USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County: A history and guide > Part 9
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At night floodlights concealed behind the tower grilles shed a soft glow upon these massive metal wings, giving an effect of light and airy grace, as of gigantic moth wings poised against the skyline. Startled, somewhat mystified, practical Rochester asks herself, "But what are they for?"
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She has an uneasy feeling in the presence of beauty which cannot be made to serve some utilitarian purpose. Still she has a secret pride in the possession of those strange wings of progress lifting their pinions toward tomorrow's dawn.
EDUCATION
Public education in Rochester began in 1812 when Huldah Strong started her little private school in Enos Stone's barn. The next year, on a lot on the west side of Fitzhugh Street, the first schoolhouse was erected, a one-story wooden structure 18 by 24 feet. In 1814 another school was organ- ized over Jehiel Barnard's tailor shop on Main Street. When Rochester became a city in 1834, there were six district schools and a number of private schools. The first super- intendent of schools was Isaac F. Mack, appointed in 1841; he had 16 schools under his direction, with more than 4,000 children attending.
In 1849 New York State provided for free schools in the entire state, and in 1850 a special school law for Rochester was passed by the state legislature; each city ward was set up as a school district, and all the schools were made free to everyone between the ages of 5 and 16 years.
In 1853 an evening school was established under Supt. R. D. Jones, with more than 400 attendants. In his report Mr. Jones said that he believed the evening school had withdrawn many young people from temptations to evil.
A private high school was founded near Chestnut Street in 1827; nine years later, when Dr. Chester Dewey was principal, there were 560 students. This building burned in 1852; but by that time popular demand for a free public high school had been established. In 1857 the Rochester Central High School was opened in a part of the remodeled
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No. 1 School on Fitzhugh Street This building proving inadequate, in 1873 the lot adjoining it was purchased and the Rochester Free Academy built at 13 South Fitzhugh Street. It was opened for school purposes in 1874. The building is now the headquarters of the Rochester Board of Education and houses the offices of the Superintendent of Schools.
Rochester has originated, experimented with, and de- veloped many educational theories now nationally ac- cepted and practiced. Rochester was the first city in the United States to organize a department of full-time visiting teachers under a director professionally on an equality with the director of any other department in the school system.
The Washington Junior High School, the first in the city, was opened in 1915. In Rochester many of the fundamental theories and courses of the junior high school plan of edu- cation were first established and developed. Educators came to Rochester to study the working out of the "6-3-3 plan" (6 years in elementary school, 3 in junior high, and 3 in senior high). In recent years in most of the Rochester schools this plan has largely been superseded by the "7-5 plan" (7 years in the grade school and 5 in the junior- senior high school).
Vocational training was begun with classes in sewing in 1901 and in cooking in 1909. Advanced vocational training beyond the eighth grade was for a time offered to girls in the Madison Park Vocational School but is now an elective in secondary schools. The first vocational school for boys began in 1908 in what later became Edison Technical High School, which lays claim to being the earliest school of its kind in the state.
In music the schools of Rochester have kept pace with the spread of general interest. They were the first to organize
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class instruction in all orchestra and band instruments. The Rochester inter-high school band, orchestra, and choir were among the first school ensembles in the United States. As early as 1910 Rochester began to give individual voice training in the classroom. It was the first city in the state to teach sight reading in music without syllables. Orchestra concerts over the radio for all public school children were inaugurated in 1924. Rochester was the first eastern city to award school credit for private study of music and to pro- vide the free use of instruments to students.
Partly as the result of the interest of the Eastman Kodak Company in the field, Rochester has been the scene of suc- cessful experiments in visual education. In 1937 the city school system ranked fifth in the size of its film libraries.
The first open-air school was started in New York City in 1908; Rochester followed one year later with the Edward Mott Moore School, adjacent to Cobb's Hill Park, which has achieved a notable reputation in health work. The Monroe County Sanatorium School, opened in 1912, was the first of its kind in the state. It is now carried on at Iola Sanatorium. Special classes for subnormal children were established in Rochester in 1906, anticipating the state law by 12 years; all the elementary subjects are taught and the needs and abilities of each pupil are studied. Ungraded classes for problem children were organized for boys and girls as early as 1916. In 1920 classes for exceptionally gifted children were formed in the elementary schools.
