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Hello, was posting around the New York State forum on an extended road trip through upstate NY on my way to and from Maine.
I am now asking a bit about Rochester. I will probably be staying at least one night there, maybe two if there is a lot to see. This will be Memorial Day weekend, probabably Sunday and Memorial Day Monday.
I should say that I was in Rochester before, on a side trip from a visit to Buffalo.
Unfortunatley I did not get to see much of the city. I did get downtown was just blown away by that whitewater and then that big waterfall in the heart of the city! I mean, folks, that is just a big "wow" to have that in yr town. Right downtown no less!
So yes I did explore that falls area, with all that neat industrial archeology stuff (I am really interested in this old factory and industrial history stuff, so it was right up my alley, what I saw), had a latte in a little coffeeshop there, walked across that footbridge where you can see the old brewery on the hill, etc, and walked through downtown a bit (sort of neat that its on both sides of the river, a bit like Milwaukee that way)
So, yes, did have just a taste of Rochester, and liked what I saw, so far.
Now I want to see more of the city.
Plan is to stay either downtown or close in, someplace where I can walk around vs being cooped up on some suburban hotel strip. Are there any neat older areas that are walkable from downtown Rochester? I seem to hear that Corn Hill (?) is a neat older area.
Also interested in your more artistic, bohemian/hipster areas. Presume there is at least one in town.
Also interested in old (and new) immigrant neighborhoods. I sort of sense there was an Italian and Polish emigration there (if Rochester is like Buffalo), so would like to know where those old neighborhoods are, the parish churches, maybe markets and food places, etc....But also if you have some newer immigrant communities from, say, Asia, Latin America, etc.
I will probably be in Rochester on Sunday or Monday night so assume not much is happening. If there are any live music venues, open mics, jam sessions, poetry readings...more intimate local talent things...would like a recommendation on that on the outside chance something is happening on an off night.
Probably not too interested in Museums, unless there is a local history museum (since Im sort of history buff)....might make an exception if th4re is something special in the way of art, etc.... (would there might be a good photography collection given Kodaks presence in town).
???
Oh one final thing. Any good all night/early morning breakfast places where I can get an early bite & coffeee to start out? Other than the usual Waffle House type places (local chain places are oK tho).....
I'm glad you enjoyed High Falls! It is an amazing site seeing the falls with the urban buildings right in the background of the roaring falls. There are also massive gorges right in the city too that many explorer types like to explore, but it can be dangerous and you usually hear about a few rescues that have to be done for somebody who's fallen into a gorge.
A great area to stay in I think would be the East Ave. area. If you want more upper scale, the Strathallan is fantastic. But it can be expensive. DoubleTree Strathallan - Rochester, NY Hotels
That will put you in a fantastic place with great walkability. You can walk towards downtown where the entertainment district is, or down Alexander St which also has great entertainment. Or you can walk towards the residential part of East Ave. with its mansions.
Neighorhoods you can explore and fairly easily walk to them from either hotel.
Park Ave. (upscale but very laid back and a really cool street with boutique shops and restaurants) Park Avenue - Rochester Wiki
Monroe Ave...gritty with a bit of a big city feel to it. Probably the most diverse street in total with many, many restaurants,
novelty stores...etc. Monroe Avenue - Rochester Wiki
For the Artsy part of Rochester, that would be the Neighorhood of the Arts. It's also home to most of Rochester's museums. There's neat street art and wall art in this area too: Neighborhood of the Arts - Rochester Wiki
Corn Hill is one of my favorite places too. It's the oldest neighborhood in Rochester with some new development on the river. I am a fan of Tony D's in Corn Hill Landing. There's a fantastic view of the city on the river right there too. Corn Hill - Rochester Wiki Corn Hill Landing - Rochester Wiki
That neighborhood has a real ethnic feel to it with Indian/Asian/Italian/Vietnamese restaurants...etc going down S. Clinton. Swillburg - Rochester Wiki
For local talent, a couple of neat places, Abilene frequently has local bands: Home
Boulders which is a really cool coffee house also frequently has open mics of all sorts: Boulder Coffee Co.
I know you mentioned that you wouldn't be interested in Museums unless they have local history, but here are some options.
Memorial Art Gallery is a really good size museum with many famous artists work such as Monet...etc. It is a fantastic museuem but a bit main stream. Memorial Art Gallery
Now I'm going to recommend the Rochester Museum and Science simply because it has an entire wing/floor dedicated to local history of Native Americans and the history of Rochester including the women's movement and Rochester's role in helping to end slavery. Frederick Douglas is a famous abolitionist who founded the first newspaper devoted to ending slavery. Rochester Museum & Science Center?Rochester, NY
For real local history though I highly recommend the George Eastman House. You'll see the history of photography and how George Eastman lived in his mansion on East Ave. He was very, very eclectic so his house is very cool and this is a internationally respected museum: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film, Rochester, NY, USA
If you want to see something off the wall in regards to art, I also highly recommend "Artisanworks". It's more than just art. They have old cars..etc. And most of the work is local and very eclectic: Art Auction | ARTISANworks
Well, that decides it. I was second guessing a full day in Rochester, but this list and links to that Rochester Wiki site show the town off really well, and deffo going to for the two nights in Rochester thing, giving me a full day to explore the city. The place sounds great! Now im starting to really anticipate this visit!
