the long run: the north-central
area has been the site of ongoing urban renewal projects since the
late 1960s, and, as noted by "JULY ’64" filmmakers Carvin Eison and
Chris Christopher, inspired the developent of such important
African American organizations as The Urban League of Rochester as
well as Rochester’s first anti-poverty organization (Action for a
Better Community), and black community activist organization
Freedom, Integration, Honor, God, Today (F.I.G.H.T.). However, the
neighborhood is still considered the most dangerous part of
Rochester and is blighted by crime, drugs and gang activity..
Lyell Avenue
Once an Italian-American neighborhood, now a rainbow of many
ethnicities , there have been recent efforts by community
organizations to improve the quality of life in this
neighborhood.
19th Ward
The 19th Ward is a southwest neighborhood bordered by Genesee
Street, West Avenue, the Erie Canal, and is across the river from
the University of Rochester. Now known by its slogan "Urban by
Choice," in the early 1800s the area was known as Castletown and by
1930 was a booming residential area for doctors, lawyers, and
skilled workers; it includes the once-prestigious Sibley Tract
development. Homes in the neighborhood typically have gumwood trim,
leaded glass, fireplaces, hardwood floors, and open porches. The
19th Ward has had an active community association since 1965, and
is known for its cultural diversity . The current "Brooks Landing"
development is an attempt to bring new economic development to the
community.
Browncroft
The Browncroft neighborhood is a hidden gem. Built on the former
nursery grounds of the Elwanger and Barry nursery, these homes are
grand and well preserved. The business district situated on Winton
Rd has an eclectic mix of restaurants and shops. Homes found on
Dorchester, Gramercy Park, Corwin, and Windemere have beautiful
architecture.
Charlotte
Charlotte
(shar-LOT) is a lake front community in Rochester
bordering Lake
Ontario. It is home to
Ontario Beach Park, commonly known as
Charlotte Beach, which is a popular summer destination for
Rochesterians. A new terminal was built in 2004 for the
Rochester-to-Toronto ferry service and
was later sold after the ferry ceased operations in 2005. The
terminal still exists, housing a burger joint, sushi restaurant,
and ice cream parlor.
Corn Hill
The Corn Hill neighborhood near downtown is one of the nation's
best preserved Victorian neighborhoods and a center for art. It is
also home to Corn Hill Landing, a shopping and housing strip
located on the Genesee River. The annual Corn Hill Art Festival, a
two day event held the weekend after the 4th of July, is one of the
city's most popular gatherings for art display.
Upper Monroe
Located less than one and one-half miles from downtown, Upper
Monroe encompasses 17 streets with 1400 households and
approximately 3300 residents. Cobbs Hill Park, with its beautiful
reservoir, tennis courts and athletic fields, forms the
southeastern boundary of this neighborhood. Highland Park, world
renown for its annual Lilac Festival, also is within walking
distance. The Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association (UMNA) is a
not-for-profit advocacy group representing the residents and
property owners of the Upper Monroe neighborhood. Their goals are
to ascertain the needs and concerns of the neighborhood and take
positive action to address those needs and concerns. The
neighborhood is also home to a number of small, local businesses
including: Hardpact, Huey's Hair Company, Monty's Krown, Jeremiah's
Tavern, and Park Ave. Pets.
East End
The East End is a residential neighborhood in Downtown Rochester
but also the main nightlife district.
The Eastman
Theatre
and the Eastman School of Music
are in the East End, along with the Little
Theatre
, an independent film theatre and many clubs, bars
and high-end restaurants.
Maplewood
Maplewood is a northwest
neighborhood located south of Eastman Business Park and between the
Genesee
River and Dewey Avenue. Much of the area's charm
comes from the use of parkways as well as parks and greenspace
bordering the river. These features are the result of plans
designed by
Frederick Law
Olmsted. The
Maplewood Rose
Garden is the second largest
Rose
Test Garden in the United States.
Park Avenue and the Neighborhood of the Arts
Lining the streets of Park Avenue are cafes, shops, pubs and
restaurants. In a broader view, the total area surrounding
University Avenue—known as the Neighborhood of the Arts—is one of
the most culture and art-rich sections of the city.
Located here are the
Village Gate, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum and Science
Center, Rochester Public Market, ARTWalk, George
Eastman House
, and high-end residential streets such as Granger
Drive, East Boulevard, Douglas Road, Westminster Street, and
Berkeley Street.
