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I'm aware I'm a nutjob but this sort of thing is fun for me: I made a map that should contain all the locations of interest I've posted about in this thread, with links to the posts they were mentioned in. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1NpG85iz5pq1OZ1RG14lsq0z_D229RRw&usp=sharing Edit: And now I've gone and selected custom colors and icons for everything. Someone please loving stop me. Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 00:55 on Mar 8, 2023 |
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Mar 7, 2023 20:27
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⤳The Bend on Melville St. The intriguing history of an urban geographical aberration. This is another one of those ones where I found something tiny that made me curious, and unpacked more than I could have imagined. So, while meandering through archived issues of Democrat & Chronicle, searching for some bit of trivia or another, I happened upon this 1983 story regarding the Beechwood neighborhood. A minor jog in the path of Melville Street where it meets Berwyn Street is described as a sort of delineation between part of the street that supposedly went downhill and was now rebounding versus the part that remained a quiet residential street. Let's take that analysis with the grain of salt it assuredly deserves, and instead see if we can trace the history of this anomaly in the roadway.  08 Jan 1983, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120754782/the-bend-on-melville-street/]  Google Maps 2023  Google Maps 2023 Above, the present layout of the streets. “The Bend” can be seen above where Melville ticks slightly northward where it intersects with the quite curvy Berwyn Street. Similarly, but more drastically, Hazelwood Terrace is split into two parts. As we will see, this is all due to incremental subdivision of the plots originally held as large estates by individual landowners.  1875 The origins of The Bend, and Melville and Berwyn Streets as well, begin earlier than 1875. This atlas shows the area, still mostly divided among large estates. The largest lot was owned by Hosea Rogers; the perimeter of his lot would inform the future shape of many of the roads in this area. We’ll come back to him later, however. This area east of Plank Road (now Webster Avenue) would have been the easternmost part of the City of Rochester until after the annexation of Brighton east of Culver Road which previously marked the boundary with the adjacent town..  1888 Plat Yes, I did crop this to say “ASSES”. I think that’s funny. Sue me. Anyhow, Melville Park terminated at its eastern end where it butted up against the western edge of the large Hosea Rogers lot.  1900 Plat The northern section of the former Hosea Rogers lot has been subdivided into neighborhoods. The southern section of the lot at this time belonged to H. H. Craig. Names of some future streets are written on his lot.  1910 Plat The Rogers/Craig lot has been entirely subdivided. Berwyn Street has been cut roughly north-south to adjoin Shaffer, Meng, and Melville. I can’t find the origin of the name Berwyn, the street simply appears in a realty ad in 1908 without any toponymic explanation.  1911 Sanborn Map [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3804rm.g3804rm_g06217191102/?sp=79&r=-0.105,0.382,1.101,0.677,0] Okay, can I just express a tiny irritation? Whoever digitized the Sanborn maps either didn’t notice or couldn’t do anything about some sort of small debris or defect in the scanner. Thus, every single individual image has this weird gummi-bear shaped shadow in the middle. It doesn’t block anything but it just makes me itch behind my eyes. Complaint over. By 1911 a large frame structure has been built on the little nook defined by the eastern edge of Berwin, 200 Melville.  1918 Plat A duplicate structure to 200 Melville above has been erected by 1918, 175 Hazelwood. 175 Hazelwood is still extant:  Google Maps 2023 The remaining three-part structure at 175 Hazelwood, probably more or less what the other one looked like as well.  1935 Plat So, who was Hosea Rogers, whose estate caused these strange shapes in the street map? It turns out the answer to this question was of some relevance to earlier discussion in this thread: He was a shipbuilder! Hosea Rogers and his brother were trained by the famous local shipping captain and veteran of the War of 1812, John Trowbridge. quote:Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Trowbridge was a sea captain. During the War of 1812, he was captured by the British and held prisoner in Calcutta, India, and then Dartmoor Prison in England. After the war, Trowbridge was released and went to Rochester, New York, where he owned a shipping business. quote:On the east bank of the Genesee, at Carthage, Captain John Trowbridge built a fleet of schooners and trained the Rogers Brothers to be ship captains and boat-builders. The elder brother built their boats at a site near today's Seneca Park. Hosea Rogers located his shipyard on the east bank, just north of this overlook. He built 14 vessels, naming 3 of them after each of his wives. Check out the source on the quote above for more bits about local boat-building.  