USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County: A history and guide > Part 10
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Organized in 1887, incorporated in 1888, the Chamber of Commerce has a membership (1937) in excess of 3,500, functioning through 35 committees, bureaus, and councils. Harper Sibley, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce in 1936, was president of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce in 1917.
R. from St. Paul St. on Andrews St.
2. J. Y. M. A. and J. Y. W. A. (R), corner Andrews St. and University Ave., an eight-story structure of struc- tural steel and reinforced concrete completed in 1936, is of modified Georgian Colonial style. It has women's and men's gymnasiums, a swimming pool, a library, game rooms, and a cafeteria, with four upper floors devoted to dormitories for men. At the rear is a two-story auditorium seating 1,100.
Tour No. I Map Index
1. Chamber of Commerce Building
2. J. Y. M. A. and J. Y. W. A.
3. Rochester Post Office
4. N. Y. Central R. R. Station
13. Seneca Park
14. Summerville-Rochester Yacht Club
6. Platt St. Bridge
15. Durand Eastman Park
7. Bausch Memorial Bridge
8. Lomb Memorial
9. Bausch & Lomb Optical Company
10. Driving Park Ave. Bridge
II. Red Wing Stadium
12. Veterans' Memorial Bridge
5. Frederick Douglass Monument
16. Sea Breeze
17. Masonic Temple
18. Rochester Dental Dispensary
19. Anderson'Park
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ROCHESTER TOUR NO. 1 SCALE OF MILES 1/2 3/4
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Retrace Andrews St .; R. around Franklin Park; L. on Cum- berland St.
3. ROCHESTER POST OFFICE (R) occupies the entire block between Ormond St. and Hyde Park. Con- structed in 1934 at a cost of $1,700,000, the building is in design a modern adaptation of Italian Renaissance architec- ture, built of Ohio buff limestone. The two curved entrances at the southeast and southwest corners are adorned with columns of pink Tennessee marble with simplified Corinth- ian capitals. The walls and floor of the main lobby, which extends the full length of the building, are of varicolored marble with woodwork of American walnut. A large mail- ing room in the basement is connected by a tunnel with the New York Central station on Central Avenue. A recently constructed garage at the rear houses all post office trucks.
R. from Cumberland St. on Hyde Park; L. on Central Ave.
4. NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD STATION (R), on Central Ave. between Joseph and N. Clinton Aves., largest Rochester station, serves all east- and west-bound traffic over the New York Central lines. Constructed of smoke-brown tapestry brick and brownstone, the building was designed by Claude F. Bragdon, Rochester arch- itect and writer. It is freely designed in the neo-classic style. The four-story end pavilions are traditional in design, but the connecting unit, with its three wide circular arches lighting the main waiting room of the station proper, is somewhat of a departure from the classic precedent. Of the waiting room an authority has written that although cer- tain details are based upon Roman prototypes, the beauty of design of this room is achieved by simplicity of line and proportion and by the able treatment of non-stylistic orna- ment. From the waiting room a subway leads to 15 pass- enger and freight tracks.
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5. FREDERICK DOUGLASS MONUMENT (L), at Central Ave. and St. Paul St., unveiled in 1899, was dedi- cated by Theodore Roosevelt, then Governor of New York State. The statue, of bronze on a granite pedestal, designed by Sidney W. Edwards, is inscribed with quotations from speeches of Mr. Douglass.
Frederick Douglass (1807-1895) was born a slave in Easton, Md. Having run away from his master in 1838, he took up residence in New Bedford, Mass. In 1841 he began to lecture against slavery and became famous as an orator. In 1848 he published a newspaper, The North Star, in Roch- ester. At the outbreak of the Civil War he urged the em- ployment of colored troops and helped organize them. He was an active agent of the Underground Railroad and his home, still standing on Alexander Street, was a refuge and way-station for runaway slaves seeking safety and freedom in Canada. During the administration of Benjamin Harri- son, Mr. Douglass was appointed Minister to Haiti. After his death in 1895 his body was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester.
R. from Central Ave. on St. Paul St.
6. PLATT STREET BRIDGE (L), at St. Paul and Platt Sts., a steel arch bridge constructed in 1891, is 857 feet long, its roadway 114 feet above the river. From a point near this bridge Sam Patch made his fatal exhibition leap into the river in 1829.