Plymouth-Exchange
Also known by the abbreviation PLEX, the Plymouth-Exchange
neighborhood serves its purpose by providing affordable housing for
lower income families.
Also home to many University
of Rochester students, both grad and undergrad, it has a richly
knit community and an active neighborhood association.
South Wedge
The South Wedge neighborhood dates back to 1827, prior to the
incorporation of Rochester as a city.. The area is bordered by
Byron street in the north, South Clinton avenue and
Interstate 490 on its east,
Highland Park on its south, and The Genesee River on the west.
Construction of the
Erie Canal (the old
canal bed which went by the neighborhood is now used by Interstate
490) brought workers to the area, who set up camps for the months
that it took to complete this section of the canal. This racially
integrated neighborhood is one of the neighborhoods in Rochester
currently undergoing the process of gentrification, partially due
to a recent increase in homeownership in the area..A lot of young
people live in this area.
Swillburg
This pie-shaped piece of the city is bordered by S. Clinton Avenue,
Field St, and Interstate 490. The neighborhood received its moniker
when a 19th century Rochester pig farmer utilized the area to
collect swill for his swine. The neighborhood association
humorously honors its roots by using street signs featuring the
Swillburg Pig. The area has one of the highest rates of
homeownership in the city and is currently undergoing
gentrification as well.
Marketview Heights
Running east from Union Street just north of Main Street,
Marketview Heights is best known as the location of the Public
Market, which offers a variety of groceries and other goods from
marketeers from farms and shops from surrounding areas, primarily
on the week-ends.
Homestead Heights
Homestead Heights is located in north-east Rochester. It is
bordered on the west by Goodman Street, on the north by Clifford
Avenue, on the south by Bay Street, and on the east by Culver Road,
which is also the border between the city and the town of
Irondequoit. The neighborhood is a mix of residential and
commercial. Real estate values are higher on the eastern end of the
neighborhood near the Irondequoit border.
The neighborhood is
approximately 2-2 1/4 miles west of the Irondequoit Bay.
Education
The City of Rochester is served by the
Rochester City School
District which encompasses all public primary and secondary
education. The district is governed by a popularly elected
seven-member Board of Education. There are also parochial and
private primary and secondary schools located within the
city.
Colleges and Universities
Education is one of Rochester's primary economic areas . The city
and its suburbs are home to a number of
colleges and
universities:
Together
with Alfred
University
, Alfred State
College, Empire
State College
, Finger
Lakes Community College, SUNY Geneseo, and
Hobart and William
Smith Colleges, all within 90 miles of Rochester, these
institutions comprise the Rochester Area Colleges
consortium.
University of Rochester
The
University
of Rochester (U of R), ranked as the 35th best university in the
nation by U.S.
News & World Report
and was deemed "one of the new Ivies." The nursing school has
received many awards and honors and the
Simon
School of Business is also ranked in the top 30 in many
categories.
The
University of Rochester's Laboratory
for Laser Energetics
(LLE) is home to the highest power laser in the world, the OMEGA EP laser.
The
university is also home to the Eastman School of Music, which in 2004 was ranked the number one music
school in America.
Rochester Institute of Technology
The
Rochester
Institute of Technology (RIT) was founded in 1829 and is the tenth largest
private university in the country in terms of full-time
students. It is internationally known for its science,
computer, engineering, and art programs, as well as for the
National Technical Institute for the
Deaf, a leading deaf-education institution.
RIT is among the top colleges and universities in the nation for
programs in the fine arts, placing in the top 10 for many of the
college's programs, including Photography (3rd), Glass art (2nd),
Industrial design (8th) and others. RIT's undergraduate programs
have been featured as one of nation's best in the
Princeton Review, and its undergraduate
engineering programs have been ranked in the top 70 in the country
by the
U.S. News & World Report.
Monroe Community College
Monroe Community College,
the largest community college in
Upstate New York, has had the top ranking
community college athletic program two years in a row and was rated
as the tenth best
associates
degree producing two year college by
Community College Week. MCC has four
campuses: the
Damon City Campus, the main
Brighton Campus which houses the
Mercer
Gallery, the
Applied Technologies Center,
and the
Public Safety Training Facility.
