F 129 .R7 W31 Copy 1 ► iilhi® Oily ®2 M®clb(6s(i®r Where To Go, How To Go, And What To See In And About The FL@WEM €ET¥ ITS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE lOdik^^di^vJsLo K- A Complete Guide — Illustrated With Views of Public, Office, and Commer- cial Buildings, Churches, Colleges, Hotels — Streets, Avenues, and Beautiful Homes — The Parks, Lake, River, and Bay — P'acts Concerning the City's Enormous and Diversified In- dustries, and Its Importance as a Manufactur- ing Centre — Fifty Resorts Within Fifty Minutes and Fifty Miles — Itin- eraries and Points of Interest PRICE. 25 Cents For Sale at All Hotels, News Stands, Stationery Stores and Railroad Stations and on the Trains Passing through Rochester. I'llU.ISHKD AT nOCHESTKR, N. Y. BV WATKYNS PUBLISHING COMPANY S ,1 FOREWORD HIS BOOK deviates from the conventional Guide- book because of the Subject. So much can be said and pictured about Rochester that it is no mean task to be content with a mere matter of ninety-six pages. This is a "Baedeker,'' — a history, — a manu- facturing- record, — a compendium of facts and figures, — a pic- ture-story of a Httle of the Flower City, — a vade niecuin, if you please, — pressed into a Souvenir of a great city, which has a fine history, a remarkable and substantial growth and a splendid des- tiny. The publishers wish to thank Mr. W. H. Samson, as an au- thority on historical matters, for his assistance. Thanks are also offered to the secretaries of the Chamber of Commerce and many others. Mr. C. C. Zoller and Mr. Richard il. I^ansing, well known amateur photographers of this city, have furnished most of the beautiful pictures of Rochester and vicinity which adorn these pages. This book and its entire contents are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS A Day on the Lake - - ^!> Aquatic Clubs - - - - "T Bank Deposits - - - I'i' Building Operations . - 94 Chamber of Commerce - - 70 City Beautiful Plans - - 4 3 City of Home Owners - - 41 Club Life in Rochester - - ao Does It Seem Possible - - 62 Educational Facilities - - 53 Exposition Park - - - 60 Facts and Figures About Roch- ester - - 27, 28. 29, 30 Fraternal and Secret Societies 96 Genesee River, The - - 18 Genesc-e Valley Park - - 73 Health of Rochester - - 39 Highland Park . - - 74 Historical - - - - 15 In the Lake Country - - 7 7 Itineraries — Where To Spend Dav - - - - 73. 81, 92 "One of Greatest Manufactur- ing Places," Col. Roches- ter's Prediction Quarter Million Souls Railroads and Railroad Stations Rochester, a City of Splendid Destiny - - - - Rochester's Beginning Rochester, Flood of 1865 Rochester's Flower Shows Rochester's Geographical Situ- ation - . - - Rochester's Industries Rochester's Parks - - - Rochester Public Market Rochester, the Flower City Sodus Bay . - - - Survey of the 100-Acre Tract - Taxes and Property Valuations To the Thousand Islands Water Supply - - - - Weather and Climate INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS Blast Furnace - - - - 85 K.. R. & P. Office Building. Sta- tittn and Car Ferry - - 100 Brewer's Landing - - - 20 Birches. Highland Park - - 75 Bound for Foreign Ports - 8 8 Brick Church Institute - - 40 Brick Presbyterian Church - 40 Bridge Over Red Creek - - 7 6 Bit of f»ld Rochester - - 39 Birdseye View Exposition Park 60 Chamljer of Commerce Building 70 Court Street Bridge - - 32 Canoe Dock, Genesee Valley Pk. 74 Civic Center, Proposed - - 4 3 Court House, First - - - 12 Court House, Third - - 22 Court House Interior - - 2 3 C'lrcus Day on Main Street - 27 Convention and Exhibit Halls - 28 Dr. Lee'.s Hospital - - - 81 Eagle Tavern - - - - 31 Ea.st High School - - - f,3 Elmwood Avenue Bridge Erie Canal Aqueduct I'alls, Genesee, Upper Flails, Genesee, Lower First Presbyterian Church Flood of 1865 Fountain. Highland Park Garden of George Eastman Graham Highland Park Sant torium - - - Gorge of the Genesee Hotel Rochester Hotel Seneca - - - In Holy Sepulchre Cemetery In Palmer's Glen Insurance Building - Irondequoit Bay Scenes - Lake Avenue Baptist Church Lehigh Valley Station Lyceum Theater Main Street Bridge. 1838 Main Street, 1840 - Main Street. 1911 - Main Street, Midnight Masonic Temple - - - Millstones . . - - Mouth of Red Creek New York Central Station New York State Armory - Off Charlotte Pier - Off Newport - - - - Old City Mills - - - - Old National Hotel - One of Thousand Islands Overlooking Irondequoit Bay - Oxford Street Polo at Genesee Valley Park - Postoffice . . - . Powers Building _ - - Powers Hotel - - - - Rattlesnake Point - - - Rhododendron Walk Rochester Aster . - - Rochester, Col., Portrait of Rochester Trust Co. Building - Rochester Four Corners. 1812 - Ru.stic Entrance . . - Statue of Justice _ _ - St. Luke's Church - St. Patrick's Church, 1823 St. Patrick's Cathedral Sea Breeze Gorge - - - Second Baptist Church. 1S53 - Shepherd and Sheep Shipping. Lower Genesee. 