7. BAUSCH MEMORIAL BRIDGE (L), St. Paul and Bausch Sts., is of steel cantilever construction with a span of 945 feet and a height of 105 feet above the river's flow. At the water's edge on both sides of the gorge are the mas- sive storage tanks of the Rochester Gas & Electric Company, the glass plants of Bausch & Lomb, and numerous small factories and warehouses which climb the cliffs. Here one may feel the pulse of Rochester's industrial life.
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Bronze tablets at both approaches honor John Jacob Bausch, (1830-1926), founder of Bausch & Lomb Optical Company. Born in Germany, Mr. Bausch followed in the footsteps of an older brother apprenticed to the optical trade, worked in Germany and Switzerland, and in 1848 came to America. He passed his first winter in Buffalo, where he served as a cook's helper and at the wood-turning trade. Coming to Rochester in 1849, he made a futile effort to establish an optical store. After a few years at wood- working, in 1853 he again opened an optical store, selling imported spectacles and telescopes. Dissatisfied with the lenses he was importing from Europe, he constructed a lens- grinding machine with which he ground the first American- made lenses. He was soon joined by his friend Henry Lomb, who purchased a half interest in the business for $60. Sup- plementing his business by mending windowpanes, Mr. Bausch kept his business venture intact, with Mr. Lomb's help, until 1863, when he began to manufacture spectacle frames from hard rubber. This innovation, coupled with the superiority of his lenses, was responsible for the early growth of the Bausch & Lomb Company.
8. LOMB MEMORIAL (R), on plaza facing Bausch St., is a black granite shaft, 48 feet high on a base of pearl- pink marble, floodlighted at night. The monument, erected by the Bausch and Lomb families in May 1930, was designed by Walter Cassebeer and Lewis Brew, associated architects, and is dedicated to Capt. Henry Lomb (1825-1908). Born in Germany, Lomb emigrated to America in 1849 and worked as a carpenter. In 1853 he became the partner of Mr. Bausch. To supplement the meager income from their business, Mr. Lomb turned peddler, selling spectacles, and on one occasion, a consignment of deer meat from Canada at two cents a pound. In 1861 he joined the Union Army, and for the duration of the war sent a portion of his soldier's pay to his partner. When, as a captain, he returned home in
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1864, he found the business firmly established and prosper- ing. In 1885 Mr. Lomb founded Mechanics Institute, with more than 600 students present at the first session. In 1903 he donated the initial funds for instruments and appliances for the Rochester Dental Clinic, first of a world-wide chain. He continued his philanthropies and business activities until his death in 1908.
9. BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL COMPANY 635 St. Paul St. (open weekdays; guides provided for three- hour tour of plant, afternoons only), is the largest plant of its kind in America, with 16 separate buildings containing more than 1,000,000 square feet of floor space. The com- pany has more than 3,500 employees and manufactures upwards of 700 products. From 15 to 20 million lenses of all kinds are produced yearly.
The products of the company fall into two main divisions, ophthalmic and instrument. The first includes spectacle lenses and frames and instruments for testing and treating eyes. The second division includes telescopes, microscopes, periscopes, binoculars, photographic lenses, army and navy optical instruments, and scientific instruments. The glass plant, where all the company's optical and spectacle glass is made, contains the furnaces, ovens, melting pots, and casting equipment. The lens plant is housed in a six-story building, three stories of which are devoted to batteries of lens-grinding and polishing machines. The stock room contains at all times more than a million pairs of lenses. Another six-story building is devoted to manufacturing spectacle frames, mountings, and cases.
The instrument plant is a five-story building where many highly technical departments and research laboratories combine in manufacturing scientific instruments. The com- pany maintains its own foundry, with one iron cupel and several brass and aluminum furnaces. The planetarium, located on the roof of one of the buildings, commands nearly
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The Lake in Seneca Park
POINTS OF INTEREST
all of the horizon; the 14-foot refracting telescope may be used by visitors. The keynote of the company is preci- sion, and visitors may see instruments and machinery capable of measuring to 2-1,000,000 of an inch, as well as many indications of the company's ability to "bend light to do the work of man."
10. DRIVING PARK AVENUE BRIDGE (L), St. Paul and Driving Park Ave., 212 feet above the river bed, is the highest of Rochester's bridges. It was built in 1890 by L. L. Buck, C. E. From the bridge may be seen, to the south, the lower falls of the Genesee, the last of a series of four falls with a total drop of 225 feet within the city limits; to the north, Maplewood Park extending along the west bank of the river, and in the distance the graceful arches of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge.