Question about Lake Ontario. Given that there is this big gorge down from the waterfall makes me think there must be some impressive bluffs and cliffs and such overlooking Lake Ontario...that the lakefront is this low sandy thing like you find in Chicago...
Also, seems like most of the action is on the east side of the Genessee River, with the exception of Cornhill. Is the west side more blue collar, etc?
Oh, another question...I am an avid bicycle rider, so a question on that...are there any bike rental or bike share things going on, where I might be able to get a bike & ride around town....???
Thanks for that great list db, very excited to move to Rochester this summer and start exploring!
Not a problem gt87 and I hope your move ends up being very successful!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dayton Sux
Well, that decides it. I was second guessing a full day in Rochester, but this list and links to that Rochester Wiki site show the town off really well, and deffo going to for the two nights in Rochester thing, giving me a full day to explore the city. The place sounds great! Now im starting to really anticipate this visit!
Question about Lake Ontario. Given that there is this big gorge down from the waterfall makes me think there must be some impressive bluffs and cliffs and such overlooking Lake Ontario...that the lakefront is this low sandy thing like you find in Chicago...
Also, seems like most of the action is on the east side of the Genessee River, with the exception of Cornhill. Is the west side more blue collar, etc?
That is fantastic you'll be staying for 2 nights! Rochester is greatly underrated in everything it has to offer
That's a good point about the bluffs. There are some of them that exist in Irondequoit and Webster. If you want to take a little ride up 590 North and go across the Bay Bridge there's an impressive view right there. Unfortunately though I'm not familiar with any parks specifically close.
But something else you might find interesting. The Genesee as it sits today is not where it was 12,000 years ago. The Genesee used to go east of the city and into the Irondquoit Bay. But an ice dam in the last ice age probably blocked it and rerouted it. And that's why I find Irondequoit Bay interesting. If you drive up 590 N you can see these gorges lining the sides of the road and as 590 connects to 104 E, there are massive Bluffs and gorges where it's obvious that there were massive rushes of water in the past. Probably when ice dams broke and water just flooded the area massively just cutting right into the land. And going across the Bay, you can see the ridges way up high where the lake level was much, much higher during the ice age. That's where the name "Ridge Rd." comes from, because it follows the ridge that uses to be the lakeshore much higher.
Speaking of ice age affects too, you might be interested in visiting Mt. Hope Cemetary. It is on a glacial Moraine and is one of the oldest and most unique cemeteries in the US. It's not walkable from East Ave though. Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglas are buried there too.
Yes most of the action is on the East side of the river. The Western part of the city is much more blue collar and has quite a bit of poverty. There are efforts to fix it but it hasn't evolved yet. The exception is that down near the UofR, there is development in the Brooks Landing area and UofR is working on trying to improve parts of the city on the West side near the school too.
But that reminds me, something else you might be interested in is the Susan B. Anthony House. It's now a museum and It's on the West side and is walk-able from downtown. Susan B. Anthony House :: Visit Us
It's in a section of the city that is going through a bit of a revival with both very poor and new development that is attracting a bit more gentrification. Another interesting building which was just redeveloped over there and is now affordable apartments is the old Cunningham Carriage Factory. The building was in ruins and a non-profit stepped and renovated even getting one of the Cunningham Carriages back which has been in Hollywood movies.
Something else you might be interested in is the "Heritage Trail". It's not that long and has a few interesting points and it ends at the Susan B. Anthony house: City of Rochester | Heritage Trail
Other buildings you have to see in the city:
Eastman Theater on Gibbs St. right off East Ave: Eastman Theatre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There's a really nice coffee shop called Java's on Gibbs too.
THe Sibley Building and the Midtown are under major rennovation at the moment, so those buildings might look a bit apocalyptic at the moment, but they soon won't
Oh, another question...I am an avid bicycle rider, so a question on that...are there any bike rental or bike share things going on, where I might be able to get a bike & ride around town....???
I wish we had one, but we don't in the city yet. There was just a feasibility study done which proves it will work here but it's not done yet. You can rent out in the suburbs though so I'm not sure if renting here and bringing it into the city would work: Rentals - Towpath Bike
But that reminds me of one last place that might be interesting is Schoen Place in Pittsford too. It is an old canal town landing and there are canal tours from there if you are interested in too: Schoen Place - Rochester Wiki
Also, If going to Artisan Works, I recommend Jim's on Winton for breakfast.
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