1838 Steamer Rochester - - - Sunset at Dugway - - - Swan Boat, Seneca Park - Thou.sand Island Home Twilight on Pinnacle Hill Washington Park - - - West High School - Residence.'; — Adam.s. G. R. Bausch, William - - - Beckley. J. N.- Bennett, B. G. - Bergener, Charles Brotsch. F. A., Jr. . . - Burritt. Clyde Cogswell, William N. - Colgate, George L. - - <'()lehrook, A. S. - 26 96 7 36 34 77 85 70 15 79 87 50 74 97 31 94 41 33 21 8 25 9 73 10 15 30 30 S3 13 76 16 Dailey, John F. Davis. R. W. Doyle, Joseph P. - Ea-stman, George Edelman, E. C. Elliott, Matthew - Everest, C. M. Fisher, F. J. Fowler, P. A. Gleason, Fred Graves. H. B. Hagen, A. T. Ham. George W. - Hanna, James H. Hauck. P. G. Kaelber, J. George King, John P. Knapp, M. D. Kohlmetz, Henry L. Kondolf, Mathias Little, A. P. Loeffler, F. H. Mabbett, Fred A. Maijgren, Thorvald McCall, Arthur H. McMaster, J. J. Millington. S. A. - Noeth, George E. Ormrod, William L. Robinson, W. J. - Scheuerman, Joseph E. Simonds, S. S. Spiehler, Oscar B. Staud, Charles J. Stern, Charles Strong, H. G. Stuber. W. G. Van Hoesen, G. O. Vogel, Emil J. Vogt, George J. Wanzer, Charles H. Warner, J. Foster Warren, J. Burton Wegman, William J. Wetmore. George M. ■ W^ickes, R. B. Wilmot, Frank Woodbury, W. E. Wray, William H. ZoUer. F. W. 45 93 90 56 9 5 84 89 59 61 47 51 47 69 56 46 57 82 93 86 66 48 52 86 67 ROCHESTER'S BEGINNING . accounts agree that it was in the summer of 1789 that Ebene- zer Allan — "Indian Allan" — put up a saw-mill ; and in the same \ear built a grist-mill on the west bank of the Genesee river on a site now surrounded by Aqueduct, Graves and Race streets and the Erie canal, one hundred acres having been given him by Oliver Phelps, who had promised the Seneca Indians that he would erect such mills if they would add a tract of land on the west side of the Genesee "for a mill-site" to that of the lands they had sold to Phelps & Gorham east of the river. This was the beginning of Rochester. The settlers and Indians at first came for miles to have their corn ground, but Allan's mills never seemed to prosper and fell into disuse and ruin. Nevertheless, this part of Western New York later became, and was, for over half a century — by reason of the wonderfully fertile valley, the water power of the Genesee river and the traffic created by the building in 1826 of the Erie canal — the most extensive milling section of the United States. Hence the world-famous appellation "Rochester, the Flour City," — now felicitous- ly called "The Flower City." This "lOO-acre tract" was assigned bv Allan in 1792 to Benjamin Barton, who ob- tained a regular deed from Phelps & Gorham and transferred it to Samuel B. Ogden who sold it to the Pulteney estate. In 1800 there journeyed from Maryland into the "Genesee country" Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Colonel William Fitzhugh and Major Charles Carroll, and they were so pleased that each bought tracts of land on the eastern slope of the Genesee valley and the flats on Canaseraga creek near Dansville. Later — on November 8, 1803 — they bought the one-hundred- acre tract for $17.50 an acre from the agent of Sir William Pulteney. In 1810 Colonel Rochester moved his family from his Southern plantation to Dansville, where he lived for five years ; then took up life at East Bloom- field and finally settled in Rochester in 181 8 and lived here as its most prom- inent, i^rogressive and honored citizen to the day of his death, May 17, T831. STONES THAI FIRST COR^ GROUND THE IN ROCHESTE (O/Pt^rz:^ A GL'IIJI-: AND 1 1 IS Tom' Survey of the " 100-Acre Tract" UT the real life of kochesUT caiiiinl he .said lo have heguii much earlier than 1811 when Colonel Rochester first surveyed and sold lots on the one-hundred-acre tract, and this period was just before the War of 18 12 with Great Jjritain, and it was not before 1815 that the population and business began to in- crease. When Ijuffalo, Batavia, Canandaigua, Geneva, Palmyra, I'enn Yan, Bath, Geneseo, Caledonia and LeRoy had become considerable villages, and local business had begun to center at Pittsford, I'enfield, \'ictor, Lyons, Lima, Avon, Dansville. Warsaw. Attica. Oak Orchard, Clarkson, Parma, Charlotte, llanford's Landing' and Scottsville sufficient to form little clusters of stores, forges and dwellings, there was at "Fall Town" or "Genesee I'^alls." but a rude mill and a few still ruder log-cabins: less than twenty acres of forest were cleared, and there were not half a dozen families. Four families settled in 1796 at llanford's Landing at the foot of the Lower Falls, and here, fourteen years after, the first store for all these parts was opened. A man named Farewell occupied, for a brief time, a*'rude cabin near Lake and Phelps a\enues, several }ears later. In 1807 Charles Plarlord built a log-cabin in the forest near what is now the corner of State