06 May 1855, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120774117/hosea-rogers-launches-oliver-culver/] quote:LAUNCH - We learn that Capt. Hosea Rogers will launch his new barque Oliver Culver, at 3 o’clock this afternoon, from the ship yard opposite Charlotte. He has built one of the finest sailing craft that has ever been put upon the waters of our lake. We hope the time is note distant when the building of ships will be an extensive business at our harbor, where there exists so many facilities for it. The barque Oliver Culver was of course named for the famous local shipwright, Oliver Culver, who launched the schooner Clarissa on Lake Ontario in 1811. Several vessels built by Rogers can be tracked, such as the schooner Joseph Cochrane:  [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120794481/new-vessel-joseph-cochrane/] Which sank in 1870 to be raised and written off: [https://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/Vessel/Details/326] Or, the schooner S. T. Atwater:  25 May 1866, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120782215/samuel-atwater-schooner/] The S. T. Atwater eventually wrecked in 1895: [https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/61767/data]  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=12529141] Photograph from the book “Hosea Rogers, Builder of Boats” by Poley Tyler, 1952  26 Feb 1928, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120757067/1852-realty-investment/] A “foolish” real-estate development investment in 1852 would end up netting the shipbuilder’s family immense amounts of wealth. Also in 1852, Hosea Rogers had constructed this stately brick home on St. Paul street:   [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=117890] Hosea Rogers had the rare privilege of being born in Carthage, NY. Carthage was a nascent town I shall probably write about in future, which was considered to be a strong rival of early Rochesterville. Chances are, if the great Carthage bridge across the Genesee gorge had not collapsed in 1820 shortly after its construction, Rochester might today be a forgotten section of the City of Carthage, with but a mysteriously-named Rochester Alley to ever show its passage. But collapse, the bridge did, and with it the hopes of Carthage, whereupon it was eventually taken over by Rochester. [https://rochistory.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/carthage-rochesters-forgotten-rival/] From a Democrat & Chronicle article about the house: quote:In the early 1800s, a settlement named Carthage was growing on the east side of the Genesee River at the Lower Falls.  19 Sep 1926, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120809339/rogers-estates/] Henry H. Craig, who owned the diminished Hosea Rogers plot in the 1900 Plat map, was–among other things–the president of the Rochester Vulcanite Pavement Company.  04 May 1888, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120809560/vulcanite-paved-surfaces/] So there you have it. It may not be a major landmark, yet this minute wiggle on Melville street still traces the contours of the area’s history. Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 16:22 on Mar 14, 2023 |
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Mar 14, 2023 01:33
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Brawnfire posted:
The giant gummi bears are real. They're prototypes that were abandoned after people voted to have all those horse statues instead.
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Mar 15, 2023 00:10
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loving Horses on Parade. That produced some of the ugliest pieces of public artwork I've ever seen.
Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 00:51 on Mar 16, 2023 |
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Mar 15, 2023 14:14
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I thought the one that ended up in my neighborhood (xerox horse) was ugly but that is frightening.
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Mar 15, 2023 17:49
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Brawnfire posted:loving Horses on Parade. That produced some of the ugliest pieces of public artwork I've ever seen. This would've induced nightmares had I seen it as a child.
