Remarkable Rochester

Patti Donoghue
Rochester photos courtesy of VisitRochester

First-time boaters to Rochester may be surprised to learn that the city-center is located eight miles south of the Lake Ontario’s southern shore. From the mouth of the Genesee River, where lies the Port of Rochester, boaters seeking the city must travel two miles south before encountering the smallest of the three waterfalls on which the city was built. But the breathtaking scenery along the Genesee River gorge makes this brief diversion well worth the trip. One can imagine early Indian settlers navigating canoes on these same waters many centuries ago. One can conjure visions of the covert transportation of slaves making their way to freedom in Canada on the Underground Railroad. One will also notice something more modern: the numerous area marinas.

Fully equipped marinas at the Port of Rochester, Irondequoit Bay and Braddock’s Bay make for easy from Lake Ontario. In addition, the local villages of Pittsford, Fairport and Spencerport have invested in the development of their docking facilities. They offer many of the amenities found at marinas, with the added bonus of being steps away from shopping, dining and
recreational activities.

Rochester’s trails and bikeways, along with its relatively convenient public transportation, make it easy for any boater to explore the area. Within walking distance of local marinas are a number of retail stores, as well as restaurants serving everything from fine dining to Italian cuisine to Rochester’s famous “white hots.” The white hot is a Rochester tradition of German heritage. Rochester’s own Zweigle’s Hots produces this hot dog relative, which consists of beef, pork, veal and secret spices. Follow-up this local fare with an Abbott’s Frozen Custard. The flagship store is located on Lake Avenue at the entrance to Ontario Beach Park. In summer be prepared for long lines, but this sweet treat is worth it (especially the popular chocolate almond).

Ontario Beach Park is easily accessible from the eastside via the Colonel O’Rourke Bridge. There’s a sandy beach open to the public (and staffed with lifeguards), a restored bathhouse, basketball courts, six beach volleyball courts, a playground and a 1905 Dentzel carousel. The carousel has been a park staple for more than 100 years. For a dollar, you can take a ride and get a glimpse of an old-fashioned tradition. A short walk from the bathhouse uncovers what the locals call “the secret sidewalk.” It’s a half-mile stretch of public sidewalk nestled between beautiful lakefront homes and the lake. Access to the sidewalk is between 490 and 510 Beach Avenue. During the summer, beautifully tended gardens and a setting sun make it a truly memorable walk.

The Charlotte Lighthouse is also just a short walk from the beach area. Built in 1822, the lighthouse was originally much closer to the lake. However, piers and sand build-up now make it almost a mile from the shore. The lighthouse and caretaker’s cottage are open weekends during the summer.

You can follow bikeways and trails into the city of Rochester. Or if you prefer, public buses are convenient and equipped with bike racks. As you near the city center, just opposite the world headquarters of the Eastman Kodak Company, is High Falls, the largest of the waterfalls along the Genesee River. Here, more than 100 flour mills flourished in the early 1820s. Here too, after the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, Rochester became the country’s first boomtown. The Center at High Falls offers a good overall history of the area and its waterways, and also provides a spectacular view of the falls. In the summer, the city puts on a laser light and music show at the falls every weekend.

Continuing north to the city center, you’ll find a rich collection of architecture that includes the striking 1870s Powers Building. Its builder, Daniel Powers, was obsessed with having the tallest building in the city. To achieve that feat, until 1891 he kept adding new mansard roofs and towers each time another building in Rochester threatened to claim the title.

Continuing south is the Corn Hill District, originally the “silk stocking” district of the late 1800s; it has seen a resurgence that began in the late 1960s when starving artists purchased rundown buildings for next to nothing. The new residents began fixing up the old mansions and landscaping the area, and they later started the Corn Hill Arts Festival, which today attracts more than 250,000 people during the second weekend in July.

Perhaps one of the best-known attractions in the area is the Strong National Museum of Play, which is located in downtown Rochester. It is the second largest children’s museum in the country, housing the largest collection of toys, dolls and play-related objects in the world. Strong is also home to the National Toy Hall of Fame. There, adults can take a walk down memory lane as they gaze at examples of the 38 toy inductees that range from alphabet blocks to the View-Master®.

One of the challenges at Strong is deciding what to do first and figuring out how to get everything done in one day. Smaller children love the Sesame Street exhibit, Adventureland and the Berenstain Bears. Older children opt for the “Space Lab,” where they can examine artifacts from the late 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to the Hall of Fame, adults and children alike are drawn to the “Dancing Wings” indoor butterfly garden.

Strong is located along the city’s Museum Trail. Signs will direct you to the other area museums, including the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the Memorial Art Gallery and the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, all of which are within walking distance of each other.

At the Rochester Museum & Science Center visitors can explore the glacial history of the area, “star” in a local weather forecast and, perhaps most fun for a young boater, take a virtual tour of Lake Ontario’s underworld. One of the most popular exhibits at the museum is the “Flight to Freedom: Rochester’s Underground Railroad,” a salute to the area’s history and to Frederick Douglass, a freed slave and the great American champion of human rights. Douglass spent 25 of his most active years in Rochester and is buried in the city’s Mount Hope Cemetery.

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film is just south of the Museum & Science Center on East Avenue. It was the home of Kodak’s founder and is now a National Historic Landmark home. It features historical gardens, as well as several galleries of photography and cameras that draw upon the world’s oldest museum of photography and largest technology collection.

One block from the Eastman House is the Memorial Art Gallery. As you make this quick walk, you’ll note the whimsical art benches and street lamps along the city’s ARTWalk, a neighborhood filled with outdoor art, artists’ studios and trendy restaurants and shops. Here’s a little know fact: the originals of the masterworks seen at the George Eastman House are actually on display at the gallery. Eastman left the works to the gallery at the time of his death, and those on display at the Eastman House are copies.

The art gallery is part of the University of Rochester, as is the Eastman School of Music. Located in downtown Rochester in the city’s East End entertainment district, the school’s students offer nearly 300 free concerts a year at the Eastman Theatre’s Kilbourn Hall. The Rochester International Jazz Festival is staged in this area each June. You’ll find 600 musicians performing in more than 170 sets during this eight-day event.

While museums and galleries are abundant in this culturally rich city, it’s important to note that there are more than 12,000 acres of parkland in the area that offer free recreational opportunities, including the popular Lilac Festival held annually in mid-May at Highland Park, one of three Frederick Law Olmsted designed parks in the city.

With so much to see in the Flower City, it is hard to do everything in one trip. Located within 90 minutes of Niagara Falls to the west and the Finger Lakes wine country to the east, Rochester deserves more than one visit.