Rochester is best known as the home of the Brothers Mayo and the Mayo Clinic, which dominates downtown. Mayo, along with a big IBM plant, is a major factor in the corporate conservatism that characterizes the city. In that respect, it's a lot like a mini-Columbus. It's also like a mini-Columbus in that various rivers and creeks chop up the town and few streets go all the way across. And it's got an interesting downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, but the booming growth is all annexed suburban-style development, like Columbus.

 

Skyline from near my old house on the Southeast Side (I lived there a few years in the early 90s)

 

Broadway and 2nd

 

The wonderful water tower at the canning plant south of Downtown

 

My old 'hood

 

Decommissioned Hawthorne School down the street. It's now some sort of community center or education facility

 

Not bad for a new replacement school, two blocks north at the corner of 5th and 5th Southeast

 

Roscoe's drive-in -- pretty good BBQ for a white-bread town

 

Skyline from Mayo Park, across from Roscoe's

 

Skyline from Indian Hill Park, north of downtown

 

Zooming in on the newest (and tallest, at nearly 30 floors) skyscraper. I believe it's housing, much of it for the many Middle Eastern patients at Mayo Clinic

 

Downtown, looking toward 2nd and 2nd SW

 

Zooming in on the same site

 

The Plummer Building: the first and -- by far!!! -- classiest of Rochester's skyscrapers. Built in 1928 and designed by Plummer (I forget the first name), a partner in the Clinic.

 

The new tower, closer

 

Zooming in on N. Broadway. Rochester has "skyways" just like Minneapolis and St. Paul

 

Looking west on 2nd Ave. SW, with view of the Plummer

 

Plummer closeup detail

 

Historic 1927 atmospheric Chateau Theater, amid rubble of 1st Avenue plaza construction. Chateau was saved from the wrecking ball in about 1994 to become a Barnes & Noble

 

New tower again, with my former place of employment in the foreground

LOVE LOVE LOVE this city.  Fantastic Skyline, fantastic shopping, fantastic atmosphere.  I don't know how the locals feel about Mayo, but it sure has made the place.  I LOVE the Gonda Building.

Who knew?

 

Good work.

Nice!

I like!

I'd like to see some more street scenes. The Downtown buildings look nice, but dead.

I lived there for a summer in... 1999, I think. Were these pics taken in the early 90's? I remember the plaza by the bookstore being very nice (and complete!) I really liked my short stay there. Super nice people, a lot to do for such a small city, and good access to parks and trails.

I lived there in the early 90s, but took these pics on a return visit last October. The area by the bookstore was called the Peace Plaza, and yes, it was very nice. I'm not sure how the new plaza will work out.