- Gonechester: A History
- Landmark Society Special Commendation
- Presentations
- Research & Resources
- The Zeiner Story
- Zinkers
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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…
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One of the few little “games” I like to play when I’m doing “historical” “research” is to find a house that once existed, but no longer does, and try to find as much about it as I can. Images are ideal; if I can get a photograph I’ve basically won. Some are surprisingly more challenging…
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This post deals with a suicide, and contains historical articles describing a suicide. Continue at your own discretion. On the cover of the 1890 Rochester City Index and Guide Book, I took note of a name written in a unique and somewhat fanciful–albeit wobbly–hand: “Perley Ainsworth”. Alongside this name an occupation, “Steam Hydraulic Engineer” and…
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During the 1950’s William Ringle Jr., reporter for Gannett, would write a column for the Rochester Times-Union which presented brief histories of street names around Rochester, NY. As his fellow avid toponymist, I have collected these articles whereever I have found them–and was most enthused when I came across a full scrapbook containing the cut-and-pasted…
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Updated October 18th, 2026. For ninety-two years there stood in the heart of downtown a four-storey brick-and-stone structure with a carved stone front. The idea of a custom carved stone front to your business impresses me: it tells me either you expect your business to last so long as to make it a worthwhile long-term…
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In my research regarding my local neighborhood one name comes up prominently again and again: Allen L. Wood. Wood’s extensive land holdings meant his name became ubiquitously written across the plat maps of subdivisions along Culver road, between Garson and Atlantic, and stretching east nearly to Akron Street. The reason for these extensive land holdings…
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Updated October 3rd, 2026. One of the things I appreciate about Google’s street view is the ability to peel away layers of time, comparing what came before with what exists now. This has helped me discover more than a few disappeared gems of local architecture, such as the home of John Greenwood on the corner…
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As I was perusing the plat maps–as I do late at night when sensible people are sleeping–I noticed something I had difficulty explaining. I have heard before from sources forgotten that “Hall Street” actually used to be called “Maxson Street”, but the name was changed and the Maxson moniker applied to another new street instead,…
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Even the gaps have history. Meandering among the crumbling stone and brick edifices of Rochester’s old industrial heart, it can be easy to forget that what we see is but a tiny sampling of the rambling mills and smoke-puffing factories that once crammed these riverside lots with bustling productivity. For every stone façade still standing,…