and Smith streets, and later erected a saw mill and a erist mill on the river bank on the site of the old I'hoenix mills. ROCHESTE'? S FOL 10 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER " One of Greatest Manufacturing Places " N this year of 191 1, when its superior advantages are so obvious; when it has become a large and rapidly expanding city of over 225,000 people; with immense industries whose output supplies every known quarter of the globe, surprise is sometimes ex- pressed that Rochester was not one of the primitive theaters of investment and enterprise in Western New York. For a long series of years after the beginning of the settlement of the Genesee country the pioneers were busy in clearing the forests and svibduing the soil and there was little necessity for market-places or central depots. Small streams furnished the rude mills in almost every neighborhood, and the extensive hydraulic power of the Genesee was not required. Rochester, of itself, in its steady, permanent growth, demonstrates that successful towns and cities should not precede, but follow the general improvements of a country which is to be tributary. Rochester sprang into being at the proper time and kept pace with the growth and improvement of the whole country — lience its permanence and substantial character. The territory bordering on Lake Ontario, with isolated ex- ceptions, did not attract the earliest settlers. There was little of lake commerce and the region about the falls of the Genesee was at that time swampy and miasma inoculated the few struggling inhabitants ON SECOND COURT HOUSE ^^j^]^ cliiUs aud aguc, while the land confining the rushing river was dark and gloomy with the thick foliage of the forest primeval, the home of the bear, the panther and the great, grey wolf. So that, following the erection of Allan's mills and the clearing about it, there was, in respect to either settlement or improvement, an almost total suspen- sion of operations for nearly twenty years, — a period in the present era more than sufificient for the founding of empires and the building of great cities. In January, 1802. an appraisal of the parcels embracing the Pulteney estate placed the mills and hundred acres at a value of $1,040! In writing to his friend and partner. Major William Carroll, from Dans- ville, January 13, 181 1, Colonel Rochester said: "It [Rochester] must be- come a town of great business at some future period ;" and, in 1825, in writ- ing to his half-brother, John G. Critcher, he said: "Not only the site of the village but the country about it was all a wilderness in 181 1, but is now a thickly settled country that turned out from ten to twelve thousand persons who met General Lafayette on the tenth of June last. There can be no doubt but that Rochester will be one of the greatest manufacturing places in JUSTICE" A GUIDE AXD HISTORY 11 the United States. It embraces more local advantages than any place 1 have ever seen and I have visited almost all the States. The land for one hun- dred miles in every direction is of the finest quality." The Rochester of 191 1 has fulfilled the prophecies of its founder beyond even his most sanguine ex- pectations. It was the bridge thro w n across the Genesee ri\cr at .Main street in 1810 and fin- ished in 1812 at a cost of $12,000 which gave Rochester its first im- petus and did more than anything else to insure the growth of the embryo city. Can the reader realize that, prior to this epoch, — for such it w^as to the brave, struoiilino- settlers of those davs — in order to get to the west side of the t^a^ts^mt ~if=^- '•^^ mj^a^iUPisaM 3^*^^ iJ^l^T- T " ', """^wl ^MMEr.mr:^ rir^ ?EET BRIDGE AQUEDUCT MG TOWARD BRIDGE. A GLI1JI-: AND HISTORY Ui i 1 1 MM PRESBY OF CITl river it was necessary to t^o to Avon, twenty-one miles south, nv u> ford the river, which could only be done at two points and then at .U'cat risk of drownini:? The l)rid,-e was huilt at the exi)ense of ( )ntari() and ( ien- esee counties under an act of the Le.uislature. Another hrid.ue took its place in 1S24, and still another in 1S57 which stands to-day. — a re- markable test of endurance and honest ma- sonr\ since e\er\- other bridge spanning' the ri\er lias been built and some rebuilt since thfii. and yet the traffic in one day across the old Main street brid.qe is greater than that on all the (Others combined. I'nless he is told, the sirauiL^er never realizes when he traverses that busy thorou,^"hfarc from b'ast to \\'est Main street that he is on a bridge and is crossinj;' the (jenesee river, b^or that matter, how often does that thoui^ht come to the Rochesterian? The first frame dwelling' on the site of the ( )sburn 1 louse. South axcnue, was erected in iiSio but this was not in the lOO-acre tract. The first dwellins;- on the west side of the river on the Rochester tract was built in 1812 on the