There was a Whole Earth like moment when the promise of the internet first became apparent. Creative types could have a website with an address on the World Wide Web. I’m not sure what happened. Peggi might know. She’s been reading “Careless People.” Maybe we were doomed to scroll endlessly.
My favorite Rochester website is Gonechester. We think of our city as always having been the way it is. Do you recognize anything in the photo above other than Kodak Office building? Our city is continually reshaping itself. Geoffrey Zeiner’s posts uncover the rich past of our city. My grandparents both worked at local shoe factories. This history shaped us.
The Gonechester site pulls together sources to tell stories about people and places that once were part of Rochester, NY, but now are no longer with us. Photographs, newspaper articles, and primary documents are all included to paint a picture of these lost locations, and the people who lived and worked in them. If deep diving on a well researched website with dreamy photos is not your thing Geoffrey is giving a talk, entitled ”A Walk Through a Disappeared Downtown,” at the Chili Public Library, Thursday, June 12th, at 6:30 PM. He has a video about the History of Rochester’s Main Street Bridge.
2 Comments
Ohhhh! Gonechester looks excellent! Thank you for linking to it. I’m going to have to see if he wrote about the old school house we live in on Fitzhugh. Looking forward to digging into it.
I often think about the death knoll of the internet and personal websites now that social media seems like soylent green, taking over all of our minds and daily lives. I could be wrong (will not be the first or last time) but I feel like having a personal website is akin to political acts like derives, eating and conversing with strangers (RIP Anthony Bourdain) and owning/frequenting a third space (or even claiming a public spot as a third space).
Podcasts and substacks seem too corporate and not the best alternatives.
Hoping to get out and seeing you, Peggi and the rest of your gang tomorrow night.
Thanks so much for the kind write-up! I’m glad people are getting something out of my tedious work. I enjoy reading your blog and I especially enjoy your photos of Rochester as it used to be.