Roberts Wesleyan College
Roberts Wesleyan was ranked the third-best value private college in
the U.S. by the
Princeton
Review in 2007—the only school in New York State ranked in the
top 10. It is also Rochester's only college affiliated with the
Council
for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Culture and recreation
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
city of Rochester is home to numerous cultural institutions.
These
include the world-renowned Garth Fagan
Dance, the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra, George Eastman House, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Contemporary Art
Center, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Strong
National Museum of Play
, the Strasenburgh Planetarium
, and numerous arts organizations.
Geva Theatre
Center
is the city's largest professional
theatre.
Nightlife
Rochester's East End, within downtown, is well known throughout the
area for being a center of late-night activity. It gets its name
for being the stopping point for East Avenue, and both East and the
surrounding streets are crowded with bars, nightclubs, coffee shops
and high-end restaurants.
The Eastman School of Music, one of the top musical institutes in the nation,
is also located within the neighborhood along with its
auditorium. The Eastman Theatre now plays host to the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra and other musical/drama events. Scattered around
the city are also pockets of restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
Notable areas include the South Wedge, St. Paul Quarter and Monroe
Avenue. The Village Gate is a well known multiuse building/plaza
near University Avenue, within which several restaurants and bars
are located.There are venues where music can be heard scattered all
around the city. Live music is important to the nightlife.
Park lands
The
city's Victorian era Mt.
Hope Cemetery includes the final resting place of Susan B. Anthony,
Frederick Douglass, and
George B. Selden.
Other scenic cemeteries are Holy Sepulchre
and its neighbor the Riverside
Cemetery
. Rochester is also known for its parks,
including Highland Park
, Cobb's Hill Park, Durand-Eastman Park
, Genesee Valley Park
, Maplewood Park, Edgerton Park, Seneca Park, and
Ontario Beach Park; four of these were designed by famed landscape
architect Frederick Law
Olmsted.
The city has 13 full-time recreation centers, 19 swimming programs,
3 artificial ice rinks, 66 softball/baseball fields, 47 tennis
courts, 5 football fields, 7 soccer fields, and 43 outdoor
basketball courts. As a legacy of its time as "The Flower City",
Rochester hosts a
Lilac
Festival for ten days every May, when nearly 400 varieties of
lilacs bloom, and 100,000 visitors arrive.
Near Rochester
Twenty miles southwest of Rochester, the
Genesee Country Village and
Museum in Mumford, a hamlet in the town of Wheatland, contains
a model historic village preserving local architecture, a nature
center, model gardens, and sporting, art and carriage museums.
South of
Rochester, the "Grand Canyon of the East" 14,350 acre Letchworth
State Park
has cliffs up to high and waterfalls up to
high. South and Southeast of Rochester, the
glacially formed, Finger
Lakes Region has a wine industry and many lakes and
waterfalls spread across 14 counties: Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland,
Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben,
Tioga, Tompkins, Waynes, and Yates.
Festivals
Rochester
has many festivals in late spring and summer, including the
Rochester
International Jazz Festival established in 2002, the Corn Hill
Festival (arts, crafts, and food in this Third Ward neighborhood),
the Rochester-High
Falls International Film Festival held at the George
Eastman House's Dryden Theatre and
the Little
Theatre downtown), ImageOut, The Rochester Lesbian &
Gay Film & Video Festival held at the Little Theatre,
Clothesline Art Festival (artists from the region display their
works on the grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery
), Park Avenue Merchants Festival, Lilac Festival at Highland
Park, St. Patrick's Day parade (March), Rose Festival at
Maplewood Park, Irish festival (September), two Greek festivals -
one on East Avenue (in June) and one on South Avenue (in
September), Gay Pride Festival (July), Puerto Rican
Festival(August), Rochester Music Festival, and the Cold Rush
Winter Celebration (celebrating winter sports in the Rochester
area). In the summer, especially on the Fourth of July, downtown
after dark is lit with fireworks and a laser show at the High
Falls
venue. The most popular of these is
undoubtably the Lilac festival, which attracts many from areas
outside of Rochester and draws on average 500,000 people every
year.
Media
The
Democrat and
Chronicle is Rochester's main daily newspaper.
The
Daily Record, a legal, real estate and business daily, has
published Monday through Friday since 1908. Insider magazine (owned
by the Democrat and Chronicle), "
City" newspaper and the "Freetime"
entertainment magazine are free, weekly publications.