R. from St. Paul St. on Norton St.
11. RED WING STADIUM (L), Norton St. and Clinton Ave. N. (admission 55 cents-$1.65; ladies free on Ladies' Day, except for payment of amusement tax), is the home of the Roch- ester Red Wings Baseball Club of the International League. Constructed in 1928 of structural steel and reinforced con- crete, the stadium has a seating capacity of 18,000 and is equipped with floodlights for night games. There are two parking lots, one free, with space for 500 cars. The Red Wings' schedule includes 154 games, approximately half of which are played on the home field. The stadium is the scene of outdoor boxing and wrestling shows during the summer months, with an occasional evening of opera and semi-professional and amateur football in season.
Retrace Norton St .; R. from Norton St. on St. Paul St.
12. VETERANS' MEMORIAL BRIDGE (L), St. Paul St. and Ridge Rd., completed in 1931 at a cost of $2,500,000, is the longest of the city's bridges, with a span of 981 feet. It is a concrete arch type, dressed with granite
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masonry, and has been widely praised for its classic architec- tural beauty. Gehron and Ross, New York City, were the architects and Thomas Mckibbon was the engineer. Shortly after the bridge was completed, the 190-foot drop from the parapet to the river inspired a gruesome "suicide lottery." Many tickets were sold, with the sex, age, and time of the first suicide to determine the winner. The lottery was soon stopped by legal procedure.
13. SENECA PARK (L), entrance corner Ridge Rd. and St. Paul Blvd., embraces 245 acres extending to the banks of the Genesee River gorge. A public swimming pool near the park entrance is open both day and evening during the summer months (pool and locker 25 cents). North of the swimming pool is the city zoo. One of the park's two picnic areas, equipped with tables, benches, shelters, and fireplaces, is near the zoo. Winding paved roads lead through wooded sections of the park to another picnic area, a small lake, and several tennis courts, baseball diamonds, and other athletic fields. An excellent view of the river gorge is obtainable from various lookout points on the road above the precipitous river bank. There are no camping facilities in the park.
Continue on St. Paul St., which becomes St. Paul Blvd.
14. SUMMERVILLE, just outside city limits at end of St. Paul Blvd. and at the mouth of the Genesee River, is, with its sandy bathing beach and shady groves, a popular summer resort. A United States Coast Guard Station is located here, with complete equipment, including a new 126-foot Coast Guard cutter, several smaller craft, a boat house, and a signal station. The crew of the life guard division is housed in a modern 10-room house at the mouth of the river. Adjacent to the Coast Guard Station is the Rochester branch of the New York State Naval Militia, the first station to be placed in operation on the Great Lakes. A former Coast Guard boat, the Eagle, is maintained
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as a training ship. The Rochester Yacht Club has its basin and clubhouse at Summerville. The Canada Cup race and the International Star Class Regatta have been run on a course off Summerville. Directly across the river are the Port of Rochester and Ontario Beach Park, Rochester's most popular summer resort.
Retrace St. Paul Blvd. and St. Paul St .; L. from St. Paul St. on Lake Shore Blvd.
15. DURAND-EASTMAN PARK, with its entrance 1 m. from St. Paul Blvd., extends for more than a mile along the shore of Lake Ontario. Its 506 acres were donated to the city in 1907 by Dr. Henry Durand and George Eastman. Four small lakes within the park are stocked with fish; fishing tackle and boats are available. The park has eight picnic areas equipped with tables, benches, shelters, and fireplaces; a zoo; and an 18-hole golf course (greens fees 50 cents for residents, $1 for non-residents). The sandy bathing beach is floodlighted for night bathing; the bath house is equipped with 1,750 lockers and showers. The park contains 395 varieties of native and foreign trees, shrubs, and plants.
L. from E. park entrance on Culver Rd.
16. SEA BREEZE, end of Culver Rd., is a summer colony on the shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of Irondequoit Bay, with a sandy bathing beach and amusement con- cessions and booths. (See Tour 13).
Retrace Culver Rd. 7 m. through residential section; R. on E. Main St.
