Gonechester

Category: Clocks

  • The Elwood Building

    Long ago, but also not so very long ago, the corner of Main Street and State Street looked very different than it does today. Far from the towering black slab of glass and steel which stands there today, instead the corner of the early 19th century was built upon with rude stone buildings of just…

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  • The Old Sun-dial

    The first public timepiece in Rochester, NY was a sun-dial which stood in the yard between the Presbyterian church and the first court house, on the east side of Fitzhugh Street. A wooden upright in the shape of a Latin cross, it was affixed at a forty-five degree angle to a base made from an…

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  • Street Clocks of Yesteryear

    Updated August 21st, 2026. Time moves ever forward at an inexorable pace. Long before the internet, long before the atomic clock and even a bit before the quartz clock, these mechanical marvels ticked away the seconds through the sheer wizardry of cogs and sprockets. Standing proudly on pedestals beside the street, or clinging to the…

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  • Main Street Iron Fronts

    I’d like to write now about two buildings from Rochester’s past that are very close to my heart. In fact, these two buildings are the impetus behind the birth of Gonechester; researching the mysterious buildings made me appreciate the depth of history, as well as the wealth of information available if one is so inclined…

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