Lip-reading classes and classes for the partially deaf were organized in 1916, and sight-saving classes for children with weak eyes two years later. Classes for crippled children, later to be enlarged into a school, were begun in 1920: a year earlier a hospital class was formed at the General Hospital.
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In 1915 Rochester began its pioneer work in school sav- ings. Arrangements were made with a Rochester bank to encourage deposits by children through their schools. The plan, named the Barrows School Savings System after Mr. Howard Barrows, member of the Board of Education who initiated it, became an immense success, and the idea spread all over the land. By the end of 1935 the children of Rochester and vicinity had deposited more than $2,000,000. With the passing of the depression, the amount has grown larger every week.
The Rochester School of the Air over stations WHEC and WHAM was established under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education, with profit to large numbers of people who have not had much formal education.
In its public school system Rochester has 44 elementary schools, 12 high schools, 9 special schools, and one open- air school. In addition, nine teachers are employed in hospitals and sanitariums.
Catholic education in Rochester goes back more than a century. As early as 1831, when the second St. Patrick's Church edifice was erected, a room was set apart in the base- ment for school purposes.
The first school was opened in 1835 in the home of Dr. Hugh Bradley on St. Paul Street. Since then the Catholic school system has continuously expanded until today it includes 35 grade schools, 4 high schools, a prepara- tory and a theological seminary, a college for men, and a college for women. Aquinas Institute and St. Andrew's Seminary provide regular high school work for boys, in- cluding a four-year course in religion; the latter adds the first two years of college work, preparing most of its students for the priesthood. College education for men is offered by a branch of Niagara University, which trains
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for a business career or for the teaching of commercial high school subjects. The extension department admits women as well as men.
Regular high school work for girls is offered in Nazareth Academy, Our Lady of Mercy High School, and Sacred Heart Academy. A college curriculum is offered by Nazareth College and by the extension department of Niagara Uni- versity. Seminary training is provided by the St. Andrew's Preparatory Seminary and St. Bernard's Theological Seminary.
NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO
NEWSPAPERS
After the suspension of publication of the Rochester Evening Journal and Post-Express in the summer of 1937, Rochester readers were served by only two English daily papers of large circulation, both now belonging to the Gannett chain. The Democrat and Chronicle is published in the morning and on Sundays, and the Times-Union comes out on weekday noons and evenings. The circulation of these two papers is well over 150,000.
The Democrat and Chronicle traces its origin back to the Rochester Balance, established in 1828 by D. D. Stephenson. In 1834, the year that Rochester became a city, the paper was merged with the National Republican, which had been started as a weekly by Sydney Smith in 1831. Alvah Strong and Erastus Shepard of Palmyra continued the merged papers under the name, Monroe Democrat. Under a succession of ownerships it continued under this name until 1857, when it was united with the Daily and Weekly American. On December 1, 1870, the Rochester Printing Company was organized and purchased the Democrat and the Rochester Chronicle, issuing the new daily under the name Democrat
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and Chronicle. This is the name that has survived to the present day.
The Rochester Herald first appeared on August 5, 1879, and for a period of 46 years it was the rival morning paper. In 1926 it was purchased by the Democrat and Chronicle and lost its name and its distinct individuality. In 1928 control passed to Frank E. Gannett, editor and owner of the Times- Union and of a chain of papers in other cities.
The Times-Union also is the result of many combinations and mergers of other papers. The Telegraph was founded in 1818 by Everard Peck & Company. Later Thurlow Weed, whose name was to go down in history as one of the earliest political bosses, became the editor. In 1825 he bought the paper and ran it in association with Robert W. Martin. In 1827 he sold out his interest to Martin, who made it a daily and a year later merged it with the Advertiser. The Advertiser was the first daily paper established west of the Hudson River. The first issue appeared on October 25, 1826, under the editorship of Henry O'Reilly, remembered today as the author of Rochester's first authentic history, Sketches of Rochester (1838).
The Daily Union was launched in 1852 as a result of an old schism in the ranks of the Democratic party. In 1857 it was combined with the Advertiser to form the Union and Advertiser. A paper started as the result of a painters' strike in 1887 eventually became the Evening Times. On February 26, 1918, the old Union and Advertiser was purchased by Mr. Gannett, who merged it with the Evening Times and called the new paper the Times-Union and Advertiser; later the word Advertiser was dropped, and the paper received the name by which it is now known.
