- Gonechester: A History
- Landmark Society Special Commendation
- Presentations
- Research & Resources
- The Zeiner Story
- Zinkers
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Before restaurants were really called “restaurants”, there were still places to have a sit-down and some refreshments. During the early-to-mid 19th century, a type of establishment known as a “Recess” was prevalent throughout Rochester. Son of the old tavern, father of the saloon, the recess was a cozy nook of decorative hardwood and brass, easily…
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I’ll admit that I tend to shy away from topics that have been covered in more depth by far more adept historians than myself, and those topics which are more well-known by the general Rochesterian public. After all, I pretend to have neither any sort of special insight into history nor access to any special…
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Is there a Green Street in Rochester? Once upon a time, there was! The name never made it past the 19th century, but the thoroughfare technically still exists: over the decades, it morphed into South Clinton Avenue south of Howell Street. But to start, it was a simple street laid out between Jackson Street [Capron…
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Every young city lived in fear of fire. Old wood houses were a veritable tinderbox, and there was no dearth of combustion sources; this was an age of wood- and coal-fired ovens, of gas lamps, of railroads putting off sparks, of incautious industry tossing smoldering, chemical garbage into the dumps. These were times when oily…
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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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I love tiny places. Small buildings, itty-bitty cafes, pubs and bars, wee ickle shops and teensy pocket parks. Far from being claustrophobic, I find that these finite spaces encourage the fullest use of every inch, from efficiency of purpose to expressiveness of décor. And, in many cases, it forces one to keep in touch with…
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Starting in 1934, an unusual social group formed in Rochester. They called themselves a Krewe; members went by “noms”, code names usually marked by wordplay or punning, such as B. Natural, Tryit, Whosit, or King Sly. They were the Sykocrypts; one of two clubs formed in Rochester dedicated to solving a popular type of puzzle–cryptograms.…
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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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When I first began speaking with Lisa Kleman about our respective family histories and their mutual experience as immigrants in Rochester, I was struck by how similar the story of Kleman’s immigrant ancestor was to my own. Both Kleman and I are present-day representatives of the family lines of two determined German men, who came…
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