site of the Powers buildintj. corner of Main and State streets. The first mail received in the future city was on July 4, 1812, when there were just fifteen people in the settlement. The first store and the first school were opened in 1813. In 1815 two ilour mills and a cotton fac- tory were put into operation in "I-Tankfort" and the same \ear marked the openint;- of the Fitzhii^e^h and Carrt)ll mill-race back of the present Erie railroad station, and which, with Brown's race at the head of the "llii^'h falls." three years later, and the lolmson & Seymour race on the east side with the dam across the river in 1817. assured the rapid ,<.;rowth and prosperity of Rochester with its uusur])assed water priviles^es. In 1815 .Vbelard Reynolds built the first tavern on the west side of the river on the site of Reynolds' Arcade. The first newspaper.--a weekly. — was established in 1816. In 1817 the steamer Ontario be.i^an her trips from Sackett's Harbor to Lewiston and once a week came up the river to Hanford's A GUI UK AXl) HISTORY 15 lONAL HOTEL Landing, but some years earlier than that boats were navigatint; the lake and stopping regularly at the mouth of the Genesee river. The village of Rochesterville, named after Colonel Rochester, was incorporated in 1817, but was officially changed to Rochester April 12, 1822. In 1834 Rochester was incorporated as a city. The tirst railroad train ran out of Koch- ester in 1837. 1 1^6 population at the taking of the first census in 1815 was 331 ; in 1820 the United States census placed it at 1,502. INIonroe county was erected in 1821 from the counties of Ontario and Genesee and in 1825 Rochester had grown into a village with a population of 5.273, having a personal and real property assessed valuation of $1,767.- 135. Now, in 191 1, it is over $152,000,000. Before the "town at the Falls" had its being or had but just begun to breathe, five towns had been born and struggled for an existence on the site of the present Rochester or its vicinity and their founders fondly hoped that each was destined for the metropolis of the Genesee Vallev. Not a vestige remains of any save Pittsford and that beautiful village some day may be absorbed in the march of the city to the southeast. Tryon town, at the head of Irondequoit bay, boasted of a warehouse five stories high ; a mill costing $15,000; an asher\- and a dis- tillery and the first flour shipped irum West- ern Xew York to Montreal went out from Tryon town in 1700- Carthage, at the U^wer fall>. and King's — later llanford's — landing on the west bank of the river opposite, and Castle town all have their histories tragic and ephemeral. The lat- ter place was at what is known locally in these days as "The Rapids," just north of the entrance to Genesee \'allev Park, and once =^ luke s leaa built 1825 IN USE 1911 steamboats used to ])lay between Rochester and Geneseo every morning, stopping at Castle town when signalled. When Rochester began to stir and the Erie canal opened it vanished. 16 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Its Geographical Situation HE prosperity and importance of Rochester are due to causes which could not fail to give rise to a great city. It was predes- tined to be the scene of great human activity. Its geographical situation is particularly in its favor, being placed on a broad, level plateau at an altitude of from 500 to 657 feet above the sea. or 291 feet above Lake Ontario. Rochester is now the third city of the first-class in the State of Xew York and the twenty-second in point of popu- lation in the United States. The city lies on either side of the Genesee river, 379 miles west of New York city ; 69 miles east of Bufifalo and three and a half miles south of Lake Ontario, though part of the city is directly on the shores of the lake since the acquisition of over 500 acres for a handsome new park. The splendid river, — which rises in the heart of the mountains of Potter county, Pennsylvania, 130 miles south, falls 261 feet in three cataracts in the city limits, furnishing a water power unsurpassed if equalled, in its pos- sibilities for future development, by any other city on the continent. This power not only still supplies the many flour mills and factories, but generates thousands of kilowatts of electric energy for lighting the streets, stores and homes of Rochester and propelling the city and interurban trolleys, so that it is appropriately known not only as the "Flower City," the "Convention City," the "City of Homes," the "Kodak Citw" but also as the "Power City." A GUIDE A XI) HISTORY 17 TIk- ])(i\\cr for the railroads, however, is lari;ely supplcincntcd by that re- ceived from Niagara I'alls, owing to the iinniense operations and traffic on the numerous lines. ilie Port of Rochester at the mouth of the Genesee is the largest Ameri- can port on Lake Ontario and the volume of export