Rochester
Business Journal is the weekly business paper of record. "The
Good Life Magazine" is a free bi-monthly publication. There is also
a grassroots, democratically-run, Independent Media Center called
Rochester Indymedia. Media
addressing the needs of Rochester's large African American
population include "About... time", and "Minority Report" ) (which
has an associated news journal for the area's Latin American
population, "La Voz" ).
Rochester has eight broadcast television stations:
Rochester has multiple AM and FM radio stations includingWXXI
(Public Radio),WCMF (Rock and Roll),WBEE (Country)WDKX (Urban
Contemporary Radio), andWHAM (News and Talk Radio).
Time Warner Cable provides
Rochester's cable,
cable
television, and
R News, a 24-hour
local news channel.
Points of interest
High Falls during the summer
Sports
Rochester was named the top minor league sports market in the
country by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal in July
2005, the number 10 "best golf city" in America by
Golf
Magazine in 2007,and the fifth-best "sports town" in the
country by
Scarborough
Research in September
2008http://www.rbj.net/fullarticle.cfm?sdid=75291.
Professional sports
Although Rochester is home territory of the
Buffalo Bills and the
Buffalo Sabres, and the Sabres are further
tied to Rochester through their owner, Rochester billionaire
Tom Golisano, Rochester has several
professional sports teams of its own:
| Club |
Sport |
Began play |
League |
Venue |
League championships |
Championship years |
| Rochester Red Wings |
Baseball |
1899 |
International League |
Frontier Field |
20 |
1899, 1901, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1939,
1940, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1971, 1974, 1988, 1990, 1997 |
| Rochester Americans |
Ice hockey |
1956 |
AHL |
Blue Cross Arena |
6 |
1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68, 1982-83, 1986-87, 1995-96 |
| Rochester Knighthawks |
Indoor lacrosse |
1995 |
NLL |
Blue Cross Arena |
2 |
1997, 2007 |
| Rochester Rhinos |
Soccer |
1996 |
USL First Division |
Marina Auto Stadium |
3 |
1998, 2000, 2001 |
| Rochester Razorsharks |
Basketball |
2005 |
PBL |
Blue Cross Arena |
3 |
2005-06, 2008, 2009 |
| Rochester Raiders |
Indoor football |
2006 |
IFL |
Blue Cross Arena |
2 |
2007, 2008 |
| Rochester Greywolves |
Box lacrosse |
2008 |
CanAm |
Genesee Valley Ice
Rink |
0 |
- |
|
Among cities in North America with at least seven current
professional teams, Rochester was determined in 2007 to be the only
one whose teams all had cumulative winning regular season
records.
The
Rochester Red Wings baseball
club, the AAA affiliate of the
Minnesota
Twins, play in the
International League. The
Rochester Americans ice hockey team, the
AHL affiliate for the
NHL Florida Panthers, are known as the
"Amerks". The
Rochester Rhinos
soccer club play in the
USL First Division, which is the
second-highest level American soccer league.
Lacrosse has seen some popularity in
Rochester. The
Rochester
Knighthawks play
box lacrosse in
the
National Lacrosse
League during winter and spring. In outdoor lacrosse, the
Rochester Rattlers were a charter
member of
Major League
Lacrosse, but the franchise was transferred to the new
Toronto Nationals in 2009. Also during the
summer months, the Rochester Greywolves, comprising mostly local
talent, play box lacrosse in the semi-pro CanAm Lacrosse
League.
Two newer but very successful teams are the
Rochester Razorsharks (of the
Premier Basketball League) and
Rochester Raiders (
Indoor Football League); both have
dominated their competition, despite some instability in their
leagues, and both have championship trophies already.
In women's sports, Rochester is home to the
Empire State Roar, a semi-pro team in the
league known as the
Women's Professional
Football League. The fully professional
Western New York FC Pride were to begin
play in 2009 in soccer's W-League, replacing the amateur
Rochester Rhinos Women, but instead they
will be the amateur
Rochester
Ravens, as they once were. The
Filarets
was a notable women's basketball team that played in the 1930s,
1940s and 1950s.
Professional
golf regularly comes to Rochester.
The
PGA Championship and the US Open have been held at Oak Hill
Country Club
, as was the 1995 Ryder
Cup. The
Xerox Classic
Tournament on the
Nationwide Tour
comes every August. The
Wegmans LPGA
tournament is yearly in June at
Locust Hill Country Club.