17. MASONIC TEMPLE (L), corner E. Main and Prince Sts., dedicated in 1930, is the city's largest fraternal structure. The architecture of the pressed brick and lime- stone building is a modern adaptation of the Gothic style. The architects were Osgood and Osgood, Grand Rapids, Mich., with Carl Ade as associate. The structure consists of
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two units. The lodge room building has a spacious ball- room and banquet hall in the basement. The main floor is devoted to offices and lounge rooms with huge fireplaces. The upper floors contain several lodge rooms individually designed in the Georgian Colonial, Classical, and Gothic styles. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 2,600, and is the only theater for legitimate drama in Rochester. The stage, completely equipped, is 100 feet long and 60 feet deep. The orchestra pit, which can accommodate 80 musicians, contains a four-manual organ, which can be lowered. The decorative features of the auditorium include solid walnut wainscoting, a huge central chandelier, and shaded lighting fixtures skillfully designed not to detract attention from the stage.
18. ROCHESTER DENTAL DISPENSARY, 800 Main St., is the first of several dispensaries founded by the philanthropy of George Eastman. It is now associated with the University of Rochester. (See University of Rochester).
19. ANDERSON PARK (L), Main St. E. and University Ave., was named in honor of Martin Brewer Anderson (1815-1890). Born in Brunswick, Me., Dr. Anderson attend- ed Waterville (now Colby) College, Waterville, Me., con- tinued his education at the Newton Theological Institu- tion, and from 1843 to 1850 held a professorship at Water- ville College. In 1850 he became editor and part owner of the New York Recorder and remained with that paper until 1853, when he became the first president of the University of Rochester. Dr. Anderson died in 1890 and was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery, where a monument was erected to his memory.
A MONUMENT honoring Friederich Schiller, German poet, designed by Carl A. Herber and erected by the Rochester German societies, stands in the park.
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TOUR 2-9 m.
E. from Four Corners on Main St .; R. from Main St .; E. on East Ave.
20. ROCHESTER GAS & ELECTRIC BUILDING 89 East Ave., is a modern ten-story office building which houses the administrative offices of the Rochester Gas & Electric Company. It is in the Italian Renaissance style, designed by Gordon and Kaelber, with McKim, Mead and White as associates.
21. ROCHESTER CLUB (L), corner East Ave. and Swan St., organized in 1860, is the oldest social club in Rochester. The building, recently remodeled by James Tyler, Roch- ester architect, contains a large ballroom, a dining room well known for its cuisine, and numerous club rooms.
R. from East Ave. on Broadway.
22. UNIVERSITY CLUB, 26 Broadway, restricts its membership to men who have attended a college of recog- nized standing. The building, completed in 1929, Leon Stern, architect, is in the Georgian Colonial style. It con- tains many murals of Rochester scenes.
Retrace Broadway; R. on East Ave.
23. HIRAM SIBLEY BUILDING (R), corner East Ave. and Alexander St., was erected in 1925 by Hiram Sibley in memory of his father, Hiram Sibley Sr., founder and first president of the Western Union Telegraph Company. The design of the building, taken from the Wren wing of Hampton Court, England, is English Georgian. It is built of Harvard brick with limestone trim on a base of Chelmsford granite. The architects were Coolidge, Shep- ley, Bulfinch and Abbott of Boston and Gordon and Kaelber
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of Rochester. The main floor is devoted to exclusive shops fronting on East Avenue and Alexander Street. The three upper floors are devoted to offices.
24. GENESEE VALLEY CLUB, 421 East Ave., built in 1840, was formerly the Gilman Perkins Home, one of the early residential show places on East Avenue. Of Georgian Colonial design, the building is set well back in a spacious plot landscaped with a variety of shrubs and magnolia trees. A recent addition provides a gymnasium and swimming pool. The club was organized in 1885.
25. FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST (L), N. W. corner East Ave. and Prince St., built in 1916, is de- signed in the neo-classic style, with wide steps leading to a curved main entrance through a portico with Corinthian columns copied after those of the Temple of Lysicrates, Athens. The interior is in the form of a large circular auditorium with an ornamental dome.
