Sleepy Town

Black brick house on Atkinson Street in Corn Hill
Black brick house on Atkinson Street in Corn Hill

It’s a good thing Rochester Art Supply opens so early. I dropped Peggi off at the courthouse for grand jury duty and did a little masked shopping. I parked in front of this beautiful black brick home in Corn Hill and walked over to West Main.

When I say “over to West Main,” I mean over the damn highway they dropped into the old Erie Canal bed when the urban renewal architects butchered the city by severing the neighborhoods from one another. It is kind of nice walking bridge. Perfect for skateboarding, it swoops up from Troup Street and plops you right in front of the restored Bevier Hall, home Mechanics Institute, my grandfather’s alma mater.

I worry now that there are so many apartment buildings downtown, newly built and renovated factory space, that this phase of urban renewal while only make the city sleepier.

1 Comment

One Reply to “Sleepy Town”

  1. I don’t get the last sentence. Are you wishing we could go back in time to the old downtown? That will never happen. The best hope is that all these new buildings will bring people back to the center city. There are more than twice as many people living downtown today as there were five years ago, nearly 8000 by estimates, without most of the new construction being complete.
    Chuck C’s wish to fill in the loop is 50% complete and and it is transforming my neighborhood. Are the buildings generic? Yes they are but they are better than an asphalt ditch and rusting bridges.

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