The 2010
LPGA Championship will be
be played at Locust Hill.
The city also has two independent pro-wrestling leagues: Next Era
Wrestling and NWA Upstate.
USA Cycling has an annual tour stop in
Rochester; the
Rochester Omnium is
newly expanded to a three-day professional cycling event featuring
the Rochester Twilight Criterium.
While
Rochester currently has no teams at the top level of the major
American sports, the city does host training camp for the NFL's Buffalo Bills each summer since 2000 at
St. John Fisher College in
the suburban of Pittsford. The absence of a major pro sports team has
not always been the case. From 1920–1925, Rochester was home to the
Rochester Jeffersons, a charter
member of the
National Football
League. From 1948–1957, the
Rochester Royals played in the
National Basketball
Association, winning the NBA championship in 1951. In soccer,
the
Rochester Lancers played from
1970–1980 in the top-level
North American Soccer
League.
Since 1877, 29 teams in eight professional sports have represented
Rochester, according to
The Rochester Sports Project by
local sports historian
Douglas Brei. In
spring 2006, Brei showed that Rochester's professional sports teams
were collectively approaching 25,000 games played. That game was
played on
June 16,
2006,
when Red Wings hosted the
Indianapolis Indians at Frontier Field.
He also reports that only six active franchises in the history of
North American professional sports have played in the same city and
same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 1800s:
Chicago Cubs,
Cincinnati Reds,
Philadelphia Phillies,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
St. Louis Cardinals, and
Rochester Red Wings.
College sports
Almost all area college sports are played at the
NCAA Division III level.
An exception is the
RIT men's ice hockey team, which moved up to the
Division I level in 2005. Hobart College, an hour
away from Rochester in Geneva
, has a Division I men's lacrosse team.
Among junior colleges,
MCC
is dominant in
NJCAA Division
II sports.
Rochester is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the U.S.
which does not include at least one college or university
participating at the NCAA Division 1 level in all sports.
Club Sports
Rochester is home to two men's
rugby
teams, the
Rochester Aardvarks
and the
Rochester Colonials.
Both have long histories, with the Aardvarks celebrating their 40th
anniversary in 2006, and the Rochester Colonials celebrating 30
years upcoming in 2010.
The Aardvarks are one of the few rugby teams
in the country to own its own pitch: Aardvark Park in Henrietta,
New York. The Aardvarks and the Colonials both have
hosted local and state-wide tournaments and the Rochester Colonials
hosted the 2007 USA Rugby National Collegiate All-Star
Championships, Rochester's first national tournament, as well as
the 2009 NYS Rugby Upstates Tournament and the 2009 New York State
High School Rugby Championships. Both teams participate in the
annual
Saranac CAN-AM
rugby tournament in Saranac NY in early August. Rochester also
has a Women's Rugby club, the
Rochester Renegades, who celebrated
their 20th anniversary in 2008. The Renegades started the New York
State Rugby Women's Division.
The Rochester Bicycling Club is a social and fitness bicycling
club.
Rochester is also home to Rochester Rhythm the three time champions
of the American Extreme Paintball League or AXBL.
The Rochester, NY Region EWGA chapter, homepage
[19096],
organizes leagues, golf training, and golf events and networking
for the area's amateur women golfers.
Transportation
Maritime transport
There is
marine freight service at the Port of
Rochester on Lake
Ontario, which is connected to the Atlantic
Ocean
via the Saint
Lawrence Seaway.
A
short-lived, high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry Spirit of Ontario
I, nicknamed The Breeze or The Fast Ferry, linked Rochester to
Toronto,
Ontario
across Lake Ontario. It operated between
June 17,
2004, and
December 12,
2005,
and cost the city $42.5 million. It was sold to
Förde Reederei
Seetouristik, a German company, for $30 million.
Air transport
Rochester
is served by the Greater Rochester International
Airport
. Daily scheduled air service is provided by
Air Canada /
Air
Georgian,
AirTran Airways,
American,
Continental,
Delta,
JetBlue,
Northwest,
United, and
US
Airways.
Mass transit
Amtrak (passenger) and freight lines provide
rail service to Rochester. Rochester has intercity and
transcontinental bus service via
Greyhound and
Trailways.