26. SILAS O. SMITH HOUSE, 485 East Ave., was built in 1841 by Silas O. Smith, pioneer miller and merchant, in the Greek Revival style. The three-story structure is built of red brick. Stately classic columns grace the portico
Tour No. 2 Map Index
20. Rochester Gas do Electric Bldg.
21. The Rochester Club
22. The University Club
23. Hiram Sibley Building
24. Genesee Valley Club
25. First Church of Christ, Scientist
26. The Silas O. Smith House
27. Eastman House
28. St. Paul's Episcopal Church
29. Oliver Culver House
. 30. Armory Building
31. Lake Riley (Cobbs Hill Park)
32. Hillside Home for Children
33. Cobbs Hill Reservoir
34. Colgate-Rochester Divinity School
35. Highland Park
36. Mt. Hope Cemetery
37. Strong Memorial d' Municipal Hospitals
38. Genesee Valley Park
39. Men's College, University of Rochester
40. Clarissa St. Bridge
41. Rundel Memorial Building
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of the building, which supports a balcony. The original doorway, with silver knob and old pull-chains, has been preserved.
27. EASTMAN HOUSE, 900 East Ave., was built in 1906 by George Eastman. It served as his residence until his death in 1932; then by the terms of his will it became the property of the University of Rochester to be used as the official residence of the president of the university. The three-story mansion, containing 49 rooms, is built of brick with stone trim. The style is Georgian Colonial. At the front entrance are four tall columns supporting the gable roof of the large front portico. The extensive grounds contain over four acres, with 900 feet frontage on East Avenue. At the rear of the house, and extending to University Avenue, the grounds are landscaped with sunken and formal gardens, lawn areas, terraces, and a small lily pond.
28. ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH (R), East Ave. and Vick Park B., is of English Gothic architecture, with a graceful clock tower rising high above the surrounding copper beech trees. The church was built in 1897 as the home of one of Rochester's earliest congregations, organized in 1827.
L. from East Ave. on East Blvd.
29. OLIVER CULVER HOUSE, 70 East Blvd., was built in 1805 on what is now the northeast corner of East Avenue and Culver Road by Oliver Culver, pioneer settler and miller. In 1906 the house was moved to its present location. The building is a fine example of post-Colonial architecture; the doorway is considered one of the finest of its type in New York State. A large room, extending across the front of the house on the second floor and flanked by large fireplaces, had a specially constructed spring floor to fit
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Eastman House, Formerly the Home of George Eastman, Bequeathed by him to the University of Rochester
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Oliver Culver House, East Boulevard
it for use as a ballroom. The house was noted for the hospitality it extended to the westward-bound pioneers of a century ago.
Retrace East Blvd. to East Ave .; R on East Ave. to Culver Rd .; L. on Culver Rd.
30. ARMORY BUILDING, 145 Culver Road, head- quarters of Troop F. 121st Cavalry, National Guard, is built of red brick with Medina sandstone trim. Three stories in height, the building embodies many of the fortress-like features typical of older armories and copied from medieval castles. A large drill hall in the building is the scene of the annual Spring Horse Show in April. In the rear is an out- door drill ground, also used as a polo field.
31. LAKE RILEY (L), opposite the Armory, named in honor of a former Park Commissioner, is an artificial lake 512 acres in area. During the winter months it is used for skating and in the summer for boating and canoeing. Min-
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iature yacht races, sponsored by the Board of Education and playground directors, are held here annually. A building near the shore is equipped with lounge room, fireplace, and refectory; nearby is a picnic area with tables, benches, and a fireplace.
L. from Culver Rd. on Monroe Ave.
32. HILLSIDE HOME FOR CHILDREN, 1161 Monroe Ave., occupies 38 acres on Pinnacle Hill. The 17 buildings are constructed of red brick with white trim. Eight are children's cottages, each accommodating 18 orphans, boys or girls, between the ages of 6 and 18, under the supervision of a house mother or father. The remaining buildings house a dispensary, a dining hall, a recreation hall, and offices. The grounds include athletic fields, flower gardens, and garden plots taken care of by the children.
L. from Monroe Ave. on Highland Ave .; L. through gates to Cobbs Hill.
33. COBBS HILL RESERVOIR, largest reservoir within the city limits, has a capacity of 144 million gallons. Water is aerated through a large central fountain, which sends a column of 21 jets 75 feet into the air, a spectacle visible for miles. During the summer the fountain is often flood-lighted with shifting colors. The reservoir is circled by pine trees and lights, evenly spaced. Because of the symmetry of the lights Cobbs Hill has been called "Rochester's birthday cake."
The hill, with an elevation of 636 feet, affords an excellent view of the city. A lookout tower, accommodating 80 people and equipped with a telescope, is located near the reservoir. From it may be seen the downtown skyline flanked by the Pinnacle Hills and the University of Roch-
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