The Rochester Post-Express traced its descent from the Evening Express founded in 1859. It had a long and honorable
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career, and its memory is still fresh in the minds of many Rochesterians. It rather prided itself upon being the "qual- ity" newspaper of Rochester, making little effort to keep up with the modern trends in American journalism. It pub- lished its final edition on July 16, 1923, having been pur- chased by William Randolph Hearst, who had begun pub- lishing the Rochester Journal the year before. In the summer of 1937, however, this paper discontinued publication, leaving the evening field to the Times-Union.
In Rochester are also published four foreign language papers, a Catholic weekly, and several journals serving business and occupational groups.
RADIO
Radio audiences of Rochester are served by three local broadcasting stations. WHEC, under the ownership of Frank E. Gannett, was the first station in Rochester and the twenty-sixth in the United States. The first program was broadcast from WHEC, then identifying itself under the signature of WHQ, on March 1, 1922. Its story, how- ever, goes back to 1908 when Lawrence G. Hickson, then a student of Mechanics Institute, began tinkering with an amateur wireless telegraph. Mr. Hickson's wireless equip- ment was later dismantled by the Government as a war measure, but when peace was declared he resumed his activities, setting up this time a wireless telephone set over which he broadcast phonograph records three times a week. Mr. Gannett, foreseeing the future of the radio, joined Mr. Hickson and obtained a government license.
WHAM, organized in 1927, is a 50,000-watt station, owned and operated by the Stromberg Carlson Co., manu- facturers of radio equipment.
Recently WSAY was licensed for daytime broadcasting to serve an advertising field somewhat neglected by the
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other stations, the obligations of which are first to carry the programs of the CBS and NBC chains and then to serve local advertisers to the extent that their time is not claimed by their networks. WSAY is a member of the New York State Broadcasting system, a chain of six stations linking Buffalo, Rochester, Auburn, Utica, Albany, and New York City. Its policy is first to serve the local advertiser with local programs and to extend its facilities to national ad- vertisers only if its time be unclaimed by local sponsors.
RELIGION
Early Rochester took religion seriously. The founders of the city were nearly all churchmen-the Rochesters, Scran- toms, Wards, Reynolds, Mathews, Goulds, Chapins. Three distinct influences may be said to have determined the early religious life of the community-the Puritan, the Southern Cavalier, and the Quaker. The Southerners came first but in a few years were outnumbered by the New Englanders. The Quakers were in Monroe County a number of years before Rochester was founded; in 1828 there were 592 of this sect in the county, one half of whom lived in Roch- ester.
The latest data give Rochester 208 churches or church organizations, or about one church to every 1,500 inhabi- tants. The membership is divided among 57 sects, eight of which might be termed undenominational. According to the United States religious census of 1926, there were in the city at that time 178,340 church members: 92,079 (61,863, 13 or more years of age) Roman Catholic; 22,500 Jewish; and 63,761, (13 or more years of age) Protestant. The Protestant churches, however, claim a constituency of abut 180,000, and the Roman Catholic 130,000.
Six groups account for the larger part of the Protestant membership, all but about 11,000 church members belong- ing to the Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal,
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Baptist, and Evangelical Synod denominations. Of 94 Protestant churches studied between 1920 and 1930, 81 percent had increased their membership.
Rochester has a "downtown" church situation which is unusual. In other cities of the same class, decentraliza- tion of churches has been accomplished to a large extent, but in Rochester nearly all of the early church organizations are still to be found in the center of the city, some housed in their century-old buildings-as, for example, old St. Luke's-and some with very recently constructed edifices. A recent count revealed that one-third of the Protestant membership of the city was enrolled in churches located in the business district.
The first Christian church to conduct services in the Genesee country was the Roman Catholic. The Jesuit and Sulpitian Fathers and Franciscan Friars penetrated this region as did the early French explorers, traders, and soldiers. Catholic services were held in Rochester when it was only a village, and St. Patrick's Church was built in 1823. The city has (1937) 43 Catholic parishes with 130 priests. St. Mary's Hospital, the first and for some years the only hospital in Rochester, has been maintained continuously for 80 years. Other Catholic institutions include orphan asylums for younger children, St. Ann's Home for the Aged, two neighborhood social service centers, and the Columbus Civic Center.