and import business is a large factor in the cit\'s commercial welfare and imjxirtance. HE GENESEE Closing up and surrounding the city on every side lies a soil of rare fer- tility, producing the fruits, grain and vegetables of the temperate zone in such profuse abundance as not only to supply the home but the foreign markets, the api)le and peach orchards of this locality and the celery, lettuce and tomato beds of Irondequoit being justly famous. In contiguous territory arc mines of coal, iron and salt. Enormous Growth in Bank Deposits One of the strongest indications of the imjiortancc and magnitude of Rochester in the business world and a significant indication of the growth and development of the city and its manufacturing industries and the people's 18 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER _OWER FALLS OF view the magnificent floral dis]days at the parks and private homes. Com- mittees from civic imi)rovemenl organ- izations in other cities frequently visit Rochester to see what is being done and how with a view of improving conditions in their own citw THE ROCHESTEF 22 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Tlie aster iias recently been chosen as the eml^Iematic tlower of the Flower City. Here amoni;" its famous floriculturists and seedsmen the beautiful flower has attained its greatest i)erfection and variety and more seeds of this plant are raised in and sold out of Rochester than from any other locality in the world. A Half Million Souls in 1925 If the hopes of the progressive business men of Rochester and the plans of famous engineers who have figured out the vast possibilities resulting from a storage dam or dams at Mt. Morris or Portage Falls are ever realized Rochester will be a city of a half million souls in the next quarter century. Surveys and plans for the construction of a dam near Portage, which will impound eighteen billion cubic feet of water, 11,250,000,000 feet of which would be available for commercial purposes, has been made. The reservoir would be fifteen miles long, nearl}^ a mile wide, with an area of over thirteen square miles. The drainage basin above this reservoir would be 948 square miles. Such a dam and reservoir would control the highest floods known and would be capable of creating a water- power amounting to 75.000 horse power, peak load, while at the same time furnishing water to maintain the flow of the Genesee river of such volume as would ])crmit power plants to run throughout the vear. A GUIDE AXl) HISTORY 23 ROCHESTER'S INDUSTRIES ] I Al' the prosperity of a city depends upon the scope and char- acter of its industries is an oft-repeated truism. Rochester has a sound inchistrial Hfe. resulting from the use of prt)gres- sive metiiods, by men who reside in this city and take a li\el\- interest in its welfare. It is impossible here to give an ade(|uate account of Rochester's industries, so that attention is called only to a few of the more prominent features. 24 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Rochester is a city of homes ; a city of working people who own rheir homes. In no other city of the country is this condition so pro- nounced. Ideal working- conditions have made the w^orkmen take an interest in the city, and steady employment has encouraged thrift, result- mg in the saving of the necessary amount to purchase a home. A resi- dence once owned by the workman insures his permanence and guar- antees a constant supply of skilled labor. Employer and employee work together for the common good and there has been but little really serious labor trouble. The employer, in an honest endeavor to improve working conditions, has provided fac- tories and equipment which have been pronounced well nigh perfect. The workman has appreciated the interest shown and has done all possi- Ide f*:)r the promotittn of the industry. According to figures compiled by the Rochester Chamber of Com- merce the city now has approximately 1,700 manufacturing establish- ments, embracing 377 different branches. There are employed over 75,000 workers, to whom is paid an annual wage of about $19,000,000. Rochester's industrial growth not being forced has been of a sound nature. The natural advantages of the city are the only inducements held out to the manufacturer who contemplates a change of location. Many have come here, examined into the situation and moved their in- dustries to this city despite the fact that in other places bonuses of vari- ous kinds were offered. ELMWOOD AVENUE BRIDGE. GENESEE VALLEY PARK A GUIDK AND HISTORY 25 BUILDING In certain branches of trade other places may have some pecuHar ad- vantages that enable them to excel Rochester; other cities are of older or wider historical interest ; other cities there are where the people swarm in never-ending streams, jostling, pushing, crowding, crushing, but what other city combines