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No, not referring to riots. I meant was it extremely crowded, hard to find parking, that kind of thing.
To my recollection, parking wasn't that big an issue, as the city had erected 2-3 ramp garages, which had a fair amount of capacity, after Midtown Plaza was completed, it had an underground garage, that was part of the structure, which made it quite convenient, there was (and still may be) a privately owned parking garage on Stilson Street, and although not all that close to the retail stores, the Civic Center has a parking garage that's close to the "office district" of the area. And there were also a number of surface lots and "on street" parking meters, which added the ability to find a place to park.
(trivia question: anybody remember the "pidgeon hole" parking facility that was located on Court Street?)
And yes, back then there were indeed a lot more people, but to me, it seemed that the atmosphere was a little more jovial, at the time, and the downtown area was a pleasant place to be.
I love your posts about how the city used to be, leadfoot. They make me feel some sort of vicarious nostalgia, and also inspiration - if it used to be that way then maybe it can and will be that way again.
I love your posts about how the city used to be, leadfoot. They make me feel some sort of vicarious nostalgia, and also inspiration - if it used to be that way then maybe it can and will be that way again.
I won't say that it's impossible, "Heart NY", rather I'll say that it's improbable. Although the employment situation is still good, I don't see the stability that "old time" manufacturing had, for close to a century, in the Rochester area. Kodak, at it's peak, employed 70,000 people. Xerox employed around 15,000, I think, and GM's two operations employed about 6-7000 each. That's just under 100,000, wage earners, alone, by 3 employers. Add in Bausch&Lomb, Stromberg-Carlson, General Dynamics, Taylor Instrument, and Pfaudler, and that was another 10-12,000 workers, if not a little more. Sadly, many of those jobs are gone.
Yes, in some cases, some of the slack was picked up by a number of smaller, tech oriented, companies, but I seriously doubt that they employ the numbers that the former "giants" employed, and that has had an impact on the community. Secondly, from what I've heard, the smaller employers are also far quicker to react to fluctuations in product demand, therefore they're quicker to cut jobs, when things go soft. This doesn't help things for the area.
Secondly, as the area experienced a "growth spurt" in the 50's and 60's, that growth was mostly in the suburbs, as the city was pretty well "built out". Over time, that drew a lot of the retail, which had been primarily "downtown", out to the "burbs", as well. For instance, I haven't been in downtown in several years. There's nothing there that would attract me. It's rather sad..........
I love your posts about how the city used to be, leadfoot. They make me feel some sort of vicarious nostalgia, and also inspiration - if it used to be that way then maybe it can and will be that way again.
Those were the days before the suburban malls openned. Then Amazon killed the malls. I hold out hope that some form of brick and morter emerges in the future. Some stores that would only have one store in the region could locate downtown. The most central location.
This could be where that central business group, mentioned in another thread could organize.
Those were the days before the suburban malls opened. Then Amazon killed the malls. I hold out hope that some form of brick and mortar emerges in the future. Some stores that would only have one store in the region could locate downtown. The most central location.
This could be where that central business group, mentioned in another thread could organize.
I understand your point, but where, exactly, would such a business group locate? Midtown Plaza would have been an ideal spot, for a venture like that, but it was torn down. The Sibley building, also a possible location, has been "re-purposed". And I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I got a little behind the times, not realizing that the "parcel 5" that's often referred to, is the former McCurdy building....it was torn down!!!
I understand your point, but where, exactly, would such a business group locate? Midtown Plaza would have been an ideal spot, for a venture like that, but it was torn down. The Sibley building, also a possible location, has been "re-purposed". And I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I got a little behind the times, not realizing that the "parcel 5" that's often referred to, is the former McCurdy building....it was torn down!!!
There was talk on a different thread about some type of organization. The artists don't like it. Most likely it not a specific place, but a group that contributes to a common fund for advertising, promotions, etc
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