Rochester ny history

Before Rochester, NY was known as the Flour City or the birthplace of film, Rochester was a huge hub for the garment industry.

Vintage Abbotts Custard at Charlotte Beach in Rochester NY Old telephone booth and lamp post along the Genesee River pier on Lake Ontario

Rochester NY History: A look at life here in the 1960s

Ocumpaugh sold ready-made clothing from a shop at 71 Main Street in the 1840s. One automobile is fully visible and another is almost out of the picture on the left. On February 17, 1922, the Ocumpaugh Building at 51-55 Main Street East [south side of the west end of the Main Street Bridge] was sold to Hyman Goldman, president of H. Goldman & Sons, for a price of about $172,000. The building was reported in the Rochester Herald to be an "historic business block on old flour mill site".

Rochester, NY

rambler Rochester ny erie canal

More than 50 rare photos of Rochester's people and places via the 1950s.

ca. 1908 photo of Main Street Rochester NY. National Theatre opened in 1903 and was designed by Rochester’s own noted theater architects, Leon H. Lempert & Son.

ca. 1908 photo of Main Street Rochester NY

A reader here has just asked me a good question about Rochester urbanism and the character and order of this region: what happened? He noted that Rochester was once a dense, compact city, surrounde…

Mainstreet Rochester NY back in the olden days

The Riviera Theatre was opened September 25, 1926 with Colleen Moore in "Ella Cinders". It was part of the Schine Circuit by 1941. It was remodel...

Kodak on State Street, Rochester NY c1899

1950 main street and st.paul street downtown rochester ny

Rochester NY's source for lost history and new ideas. The Rochester Subway may be gone, but these old Rochester photos, maps, images and stories bring back pieces of Rochester history few people know about. Explore Rochester's past and learn what may be in store for its future.

Main Street looking east, shows small part of the retail area in this progressive, modern, industrial city. Outstanding for its cultural advantages. Rochester is internationally famous for its many beautiful city parks. Manson News Distributors Dexter Press 64796-B R-65 CAPA-027262

c1910 Main Street at the Four Corners looking southwest toward the Rochester Trust and Safe Deposit Company on the corner of Main and Exchange. Men and women are walking along the sidewalks and across the brick-paved streets. Trolleys, automobiles, and delivery wagons are moving toward or through the intersection. An article in a 1934 local newspaper featured this photograph with the comment "an excellent view of Rochester NY's intersection, when the horse-drawn cart was still in vogue.

Retrofitting Rochester: The candy store's sweet treats once drew Rochesterians from all walks of life.