The history of Judaism in Rochester is a history of re- ligious and charitable service. There are at the present time 17 Jewish synagogues with spiritual leaders of eminence and initiative.
Rochester has been the birthplace or the focal point of a number of new religious sects. At Cumorah Hill, not far from Rochester, Joseph Smith received his asserted visita- tion from the angel Moroni and established a new religion
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which has more than a million members, and the first Book of Mormon was printed nearby. There are two Mormon churches in Rochester.
Spiritualism likewise may be said to have had its incep- tion here. In Hydesville, just to the east, the Fox sisters first heard the mysterious rappings. Afterwards they came to Rochester, where most of their later spiritual manifesta- tions were experienced. Rochester has a number of Spiritual- ist churches, including the first, or Mother Church, on Plymouth Avenue.
The Megiddo Mission and Community Settlement is located on Thurston Road within the city. This organiza- tion came to Rochester in 1904 under the leadership of the late L. T. Nichols; the Megiddos, a Hebrew word meaning "true soldiers of the Lord," had at that time some 80 mem- bers. At the present time the organization has about 200 communicants. They have been a thrifty folk and are an asset to the city.
SOCIAL SERVICE
In 1937 the Rochester Council of Social Agencies listed 71 member agencies. This in itself is an indication of the inter- est that Rochester maintains in the health and happiness of its citizens. In the fall of 1936 a report was issued of an ex- haustive study of the cost and volume of social work in Rochester, made cooperatively by the research department of the Council of Social Agencies, the Rochester Bureau of Municipal Research, and the department of sociology of the University of Rochester; anyone interested in the details of Rochester's social work can consult this thorough survey.
Perhaps no better gauge of the scope of social welfare work in this city and the interest of its citizens in social agencies could be given than the accomplishments of the
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Community Chest. As in many other cities, the Community Chest apportions to the deserving agencies the contributions of citizens for philanthropic purposes. Records of these con- tributions in Rochester are available for a period of 18 years. By March 31, 1936, the people of the city had paid into the coffers of the Community Chest the sum of $25,- 196,137.16. The number contributing to this fund has in some years been in excess of 100,000 persons.
In 1924 the social welfare income was $4,762,914; in 1931, $9,567,083; and in 1935, $17,243,535. It may be unnecessary to state that the sharp increase, made necessary by the recent depression, was to a large extent derived from state and federal grants.
The social agencies of Rochester may be grouped accord- ing to their work and purposes into six divisions: child care, family welfare, health, character building, coordina- tion, and animal protection, with the number of agencies in each division varying widely. For purposes of reference, and to indicate better perhaps than in any other way the scope of social work in Rochester, there follows an alpha- betical list of the member agencies of the Rochester Council of Social Agencies as of 1937:
American Red Cross, Rochester Chapter, 307 Plymouth Avenue North
Association for the Blind of Rochester, 439 Monroe Avenue
Baden Street Settlement, 152 Baden Street
Baptist Home of Monroe County, Fairport, N. Y.
Board of Education, 13 South Fitzhugh Street
Boy Scouts of America, Rochester Council, Cutler Building Bureau of Parks, 34 Court Street
Charles House, 445 Jay Street
Children's Aid Society, Washington Jr. High School, Clifford Avenue
Children's Court, Court House, Main Street West
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Child Study Department, S.P.C.C. 156 Plymouth Avenue North
Children's Service Bureau, 31 Gibbs Street
Church Home, Episcopal, 509 Mt. Hope Avenue Civic Committee on Unemployment, City Hall Annex Columbus Youth Association, 50 Chestnut Street
Convalescent Hospital for Children, 425 Beach Avenue
Department of Public Welfare, Convention Hall Annex, Clinton Avenue South
Family Welfare Society, 31 Gibbs Street
G. A. R. Relief Committee, 34 Court Street
Genesee Hospital, 224 Alexander Street Genesee Institute, 347 North Union Street
Girl Scouts, Rochester Council, 76 North Water Street
Highland Hospital, 3 Bellevue Drive Hillside Home for Children, 1161 Monroe Avenue Humane Society, 263 Central Avenue
Industrial Workshops, 292 Alexander Street
Jewish Children's Home, 27 Gorham Street
Jewish Children's Orphan Asylum of Western New York, 156 Plymouth Avenue North
Jewish Home for the Aged, 1162 St. Paul Street
Jewish Welfare Council, 144 Baden Street
Jewish Young Men's Association, University Ave. and Andrews St.
