Category: Bridges
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When I was little, I was convinced skyways were the way of the future. I became five years old in 1990 and bridges stretched across the sky between tall buildings everywhere I looked, from science fiction to real life. I was convinced these interstructural walkways would grow in number and complexity until–at last–denizens of our…
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Back in the early days of Rochester, the number one enemy was fire. Constant vigilance, careful preparation, and good communication are the watch-words for fire prevention and many of these practices were honed in the hectic tinderboxes that was the 19th century city. Downtown, mills factories and forges stood shoulder-to-shoulder with apartments, houses and saloons;…
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Updated 8/1/2026 If the road we knew today as Atlantic Avenue were to wander back in time to the turn of the previous century, we would see it pick up its old sobriquet of University Avenue from the horizon line, dust it off, and cross the Central-Hudson railroad tracks with it. There at the crossroads, on…
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If you are a Rochesterian who drives along Culver Road regularly, this may be a scene that is familiar to you: An indentation in the east retaining wall, south of the railroad bridge underpass on Culver Road between Humboldt Street and University Avenue. This odd little nook is the result of a combination of two…
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Something has always fascinated me about buried waterways. Perhaps it’s the idea that the persistent flow of water over millennia–long enough to carve deep gorges in the landscape–could be stymied in such short order by human action. Perhaps it’s because even human action doesn’t seem like enough to stop the flow of even the most…
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This is the story of one small area’s evolution. A busy riverfront of the Genesee, where river met canal met mill race. Eventually added to the mix subways, and railroads, and highways… It was a busy and ever-evolving area, suffice to say. The weighlock was located on the east side of the Genesee River, alongside…
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While I was researching another topic, I came across these photos of a diver in old-school diving gear working in the Genesee river. There were only two photos in the collection, but my curiosity was piqued! I wanted to know more! So I did a bit of a deep dive on this guy–pun intended! Haha!…