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Mar 15, 2023 22:45
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Sorry again about the weird random sizes. It's extremely hard to get these articles to size well. This post is about a little two-year conflict in Rochester known as.. THE IRON CLAW WAR When the ancestors of those old familiar claw machines first started appearing in druggist’s shops in the 1930s, Rochester reacted poorly. Customarily a town that cracked down hard on gambling and vice, the City of Rochester was concerned these nickel-hungry devices were gambling at best, outright theft at worst.    [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120917154/chief-henry-t-copenhagen/] This dude, Chief of Police Henry T. Copenhagen, led the police crusades against the machines. He hated claw machines, digger machines, pin games and dice games of all shapes and sizes. He was a pinball bigot. In 1932, City Judge Arthur Wilder had returned a ruling deeming claw machines and several other games of its type as being gambling devices, and thus unlawful for installation in public businesses. In 1933, Charles Gargano–a druggist with a store at 669 North Clinton Avenue–appealed the ruling by City Judge Arthur Wilder, kicking off a period the papers will refer to as “The Claw War”.  27 Feb 1933, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897096/iron-claw-argument/]  26 Mar 1935, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897114/vindicated-by-court/] Gargano, despite some delays due to a sick lawyer, had his day in court and the ruling was overturned. Iron Claw and pin games began to flow into the city unfettered.  07 Apr 1935, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897143/brick-war/] Within weeks the troubles began. Bricks and rocks were used to destroy claw machines and the windows of shops that offered them. Police theorized these are attacks undertaken by the claw machine distributors themselves, either as an attack on competitors or as part of a protection racket. Though the clues don’t really line up–such as the lack of threats or cajoling by the attackers–it was an attractive hypothesis to that Javert of claw machines, Chief Copenhagen.  08 Apr 1935, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897180/hoodlums-wrecking-devices/] The claims were, of course, denied by machine distributors.  09 Apr 1935, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120922570/hammer-swings/] It strikes me as odd that these folks are putting up to a dozen nickels into these machines before they smash them. Maybe they really are just angry at the game. You would think they’d just go ahead and smash them if they were there to smash them. If they want the prize, they wouldn’t feed it nickels, they’d just reach through the broken glass. Or, take the whole machine, apparently that was viable:  13 Apr 1935, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120910653/stolen-claw-machine/]  10 Apr 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120963052/licensing/]   16 Apr 1935, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120911380/four-gunmen/] At this point folks were just cruising around shooting up claw machines with shotguns. Also I’m fairly certain Clifford and Norton don’t intersect, Fisher’s Restaurant was actually on the corner of Clinton and Norton.  16 Apr 1935, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912132/iron-claw-thieves/] This David Bowie looking guy “Spike” shows off his restaurant's smashed-open and pillaged claw machine. Edit: Minor correction, Spike Kelly was an employee of the restaurant, who had been preparing a sandwich when the assault on the Iron Claw began. He expressly decided to avoid confrontation since the claw machine did not belong to the house, and as such was not his concern.  17 Apr 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120910925/claw-war-spreads/]  17 Apr 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120910958/chief-claw/]  17 Apr 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120911018/omara-to-act/]  [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120911099/bullets-fly-in-claw-war-1/]  17 Apr 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120915388/bullets-fly-2/]   18 Apr 1935, Thu [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912321/raid-breaks-claw-peace/] [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912373/breaks-claw-peace-2/]  21 Apr 1935, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912281/geneva-bans-claws/] The tiny town of Geneva, despite having just three of the offending machines, takes a gander at what’s going down in Rochester and is like, “no thanks.”  25 Apr 1935, Thu [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120921844/injunction/] Another rash of raids and threats on claw-machine shops by Chief Copenhagen draws an injunction from the State Supreme Court on behalf of Robert C. Allen of the Automatic Merchandising Association. The police have to cease taking action against the machines for the foreseeable future, so long as the courts have proclaimed such devices legal.  11 May 1935, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912607/flash-in-pan/] Already, public interest was waning due to lovely prizes and poor returns on investment. The old Iron Claw was no longer an item of novelty enough to draw crowds.  13 May 1935, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912678/claw-war-in-syracuse/] Apparently some of the same violent claw machine rackets that had waged war in Rochester had taken off for the greener pastures of Syracuse, where smashing Iron Claws with hammers flourished once again.  21 Jun 1935, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120911238/fight-iron-claw-protections/]  17 Jul 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897055/iron-claw-machines/] Lol “clam machines” Robert C. Allen of the Automatic Merchandising Association raises against the police for raiding game machines. Allen’s suit is followed up with one by John Goodbody, a coin-operated game distributor.  