Founded in a small room of the Rochester General Hospital in 1947, the Rochester Medical Museum & Archives is now located on the second floor of the Rochester Academy of Medicine building, where it has operated since 2014. It offers a number of permanent exhibits as well as traveling exhibits and items on loan from other museums and various educational institutions. The permanent collection consists of items from twenty medical and research facilities in the area. Visitors can also view temporary thematic exhibits featuring photographs, artwork, and historical vignettes. The heart of the museum is its research library, which is home to the archives of Rochester General Hospital and many other medical institutions throughout New York.
One of the oldest and largest film and photograph conservation institutions in the world, the George Eastman Museum is located in the Colonial Revival mansion built by East Kodak Company founder, George Eastman in 1905. The museum opened in 1949 with the purpose of preserving films and photographs. The collection is enormous- featuring 400,000 photographs and negatives, 28,000 films, four million films, and thousands of publications. Highlights include Civil War photographs by Alexander Gardner, early Ansel Adams prints, works by French photographers, and daguerreotypes. The museum holds changing exhibits throughout the year. The house itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also a National Historic Landmark.
Founded in 1912, the Rochester Museum and Science Center is a natural history and science museum in Rochester, New York. It consists of the main museum building, a planetarium just next door, and the Cumming Nature Center, which is located in Naples. The museum features 200 exhibits, covering a wide range of subject matter in the natural science, science and technology, and aerospace fields. It contains 1.2 million items and tens of thousands of documents and photographs in its archives. Much of this material can be accessed online. The nature center is located on a 900-acre property and visitors can participate in various educational programs, including summer camps, or hike on one of the property's six hiking trails.
The Memorial Art Gallery was founded in 1913 by Emily Sibley Watson, the daughter of industrialist Hiram Sibley. Watson was fond of the arts and decided to establish the museum in honor of her son and architect James Averell, who died suddenly in 1904 at the age of 26 from typhoid fever. Today, the museum contains 12,000 works of art that span 5,000 years- from ancient Egyptian relics to modern works. In addition to its permanent collection, the Memorial Art Gallery also hosts traveling exhibits, lectures, concerts, an annual arts and crafts festival, among many other events. Held in trust by the University of Rochester, the gallery is one of the few university-affiliated art museums that also serves as a community art center.
This house was the first home Frederick Douglass bought in Rochester. Douglass likely lived here from 1847 until the purchase of his next home in 1852. Douglass’s relationship with his neighbors is recounted in local newspapers, including the North Star- an abolitionist newspaper that Douglass edited while living here. The Douglass family used this home as a stop on the underground railroad, along with the other homes he owned in the area. This is also the home where Frederick Douglass’s wife, Anna Murray-Douglass, decided she would not receive a formal education since she saw more personal value in tending the home. The home burned down in 1954 and was later turned into a parking lot. A historical marker was installed here on November 5, 2018.
The Little Theatre, also known simply as the Little, is a movie theatre based in Rochester, New York, specializing in airing lesser-played films. Opened in 1929, the Little Theatre was built as part of a movement to give viewers an alternative to large chain theatres, showing art films, documentaries, and other non-mainstream films. Today, the Little continues to provide the residents of Rochester with an alternative to mainstream cinema, as well as serving as a concert venue for local artists.
The 367 foot long, 2,260 seat Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre has been Rochester's premier theater since its completion in September of 1922. The theater was established by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman as an attempt to introduce more people to classical music by way of a movie theater with an orchestra to play background music for the films. The theater has since been used as Rochester's Philharmonic Orchestra's principle venue, alongside housing performances by renowned musicians such as John Williams, Igor Stravinsky, Stan Getz, and Keith Jarrett.
The Strong National Museum of Play is one of the largest history museums in the country (it is 285,000 square feet in size). It was founded in 1968 by Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969), who wanted her impressive collection of dolls, toys, and other objects of play to be preserved for future generations. The museum contains the world's largest collection of children's toys and related items. It is a highly interactive museum, featuring countless opportunities for visitors of all ages to play a wide variety of games, including video and arcade games. There are also many rides that visitors can go on. The museum is also home to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the Woodbury School (a preschool program), and a library and archives. The museum also publishes the American Journal of Play.
Designed by prominent Rochester architect Andrew J. Warner and constructed in 1868, the Geva Theatre Center building was originally utilized by the 54th Regiment of the New York State Militia. Following renovations in 1907, it has been utilized as a multi-purpose entertainment and gathering hall. Warner also designed and built the Power’s Building and Buffalo City Hall. The building has served a variety of purposes, including serving as a hospital during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Multiple American Presidents have delivered speeches inside the building including Frankin Delano Roosevelt when he accepted his party's nomination for governor and again years later as President of the United States.