more of all that is attractive, more of the things that make living worth while than clean, beautiful, healthy, prosperous, busy, cultured Rochester, the city of homes with plenty of fresh air and light and sunshine ? The statement is often made that there is no city of the size and popula- tion of Rochester in the worUl that can compare with it in the extent, the diversity and importance and the financial magnitude of Rochester as a manufacturing center. Only a brief survey of its industries can be taken in these pages, but such as it is will reveal a most astounding condition which, however, is in no sense exaggerated and is capable in every way of greater in- crease. — in fact, there is no limitation. Rochester is the foremost city in the world in the manufacture of optical goods. The making of kodaks and cameras though not in existence a score of years ago has attained astonishing proportions, employing thousands of hands and making niillions of dollars. The maiuifacture of cameras for 26 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER amateur photographers had its birth with the early attempts and subse- quent triumphs of George Eastman of a camera which could be operated without the use of a wet plate. His development of a dry plate and camera of small compass created a new industry and to him may be credited the MG EAST; OCTOBER A GUIDE AND HISTORY 27 present popularity and high standard of photography. More kodaks and cameras and photograph films are manufactured and sold from Rochester than are made in all the other cities of the world combined. The largest optical factory in the world is located in Rochester, pro- ducing the smallest of microscopes to the searchlight lenses for the United States navy and the lenses for the (lovernment's lighthouses. Rochester is the First City in the World In the production of pliotographic supplies. In the manufacture of optical instruments. In the manufacture of thermometers. In the manufacture of lubricating oils. In the manufacture of laundry machinery. In the manufacture of paperbox machinery. In the manufacture of vegetable ivory buttons. In the manufacture of enameled steel, giass-liucd tanks. For growing and exportation of seeds and nursery stock. New York and Philadelphia alone surpass Rochester in the niaiuifacture of clothing and neither city produces the fpiality and excellence of workman- CIRCUS DA 28 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER BACKGROU ship which has sj-mboHzed Rochester made clothing all over the world. The output in 1910 aggregated twenty-two million dollars. Brockton, Lynn and St. Louis are the cities which produce more shoes than Rochester, but, as is the case in the clothing industry, and all other pro- ducts for that matter, the Rochester goods have no superior in quality. There are between forty and fifty factories, representing an investment of over $6,000,000, turning out over $16,000,000 annually. Rochester has The largest camera works in the world. The largest button factory in the world. The largest preserving plant in the world. The largest lubricating plant in the world. The largest photographic film factory in the world. The largest thermometer works in the United States. The largest photographic dry i)late factory in the world. The largest photographic sensitive paper factory in the world. The largest factory in the world for the manufacturing of office filing devices. The largest factor}- in the world for the manufacture oi machinery for making wood boxes. Fifty-seven hotels. One hundred and thirty-se\en churches. A mean altitude of 514 feet above sea level. Thirty fire companies and 325 firemen and 304 ])olicemen. The largest custom fur tanning establishment in the United States. A GUIDE AND HISTORY 29 The center of the world for manufacture of temperature and ])rcssure indicating, recording- and regulating instruments. The largest Masonic lodge (Genesee I'alls, Xo. 507) in the \v<.rl(l — membership over 1,400. The largest plant in the world for the manufacture of enameled steel glass-lined tanks. The largest Commercial Travelers' Mutual Henefit association in the United States. A population of 218,149, according to the census taken in lyio, but it is api)roximately 225,000. Xearly all (if the motion picture him that is used in the world is manu- factured in Rochester. Xo city in America has so man\- sumiuer resorts within a radius of hftv miles. .\n average of forty-seven tons of mail matter are received and sent out e\-ery day. -Xearly seventy-five thousand emi)loyees are at work in the factories and workshops. There are ten breweries in'oduciiig amuially 675.000 barrels of l)eer and ale and employing 2,000 men. The number of manufacturing estal)lishments is al)out 1.700. These prt)duce annually goods aggregating over $100,000,000. Rochester has eight theaters, nineteen halls and a Convention and Ex- hibition halls cai)al)le of holding six thousand persons, not to mention Ex- position Park. The receipts of the Rochester postoffice— which is the twenty-second in the country for revenue — ending December 31, 1910, was $1,051.