23 Oct 1935, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120912797/one-foot-knife-prize/] One odd story that happened alongside all this was the case of Robert Lamb and Dewey Plotts. Plotts, it is claimed, won a foot-long hunting knife from a claw machine in a tavern on Monroe Avenue, then promptly (and allegedly accidentally) skewered Lamb with it. Sheesh! Regardless of whether it’s gambling or not, sharp foot-long blades seem like a bad claw machine prize. How about a one-shot pistol? A lit firework?  20 Dec 1935, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120910825/pin-machine-drive-opens/] The injunction disallowing police action against certain games was lifted. Copenhagen was ready and willing to get back in there and crack some claw-heads, but unfortunately for him there was still some question as to the legality of Iron Claw style games which might be proven to have a component of skill.  16 Apr 1936, Thu [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120921373/doom-of-claw-machine/] The decision was made. The death warrant for Iron Claws was handed down from the high courts of the State of New York. Copenhagen bides his time.  18 Apr 1936, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120897055/iron-claw-machines/]  19 Apr 1936, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120911284/iron-claws-gone/] The city is swept clean of the devilish devices at last. The trail of claw machines trickles to a halt. The Iron Claw War had officially ended. Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 23:44 on Mar 16, 2023 |
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Mar 16, 2023 06:30
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That is wild. I want to play one now.
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Mar 16, 2023 22:54
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Brawnfire posted:⤳The Bend on Melville St.  14 Aug 1955, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121049679/hosea-rogers-mooring-post/]
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Mar 17, 2023 17:33
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 [http://www.libraryweb.org/~digitized/books/Commerce_manfactures_resources_of_Rochester.pdf] (p.21) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Observatory]  07 Mar 1880, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117396634/rochester-observatory/]  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115926823] Above: Hulbert Harrington Warner The Warner observatory, as its name suggests, was the brainchild of Hulbert Harrington Warner, a man who made an incredible–albeit temporary–fortune from patent medicines. He loved to build things–or rather, pay to have them built–such as his large and intensely architectural Warner House, the romantically medieval Warner castle, and the looming edifice of the Warner Building. Link: A D&C article regarding H. H. Warner [https://www.newspapers.com/image/135675748/]  1890 [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115915046] The H. H. Warner House, 1890. [https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/rocroots/2015/03/20/retrofitting-rochester-hh-warner-house/24897073/]  1951 [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1117040052] The Warner Castle as photographed in 1951.  1884 [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115915108] The Warner Building in 1884.  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115915257¤tIndex=0&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab] 1883 Warner was also an avid fan of astronomy, and wanted nothing more than to find comets. To that end, he had the observatory built and hired Lewis Swift, offering him a monetary reward for each comet discovered. This offer was also extended to any other astronomer who discovered new comets. He very badly wanted to find lots and lots of comets, is what I'm getting at.  15 Jan 1984, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117396439/lewis-swift/]  A portrayal of astronomer Lewis Swift observing the heavens. The semi-circular tiered bench allowed him to attain numerous observation positions and maintain them comfortably for long periods, a consideration of especial importance as Swift aged.  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1115946952¤tIndex=0&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab] Above: Lewis Swift in his observatory.  [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Lewis_Swift.jpg] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_A._Swift] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Discoveries_by_Lewis_Swift]  1888 Plat I wanted to point out, to the north, the East Avenue home of Mr. Cyrus F. Paine, who was mentioned in a previous post* about the Paine Pharmacy building at Four Corners. *[https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4017351#post528458790]  04 Jun 1892, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120436390/democrat-and-chronicle/] “Unfortunately for Warner, a reversal of his economic fortunes compelled him to liquidate his assets. In June 1894, he was forced to sell most of his Rochester holdings at bankruptcy auction for a fraction of their cost. The observatory fetched $15,000, while his home went for only $35,000.” [https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/local/rocroots/2015/03/20/retrofitting-rochester-hh-warner-house/24897073/] The Panic of 1893 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1893] caused Warner to abruptly withdraw his support for the observatory. When Swift left Rochester upon his patronage drying up, he pretty much dismantled the whole observatory and reinstalled it at Mount Lowe, California: Link: Lowe Observatory [https://www.mountlowe.org/mount-lowe-virtual-tours/lowe-observatory/]  1900 Plat The Warner Observatory on the 1900 Plat Map, at the corner of East Avenue, Strathallen Park, and Arnold Park, next to the 3rd Presbyterian Church.  