Legal Aid Society, 21 S. Fitzhugh Street
Lewis Street Center, 57 Lewis Street
Milk in Schools Committee, 13 South Fitzhugh Street
Monroe County Board of Child Welfare, 1460 South Avenue Medical Society of the County of Monroe, 277 Alexander Street
Monroe County Court, Adult Probation, Court House, Main Street West
Needlework Guild, 1011 University Avenue
Park Avenue Hospital, 789 Park Avenue
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People's Rescue Mission, 134 Front Street Public Health Nursing Association, 130 Spring Street Rochester Catholic Charities, 39 State Street Rochester Children's Nursery, 133 Exchange Street Rochester Community Home for Girls, 293 Troup Street Rochester Dental Dispensary, 800 Main Street East Rochester Female Charitable Society, 13 Vienna Street Rochester Friendly Home, Brighton Station, East Avenue Rochester General Hospital, 501 Main Street West
Rochester Girls' Service League and Big Sister Council, 411 Temple Building
Rochester State Hospital, 1600 South Avenue
St. Anne's Home for the Aged, 1971 Lake Avenue
St. Elizabeth Guild House, 1 Field Street
St. John's Home for the Aged, 1262 South Avenue St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, 305 Andrews Street St. Mary's Boys' Home, 851 Main Street West St. Mary's Hospital, 909 Main Street West
St. Patrick's Girls' Home, 160 Clifton Street Salvation Army, 64 North Street
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 156 Plymouth Avenue North
State of New York, Division of Parole, 65 Broad Street
State of New York, Education Dept. Rehabilitation Div. 65 Broad Street
Strong Memorial Hospital, Crittenden Boulevard
Toy Depot of Rochester, 3528 Elmwood Avenue
Travelers Aid Society, New York Central Station, Central Avenue
Tuberculosis and Health Association, 277 Alexander Street Vacation Home, 9 Arnold Park
Volunteer Motor Service, 277 Alexander Street Women's Educational and Industrial Union, 86 North Street World War Relief Committee, 34 Court Street
Young Men's Christian Association, 100 Gibbs Street
Young Women's Christian Association, 190 Franklin Street
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1 WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL WRITERS PROJECT 1937 ROCHESTER TOUR KEY MAP SCALE OF MILES 0
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POINTS OF INTEREST
T HE points of interest in Rochester are arranged under four tours: Tour 1 (Points of Interest Nos. 1- 19), a motor trip through the northeast section, in- cluding a trip through the Bausch & Lomb plant (afternoons only); Tour 2 (Points of Interest Nos. 20-41), a motor trip through the southeast section; Tour 3 (Points of Interest Nos. 42-62), a foot-tour through the downtown section; and Tour 4 (Points of Interest Nos. 63-78), a motor trip to Charlotte, including a two-hour tour of the Eastman Kodak Plant. Three points of interest especially for children are added. The University of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music are treated separately. All tours begin at the Four Corners. The tour maps are provided to aid the tour- ist in following tour directions and identifying points of interest, as well as to enable him to reach individual points of interest without reference to prepared tours.
TOUR 1-19 m.
N. from E. Main St. on St. Paul St.
1. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUILDING (L), corner St. Paul and Mortimer Sts. of modified Italian Renaissance architecture, the exterior of Tennessee marble, was erected in 1916 with funds donated by George Eastman. It was enlarged in 1927 by a four-story addition erected at Mortimer and Water Streets. The
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original structure was designed by Claude F. Bragdon, the addition by Gordon and Kaelber. One of the largest build- ings in the country devoted to Chamber of Commerce activi- ties, it includes a large lounge room, a library room, offices, several committee rooms, and a banquet hall with a seating capacity of 1,200. The headquarters of the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Community Chest, and the Rochester Home Bureau are in the building.
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