- 545.87. Money orders to the amount of $1,534,202.98 were issued. ERIE CANAL AQUEDUCT OVER GENESEE 30 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER In Rochester The average death rate for five years is 15.03 to 1,000. The wages paid out in 1910 amounted to over $19,000,000. Over $180,000,000 in stocks have been issued in local industries. Fifteen mills produce annually more than 1,000,000 barrels of flour. The value of the woodworking output annually is over $6,ooo,ood. Over $100,000,000 is invested in the manufacturing and wholesale trade. The customs receipts for the year ending December 31, T910, w^ere $531,312.08. The total output of leather and leather manufactured goods an- nually is $8,000,000. The amount of the local stocks listed with the Rochester Stock Ex- change is $75,250,977. A total acreage of 16,400 acres with five large and fifteen small parks. Three hundred and eighty-one miles of city w^ater pipe and 4.521 hydrants. Forty pQV cent of all the carbon paper manu- factured in the world is produced in Rochester. A GUIDE AXl) HISTORY 31 A ton of siK'ci" is used e^•erv week and miles ni paper are coated and l\\ enly-ihree acres of Hoor space are utilized in the manufacture of sen- sitized ])roducts at the Kodak ])lants. Rochester has eii^ht hos- pitals. — tile General. St. Mary's. the Homeopathic. Hahnemann. Infants at Dn- tario P.each, the New \nvk State, and the Dr. Lee and Dr. (i rah am institutions. Idiere are fixe orphan as\- hnns. IftMliBlll!! EAGLE TAVERN. SITE OF POWEBS BUILDING 12 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Rochester Taxes and Property Valuations F Ihc niulliu.lcl advantages of Rochester as a city to live in and to do business in are considered there is none of its size on the continent to compare \vith it for the low tax rate, and it is justl\ claimed that it is an economically and finely managed municipality. The tax rate per $i,ooo for 191 1 is $18,967 (eighteen dollars, ninety-six cents and seven mills). The total assessed val- uation of real estate is $152,588,132; personal property, $8,048,900; pension property, $436,400; franchise property, $14,427,500. The increase in real estate valuation since 1910 is $8,966,697. In many cities the collection of ashes and garbage is an additional charge besides the regular taxes, and in some municipalities the street lighting is a separate item. An immense reduction plant on the river flats disposes of the garbage and an incinerator to burn the rubbish is under construction in the same locality. There are 1,235 thoroughfares in Rochester and the number of miles of street pavements, not including graded streets or streets with gravel surface, is 182.525. There are over seventy miles of street asphalt; over forty-eight miles of brick; over twenty-nine of macadam; over fourteen of ^Fedina block and over seventeen of common Medina stone pavements. EET BRIDGE 34 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Rochester — A City of Splendid Destiny OCllESTER has entered upon an era of growth and prosperity that will make it within the next quarter-century one o; the great cities of the United States. In point of manufacturing magnitude and cHvcrsified industries it is now a great and lead- ing city, and upon these facts must be based the material pros- perity of any municipality. Its products are sent to the farthest confines of the earth and "Rochester made means quality" is not a loud and blaring ad- vertising boast but the clear, vibrant voice of truth. In short. Rochester is so richly endowed in all that goes to make a town great and renowned that there is, after all, no cause to wonder at its marvel- ous expansion, nor to s])eculate on its glorious, sliining future. It is full of earnest men and women. tem])erale and energetic, honest and progressive, keen, alive, full of enter])rise. ( ireat capital is invested, great industries are at \\()rk. many of them larger llian those of any other city in the world. Be- cause of all these and many other reasons it may be said of a certaintv "Roch- ester is a city of splendid destiny." A GUIDE AXD HISTORY 35 ROCHESTER'S PARKS N America no city of twice its size, population and importance can vie with Rochester in its park system. There are 1.508 acres embraced in twenty three parks, the Genesee Valley Park in the southern part of the city intersected by the Genesee river and the Durand-Eastman park on the shores of Lake Ontario on the nortiiern boundary line of the city being the largest. The latter of 484 acres was recently donated to the city in perpetuity for park purposes by Dr. Henry S. Durand and George Eastman. It is