1910 Plat  1912 Sanborn [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3804rm.g3804rm_g06217191205/?sp=49&st=image&r=0.096,-0.029,0.53,0.326,0]  1926 Plat [[https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116155795¤tIndex=13&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab]  23 Nov 1931, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121410873/democrat-and-chronicle/]  Albert R. Stone [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116696413] The old observatory at last met its demise in 1931.  02 Dec 1931, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121411488/last-chance/]  28 Dec 1931, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121411315/core-of-observatory/]  01 Jan 1932, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121411736/democrat-and-chronicle/]  Google Maps 2023 The present-day appearance of the former site of the Warner Observatory. As for Warner, he could never rebuild his fortune despite numerous attempts in numerous cities. He died in 1923. Updated Map: [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1NpG85iz5pq1OZ1RG14lsq0z_D229RRw&usp=sharing]
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Mar 23, 2023 17:36
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In 1926, during the construction of the church on the corner of Browncroft Boulevard and Winton Road, a stone was placed in the chancel which came from the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, beside the tomb of William Shakespeare and his family. 30 May 1926, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117212295/shakespeare-stone/]  18 Oct 1926, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121615512/st-matthews-episcopal-church/]  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116598356] The negative of the above photo of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on the southeast corner of Atlantic Avenue & Winton Road.  18 Oct 1926, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121615701/stone-to-be-placed/]  [https://www.stratfordsociety.co.uk/files/A-Taste-of-History.pdf] The Chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, the burial place of Shakespeare and several family members. The source above [https://www.stratfordsociety.co.uk/files/A-Taste-of-History.pdf] is really cool, I suggest taking a look at it. I perused the document trying to find any confirmation of a new chancel being constructed in 1926 but was unsuccessful; while some installations were made during the twenties in honor of World War 1 dead in other parts of the church, none seemed to have affected the chancel. I also came up empty on searches of local newspapers in Coventry, UK. Not that I’m doubting anyone, I just like confirmation. In 1964 Rev. Kenneth Urqhart died, leaving St. Matthews Episcopal Church bereft of a full-time priest. The mission, still not financially independent since its inception forty years prior, made the decision to dissolve. The stone’s fate would be mentioned in fretful passing, but after that the trail grew cold.  15 Nov 1965, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121630910/mission-closes/] After this point the church would be a Lutheran church for the deaf, and briefly a Baptist Church, before being purchased by the Holy Name of Mary Church. I have yet to receive any word back from the Holy Name of Mary regarding this stone. The following is an anecdote from a local woman I spoke with via Facebook. Neither empirical evidence nor primary sources are provided. Presented without editing: "I was in the church in 1980s doing a college paper and at that time, the church was Catholic. I saw the stone sitting on a chair in the basement because it was removed from its location. I am not sure what the Catholic church did with the stone. They told it was removed from its location because it was installed in a protestant church and they were Catholic." Whatever happened to the Shakespeare stone? Perhaps I shall never know. Perhaps I’ll find out tomorrow. Who knows? Location on updated map: [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1NpG85iz5pq1OZ1RG14lsq0z_D229RRw&ll=43.16210633003077%2C-77.5449802952858&z=15]
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Mar 26, 2023 02:17
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Brawnfire posted:Stuff about 37 & 39 East Main Street Here we are once again referring back to those old buildings at 37 & 39 East Main Street; the ones with the custom cast-iron fronts embossed with the name J. C. Wilson & Co., Diamonds & Watches. While poking around the Library of Congress site I happened upon an old book called "Ye Citie of Rochester" from a Buffalo, NY printing house. It was filled with sketches of buildings and locations in Rochester, NY in 1888. In said book, I discovered this sketch of East Main Street, facing west from the Main Street bridge, a view I'd seen many times before.  [https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.yecitieofrochest00buff/?sp=37&r=0.125,0.158,0.881,0.541,0] Here, on the left, you can see the buildings 37 & 39 with their familiar cast iron fronts. For reference, that's these buildings:  [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116859353] Now recall this is an 1888 sketch. The 1888 plat map did not indicate any cast iron fronts on the buildings. Which seems to lil ol' me like it suggests the cast iron fronts were installed in the year 1888 itself. Seems like a fair conclusion, right? The third sketch on that page, "Interior Huyler's" shows the interior of a confectionery store whose exterior is portrayed in the larger sketch of East Main Street. 
Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 16:58 on Mar 27, 2023 |
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Mar 27, 2023 05:59
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What the hell is the name of that candy shop?
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Mar 28, 2023 01:44
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Buttchocks posted:What the hell is the name of that candy shop? It really is a terrible name and a very unreadable logo. But somehow, Huyler's used to be the largest producer of chocolates and candies in the United States.  It was founded by John S. Huyler in New York City in 1846 and would continue to grow in size, breadth, and national reach until the company's eventual dissolution in the 1960's.  quote:Mr. Hurley was born in Manhattan in 1846, his father being David Huyler. In 1875 he started the business which proved to be the foundation of his fortune, on Broadway near Eighteenth Street, Manhattan. There it was that he made the announcement of “Huyler’s Taffy. Fresh Every Hour.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huyler%27s] quote:Also in 1885, the first Huyler’s branded store appeared in Buffalo. Operated by local confectioner, John T. Roberts, the Buffalo store opened at 350 Main Street in the heart of the city’s bustling commercial center. Clearly, Huyler’s was positioned as a high-end confectioner, catering more to a wealthy, upper-class clientele with disposable income. Huyler’s candies and chocolates were also available through other non-Huyler’s branded candy stores as well, which increased the market for their product. According to this account, John S. Huyler was a sales genius who made his product stand out by... pulling taffy in the window. That doesn't sound like something that needs innovated, in fact it sounds like a bit of legend that might stick to any candymaker. I guess someone really had to be the first to do it, though. And who could doubt Huyler’s advertising genius? Doesn’t this make you want scads of chocolate bon-bons? 
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Mar 28, 2023 11:57
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Known for their candied moppet heads.
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Mar 28, 2023 23:17
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So I came across an interesting nugget, but so far I've been struggling to find anything more about this. I would love people's thoughts on this: I noticed on an 1851 map of Rochester that the corner of Orange & Grape street had a house on it.  Does this look to y'all like the same house as 1875 without additions? Or is the shape/placement too different to work? For reference: Brawnfire posted:
And what does it say, in your opinion? I immediately see P. Hant, but it could also be P. Hart. Hart makes more sense as a name local to Rochester at this time, if that helps, but I don't want to discount the possibility that there were Hants as well! Anyhow, if I'm able to find out any confirming evidence, this house may have been 165 or more years of age when it was razed in 2016. That is crazy to me.
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Mar 29, 2023 06:01
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Yeah it looks like the original shape is in the middle, with a square added to the left end & right side & a rectangle on the top right. As for the name, my instant thought was T. Hunt, or maybe an I. Hunt; comparing what's written to the lowercase R in S.V.R. Stuart, S. Paterson & Millward it doesn't appear to match. Also curious why the 1851 map doesn't include St. Luke's, considering it had been around for ~25 years at the time.
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Mar 29, 2023 06:21
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Thanks for the response! I wasn't sure if maybe the lower case r was doing weird ligature poo poo because it was next to a t, sometimes they do things like that  oldskool posted:Also curious why the 1851 map doesn't include St. Luke's, considering it had been around for ~25 years at the time. Can you clarify this point? It sounds like you're saying the church had been built in 1826 so as to be present on the 1851 map. However, the church was founded 1863-4, which places it in a position to be absent in 1851 but present in the 1875 map.  [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Churches_of_Rochester/rI0sAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0] (p.116) I may be misunderstanding what you're saying though, I'm very overtired. And hey, apparently John Greenwood was a warden of the church! That's "cool", I didn't know that.
