Greater Rochester Visitors Association
45 East Ave. Ste. 400
Rochester, NY 14604
(585) 546-3070
Population
231636
Time Zone
Eastern
Latitude/Longitude
43.15° /-77.60°
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HIGH: 62
LOW: 42
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In 1789, Rochester's first gristmill was built on the Genesee River just north of the 96-foot straight plunge called High Falls. By 1825, there were so many mills lining the riverbanks that Rochester became known as the "Flour City." With the Erie Canal providing a reliable link to eastern markets, industry prospered and, as a result, various educational and philanthropic institutions were established and endowed.
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In the late 1800s, Rochester was a hotbed of social and commercial innovation. While residents like Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass were working to change the face of the American polity, the city's businessmen were creating new industries while building mansions along East Avenue. One of the most impressive is the estate of George Eastman, the inventor of roll film. Here you can see fascinating exhibits documenting the history of photography, view rare moving pictures, and take a tour of the home and its gardens. On the other side of town, the modest Susan B. Anthony House is a national historic landmark where many dramatic events, including her arrest, took place during the course of the voting rights activist's life.
For more glimpses into Rochester's past, visit the East Avenue Historic District's Woodside Mansion, dating from 1838 and containing furnishings, paintings, and costumes preserved by the Rochester Historical Society; the Campbell-Whittlesey House, a restored 19th-century Greek Revival home; and the Stone-Tolan House, a former farmstead surrounded by extensive gardens and orchards.
Also found on stately East Avenue, the Rochester Museum and Science Center offers star shows at the Strasenburgh Planetarium plus exhibits on the Seneca Indians, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and other subjects. Nearby, the University of Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery boasts a 10,000-item collection spanning the history of mankind.
Children will love the Strong National Museum of Play with its thousands of toys, dolls, games, and books, and the collections at the Victorian Doll Museum in suburban North Chili. And, don't miss the Seneca Park Zoo in the park designed in 1891 by Frederick Law Olmstead. It has picnic pavilions, playgrounds, and a footbridge across the scenic Genesee River Gorge.
In this city of considerable culture, the Eastman Theatre makes a home for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and for recitals by students of the well-regarded Eastman School of Music. Drama and comedy mix it up on two stages at the Geva Theatre Center.
The area just west of the High Falls (where the city got its start) is bursting with new sports facilities. The brand new Paetec Park, which opened in 2006, is a purpose-built stadium for the Raging Rhinos of the United Soccer League and the Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse. The triple-A Rochester Redwings play ball next door in Frontier Field. In the heart of downtown, Blue Cross Arena hosts the AHL Rochester Americans (the "Amerks"), the Razorsharks of the ABA, and the Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
Summertime brings people outdoors and with Lake Ontario on its northern flank, fishing, swimming and sunbathing are only a few feet away. High-tech thrill-rides are on the beach, too, at Seabreeze Amusement Park.
The surrounding farmlands make this one of the nation's richest produce-growing areas and a center of the nursery industry. Rochester's Public Market, established in 1827, provides a year-round venue for fresh local produce and goods.
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