Local bus service in Rochester and its county suburbs is provided
by the
Rochester-Genesee
Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) via its Regional
Transit Service (RTS) subsidiary. RTS also provides suburban
service outside the immediate Rochester area and runs smaller
transportation systems in outlying counties, such as WATS (Wayne
Area Transportation System).
From 1927 to 1957, Rochester had a
light
rail underground transit system called the
Rochester Subway. It was the smallest city
in the world to have one. There are proposals to put in a new
system, possibly using some of the old tunnels. One includes
converting the Broad Street bridge tunnel—the former canal
aqueduct—into an underground pedestrian walkway, which would also
include a Rochester Transportation Museum, and a tram system.
The former canal and subway tunnels have become a source of
controversy. Many city homeless use the tunnels for shelter, and a
few areas near tunnel entrances have gained the reputation as being
dangerous. The city has considered multiple solutions for the space
including recreating a canal way, putting the subway system back in
or filling the tunnels entirely. The plan to fill the tunnels in
has generated criticism as the cost of filling would be comparable
to restoring the subway .
The Broad Street bridge over the Genesee that the subway used still
retains the lower track level.
Major highways and roads that serve the Greater Rochester
Area
There are three exits off the
New
York State Thruway (
Interstate 90)
that serve Rochester. Rochester has an extensive
freeway (
expressway)
system which connects all parts of the city and the city with the
Thruway. During the Thruway's construction, a disagreement between
the governor of New York and mayor of Rochester resulted in a
bypass of downtown Rochester, leaving the city struggling for
growth.
Rochester's expressway system, conceived in the 1950s, was designed
as two concentric circles with feeder expressways from the west,
south and east. The system allows for quick travel within the
metropolitan area and a lack of the traffic gridlock typically
found in cities of comparable size; in part this is because the
system was designed to accommodate an anticipated year-2000 metro
population of 5 million, whereas the present-day population is just
over one million.
The
Outer Loop circles just
outside the city limits while the
Inner Loop circles around the
immediate downtown area within the city proper. From the west are
Lake Ontario State
Parkway,
NY-531 and
I-490;
Interstate 390 feeds from the south; and
NY-104,
NY-441, and
I-490 approach from the
east.
Four Interstate
Highways run through the Greater Rochester area:
Interstate 90 (
New York State Thruway)
- I-90
runs from Seattle
to Boston
.
I-90 connects to I-390 and I-490 to serve the Greater Rochester
Area.
Interstate
390 (Genesee Expressway)
Interstate 490 (Western/Eastern
Expressway)
Interstate
590
- I-590 runs south-north through Rochester's eastern suburbs. Its
southern end is at I-390, while the
northern end is at I-490;
the highway continues north to the shore of Lake Ontario as
NY-590.
- In
decreasing usage is the term "Can of Worms
", referring to the previously dangerous
at-grade intersection of Interstate 490 and expressway
NY-590 on the eastern edge
of the Rochester city limits, bordering the suburb of Brighton. In the 1980s, a multimillion dollar project
created a system of overpasses and ramps that reduced the danger
but resulted in the loss of certain exits.
New York State
Route Expressways:
New York State Route 104
(Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway, West Ridge Road)
- NY
104 - Just east of the NY 590 interchange, NY 104 becomes the
Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway and crosses the Irondequoit
Bay Bridge
. On the other side of the Bay Bridge, in the
town of Webster, NY 104 has exits before returning to an at-grade
highway at Basket Road.
New York State Route 390
- NY 390 is an extension of Interstate 390 from the I-390/I-490
interchange in Gates. The northern terminus is at the Lake Ontario
State Parkway in Greece, less than a mile from the Lake Ontario
shoreline.
New York State Route 531
(Spencerport Expressway)
- NY 531 serves as a connector between the northwestern suburbs
of Rochester and Interstate 490.
New York State Route 590
- NY 590 is a limited-access extension of Interstate 590 at runs
from an interchange between Interstate 490 and I-590 on the
Brighton/Rochester border. The northern terminus is at Culver Road
in Irondequoit, near Sea Breeze (the western shore of Irondequoit
Bay at Lake Ontario).
New York State
Parkways:
Lake Ontario State Parkway
- Lake
Ontario State Parkway travels from Lakeside
Beach State Park
in Carlton, Orleans County. The eastern end
is at Lake Avenue in the city of Rochester in Monroe County.
Crime
In 2006 Rochester had 1259.6 reported violent crimes per 100,000
residents, compared to a national rate of 553.5.
