Category: Trees
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On the northeast corner of East Main and Culver, there is now a McDonald’s. Yes, classy, I know; that’s not the thrust of this article, though. What’s really in question, as per most Gonechester articles, is what came before, and how it came to be, in the end, a McDonald’s. At the outset of its…
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This is a repost of the original 2025 post: [https://gonechester.com/2025/01/06/twelfth-night-bonfires/] Starting in the early 1930s, there was a revival in the celebration of Twelfth Night–or the twelfth day after Christmas–on January 6th by building a massive bonfire of old Christmas trees, wreaths, and laurels. An old custom, its renewal was inspired by local artist George…
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Last time we went into the history of one corner of East Main Street and Elm with the entry Before Midtown; let us now cross over Elm Street to another history-rich lot of land. Vaguely triangular in shape, this expensive lot of commercial real estate was once the site of Rochester’s most prominent homes. For…
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It can be fully shocking how much of an impact Rochester’s development has had on the landscape around it. More than two centuries of human habitation can cause some major changes; one of the most impressive may be the complete filling in of the Deep Hollow Creek. Once a magnificent natural feature of Rochester’s west…
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This entry is a bit of a departure; while usually I’m plumbing pretty deeply into the past and drawing up places long gone patronized by persons long dead, this time I’m dropping my line into the shallower end of history’s fishpond. Come with me back to a cozy and familiar café in the heart of…
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Content warning: this entry contains references to killing birds. If it helps, nobody manages it very effectively. It was the spring of the year 1900, and a strange new bird had been spotted flitting around the streets of Rochester. The unfamiliar avian was black and shiny, whistling a merry tune, and perching atop streetcar wires.…
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The history of a city is foremost the history of people. It is people that make the buildings, people that pave the streets, and people whose daily lives make use of them both. The things they do, the things they make, the styles they wear… these are the deciding factors of generations. And yet, we…