being rapidly laid out and when finished will contain two lakes and six miles of waterway. Genesee \'alley Park is noted for its beautiful drives, its golf links, meadows, groves and sheep. Athletic clubs and boathouses dot the shore of the river. Seneca Park, in the northern part of the city, on the high banks of the river, is a beautiful park and the wildest and nearest to nature of any. It has a zoological garden, an aviary, elk, deer, and bufTalo runs, a lake and a swimming pool. Maplewood Park is on the opposite side of the river and vies with the former for its river and wooded scenery. An Indian trail lies through the thick woods and along the river's edge. Reservoir Park is being improved. Highland Park is celebrated for its beautiful floral collections, only two other parks in the country equaling it for the display of rhododen- druns and no ])ark in the world has a more superb or greater variety of lilacs — there being two hundred and twentv different kinds. A GLIDE AM) HISTORY' 37 RAILROADS AND RAILROAD STATIONS IX railroatl stations are located in Rochester: Tlie Xevv York Central on Central Avenue from St. Paul to Clinton A\enue Xorih : the l\., W. iS: ( ). on Stale Street : the Ijuffaio, Roch- ester »S: ritlshuri; and the J 'enns_\l\ania on West Avenue; the Lehii;h and JCrie on Court Street on either side of the alter roaeach railways, the Sea Lireeze and the tilen Haven lines. Two inter- urban lines to connect with Scottsville and Caledonia and with Corninjj^ and bdmira ha\e been surxeyed and a spur from the .'"^ea I'.ree/.e line to connect with the city's Durand-Eastman lake park is in operation. Figures for comparative purposes are not obtainable but it is known that a much lars;er amount of freight goes out of Rochester than that wdiich is received. //i aii-iiij***^' 38 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER Here is a photographic reproduction of Alain street in March, 1865, when the waters of the Genesee overflowed and caused a loss of about one milhon dollars but not one death. After very cold weather and a heavy fall of snow a thaw came suddenly and overflowed the Erie and old Genesee Valley canals and then the river burst its bounds, submerging- the gas works, leaving the city in darkness and carrying away the Erie and Xcw York Central bridges. A GUIDE AXI) HISTORY 39 THE HEALTH OF ROCHESTER CITY is to be known in the future by the health of its chil- dren, the happiness of its mothers, the fair compensation and freedom of its workers from unnecessarily lon^ hours of labor. For the present we must jud^e of the health of our American cities by the general death rate and by the deaths For Rochester the average death rate for the past decade The death of babies com- ni children was 15.03. under five years of age pared with the countries of the civilized world, was ^j per 1,000 born. This figure was oidy ex- ceeded b\' two countries in the \vorld. Norway and New Zeal- and. In the past decade the city has had more deaths among per- sons over 70 years of age than among children under 5 years of age. I^'or the protection of the health of its citizens, Rochester has one of the best of al)undant water supplies. Uy comparison, its food supplies are unusually well ])ro- tected. There is an attempt to surround the milk sup- ply with every possible safeguard ; a (piarter of the whole milk supply being obtained from tuberculin tested cows. Provision for the health of the chil- dren is made by the estab- lishment of summer milk stations under trained nurses, where mothers may obtain advice for their babies, and food at cost. 40 THE CITY OF ROCHESTER -ZHUGH STREET Throus^h the establishment of medical school inspection and school nursing, twelve medical school inspectors examined last year more than 15,000 school children, the nurses visiting- over 2,100 cases, largely in the interests of preventing children from becoming sick. In the establishment of dental dispensaries, under the auspices of the Rochester Dental Society, Rochester is a pioneer. The City provides for the care of its sick poor in the hospitals. It is now engaged in an attempt to abolish poverty and the dole of charity by establishing a new general philanthro])y so wide as ti) embrace the whole city, so lnn)ad as to take in the baby and its mother, the wage- earner and the working child, the care of the aged and infirm, to look after the sick in such a way as to abolish all sickness, except that which comes as a result of the senile changes of advancing years. Three new firehouses were built and equipped in 1909, making four- teen in all, besides three hose, six trucks, a watertower and a volunteer conipanv. The lUiilding lUireau has lieen reorganized and a commission of ex])erts has revised the building code to l)ring it abreast of th.e newest thought and practice in safe and sane construction. A GUIDE AND HISTORY