Notable citizens
- See List
of people from Rochester, New York
Sister cities
Rochester has eleven
sister cities, as
designated by
Sister Cities
International. They are all dedicated by a branched concrete
walkway over the Genesee River, dubbed the Sister Cities Bridge
(known as the Frank and Janet Lamb Bridge since October
2006):
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Country |
|
City |
|
County
/ District / Region / State |
Date |
France
! style="background: #FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Rennes
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Brittany |
1958 |
Germany
! style="background: #FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! | 
|
Würzburg
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Bavaria |
1964 |
Italy
! style="background: #FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! | 
|
Caltanissetta
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! | .svg/25px-Flag_of_Sicily_(revised).svg)
|
Sicily |
1965 |
Israel
! style="background: #FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Rehovot
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
|
Center
District |
1972 |
Poland
! style="background: #FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! | 
|
Kraków
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! | 
|
Małopolskie |
1973 |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |
References
- Daneman, Matthew, "Our manufacturing roots sprout jobs",
Democrat and Chronicle (March 2, 2008) ( archived copy)
- Greater Rochester Visitors Association
- 2007 QUALITY OF LIFE QUOTIENT: What Really Matters
Is Not the Salary, But What That Salary Will Buy, Expansion
Management
- Overall Quality of Life: Metros With Population
Over 1 Million, Expansion Management
- Best Metrowide Public Schools, Expansion
Management
- Blake McKelvey, "The Germans of Rochester: Their Traditions and
Contributions", Rochester History, Vol. 20, No. 1 (January 1958),
7-8.
- http://www.history.rochester.edu/class/douglass/part5.html
- Like many early companies, its production was small, about 400
a year including hearses,
designed by Volney
Lacey. Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage,
1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)
- http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/gayInfo.php?locIndex=1538
- Xerox Corporation Fact Book: Company facts,
history, information
- Economic Development, University of Rochester
"Connections" website
- PAETEC headquarters to tower over city,
Democrat and Chronicle - 4 April 2008
- City Begins NET Consolidation, WXXI - 17 June
2008
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_1964_race_riot
- http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/july64/timeline.html
- http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/july64/qa.html
- http://www.19wca.org
-
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/archives/2004/4/Sticking+it+to+the+19th+Ward
-
http://www.rochestercityliving.com/Neighborhoods/UpperMonroe
- http://www.uppermonroeavenue.org
- http://www.uppermonroeavenue.org/Merchants/Merchants.html
- Rose O'Keefe, Rochester's South Wedge. Charleston,
Arcadia, 2005.
- South Wedge Gay Neighbors
- Diana Louise Carter, "Signs of Progress: Residents restore a
faded South Wedge to Glory,” Democrat
and Chronicle, October 10, 2004.
-
http://www.swillburg.com/pdfs/swillburg%20neighborhood%20map.pdf
- America's Best Colleges 2008
- Rankings, Achievements & Honors - School of
Nursing
- Rankings : Simon Graduate School of
Business
- OMEGA EP Laser System Complete and Ready for
Operation University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser
Energetics (LLE)
- University of Rochester Rises in U.S. News
Rankings University of Rochester Press Releases
- SUNY's Impact on New York's Congressional District
29
- MCC College Directory
- Genesee Country Village and Museum
http://www.gcv.org/visitingUs/directions.shtml
- Letchworth State Park
http://whatsyour20.com/locations/united-states/new-york/letchworth-state-park/
- Letchworth State Park
http://www.perrychamber.com/letchworth-park.php
- Finger Lakes http://www.fingerlakes.org/about.htm
- http://www.cornhill.org/festival_overview.htm Corn Hill
Festival overview
- http://www.abouttimemag.com/
- http://www.minorityreporter.net/index.php
- http://www.rochesterlavoz.com/
- www.rochesterrugby.com
- http://www.rochesterbicyclingclub.com/
- International Sister Cities of Rochester
External links
(formerly known as Irondequoit Mall) (Irondequoit,
New York
- Microbrewery
's Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics
division - Chemical and Pharmaceutical applications
8 (cable
8)
10 (cable
10)
13 (cable
13)
21 (cable
11)
31 (cable 7)
, one of the top three family attractions in the
area
, where it meets up with U.S. Route
15 and the Southern Tier Expressway, I-86.
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Misc
Search