Construction on Rochester's first public central library began in December of 1933 thanks to a sizable bequeathment from a wealthy citizen named Morton W. Rundel and funds from the Public Works Administration- a New Deal Program. The Rundel Memorial Library was dedicated on October 4, 1936. On the Library's first day, upwards of 3,200 books were reportedly checked out by an enthusiastic public. The Library building was restored by the City and a new adjacent building- later named the Bausch & Lomb Public Library Building- was added in 1997. The two buildings are connected by an underground tunnel that runs beneath South Avenue.
Built on the location of Rochester's first permanent residence, the Powers Building was completed in late 1870 after five years of construction. The nine-story office building was designed by notable local architect Andrew Jackson Warner and was the first large fireproof building in Rochester as well as the first building to have elevators. Daniel Powers, owner and namesake of the Powers Building, was determined that his building be the tallest and grandest in the city. Over the course of the next two decades, Powers had three mansard roof extensions and two towers added onto the existing building in order to keep its record height. In 1883, Powers also opened the historic Powers Hotel in a neighboring plot.
Completed in 1896, this building was the third Rochester Courthouse building constructed at this location on 39 West Main Street. The building's cornerstone bears a plaque displaying the completion dates of the three courthouses- the first in 1822, the second in 1851, and the third in 1896. After the unveiling of the Frederick Douglass Monument on June 9, 1899, Governor Theodore Roosevelt hosted a public reception at the Rochester Courthouse building in celebration of the recently deceased abolitionist's life. In 1964, Rochester's court was moved to the Hall of Justice and this building was converted into the Monroe County Office Building.
Erected by the City of Rochester in 1984, this historical marker stands in the approximate location of the residence of Amy and Isaac Post. Throughout the mid-1800's the Posts were prominent members of the Abolitionist, Women's Suffrage, and Quaker Spiritualist reform movements in Rochester. From 1836 until Amy Post's death in 1889, the couple lived in the house which stood here. Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony- all close friends of the Posts- are known to have visited their home on multiple occasions. The Posts also operated a station of the Underground Railroad out of their house, sometimes hiding as many as 20 escaped slaves a night.
Established in 1836 as Bethel Free Church, the name of this church was changed to Central Presbyterian Church after moving to what is now called North Plymouth Avenue in 1858 near the site of notable Quakers Isaac and Amy Posts' former residence. The largest auditorium in Rochester during the late 1800's, Central Presbyterian Church hosted the primary funeral services for both Frederick Douglass in 1895 and then Susan B. Anthony in 1906. Central Presbyterian merged with two other local Presbyterian churches in 1974 and became the Downtown United Presbyterian Church (located on North Fitzhugh Street). In 1978, Hochstein School of Music Dance purchased the church building for only $1- a generous bargain that symbolized Central Presbyterian's longstanding appreciation for music.
Built in the late 1880s, the brownstone building at the intersection of Fitzhugh Street and Church Street has gone by several names. By 1898, the building was colloquially known as "Fitzhugh Hall." Until the 1930s, the building served as the Rochester Main Post Office. Today, the building is known as Rochester City Hall. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Also known as the Upper Falls of the Genesee River, High Falls was instrumental in facilitating the industrial development of Rochester during the early 1800's. This was thanks to early residents of the area's harnessing of water power for flour mills down the length of the Genesee. This led to Rochester being dubbed "Flour City" during this time period. In November of 1829, High Falls was the site of two historic jumps made by notorious daredevil "The Yankee Leaper", Sam Patch. The latter of these jumps, made on November 13th, was landed incorrectly by Patch and proved to be fatal.
Created by Laotian sculptor Pepsy Kettavong and erected in Susan B. Anthony Square Park in 2001, this bronze statue project titled "Let's Have Tea" depicts famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass and suffragist Susan B. Anthony engaged in conversation while enjoying cups of tea. The statue was commissioned by the Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood Association as a monument to the lifelong friendship between the two civil rights activists.
Located in the former home of the famous women's right's activist the museum is named after, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum offers exhibits that interpret the history of women's suffrage and the life and influence of Susan B. Anthony. One of the most influential Americans of the late 19th century, Anthony challenged the assumption that men and women should occupy different classes of citizenship. She was arrested for voting in 1872 and used the event to publicize the lack of political rights for women. Anthony worked with other suffragists such as close friend Elizabeth Cady Stanton and created the National Woman Suffrage Association. The museum has a variety of artifacts related to this organization, as well as a collection of documents for researchers.
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This tour starts at the home of Rochester's most famous resident, Susan B. Anthony, and includes several of the city's leading civic buildings and landmarks as well as several museums, galleries, and cultural centers.