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Mar 29, 2023 06:49
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I'm mixing up my churches, sorry about that! The St. Luke's I was confusing the depicted one with was built in the 1820s, but it's over on Fitzhugh; technically it's the "parent" of the one you've located, as that book indicates the rector of the 1820s St Luke's (Dr. Claxton) being the one who quite literally laid the groundwork (personally laid the cornerstone) of the chapel of the Good Shepherd. I suppose that opens the question of why the 1875 map simply wrote St Luke's on top of it...
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Mar 29, 2023 07:49
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Oh God duh I'm stupid, not sure how I didn't twig to the fact you meant that one since I had just been reading about it while looking up the other one. Yeah, the Fitzhugh one's loving ancient, and was the home church of Nathaniel Rochester for many years. The church stuff can be hard to keep track of, they love to start new named congregations within old denominations then run out of money for their only church. Not saying that's what happened here, but it's common.  [https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Rochester_and_Monroe_County_N/IvssAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0] Edit: Or it's exactly what happened. Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 12:45 on Mar 29, 2023 |
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Mar 29, 2023 11:43
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Well, I can't seem to dredge up any more info on this front (watch it start flowing like a spring when I post this) so take a gander at Sidney Church's rope-walk on Buffalo Street: [https://www.libraryweb.org/~digitized/scrapbooks/RVF_streets_names.pdf] (p.10)  1858 Map [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3803m.la000519/?r=0.799,0.337,0.064,0.039,0]  1858 Map [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3803m.la000519/?r=0.511,0.274,0.059,0.036,0]  Google Maps 2023  19 Jun 1958, Thu [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121884819/rope-walks/] The above article describes the function of a traditional rope-walk. If you’d like to see it in action, this video represents the sort of thing that went on in this cordage manufactory: [https://youtu.be/By8K5mKSwDA]  1832 Map  1851 Plan [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1116704728] The Rope Walk can be seen here next to Halsted Hall, a “hydropathy and motorpathy” clinic run by Hatfield Halsted. Basically, water therapy and physical therapy, for a number of maladies. [https://www.libraryweb.org/~rochhist/v32_1970/v32i4.pdf]   [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Publication_Fund_Series/16QFAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0] (pp.351-352)  1870 [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Rochester_Directory/zF8DAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0]  1875 Atlas [http://photo.libraryweb.org/rochimag/rpm/rpm00/rpm00140.jpg] Labeled as “Cordage Manfy”  1888 Plat [http://photo.libraryweb.org/rochimag/rpm/rpm00/rpm00249.jpg]  18 Apr 1890, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120987368/sidney-church-obituary/] “When Sidney Church died he left his youngest daughter two acres of land between West Avenue and Clifton Street. Starting around 1891, Arvine successfully developed it into Churchlea Place, a middle-class neighborhood that attracted staff of the nearby St. Mary’s Hospital and businessmen from Bull’s Head. She and her mother lived at No. 1. The street is now partially redeveloped as part of the hospital campus, but some of the original houses remain.” [https://www.sally-parker.com/blog/lilys-legacy]  1892 Sanborn [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3804rm.g3804rm_g06217189203/?sp=50&r=0.035,0.375,0.947,0.532,0]  09 Mar 1893, Thu [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121026164/churchley-place/]  1900 Plat [http://photo.libraryweb.org/rochimag/rpm/rpm00/rpm00174.jpg] Updated location on map: [https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1NpG85iz5pq1OZ1RG14lsq0z_D229RRw&ll=43.14948623756467%2C-77.63515106361223&z=18] Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 23:33 on Mar 29, 2023 |
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Mar 29, 2023 19:12
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 https://mcnygenealogy.com/pictures/4800/pic-4868.htm#pict This 1963 Wegmans logo... yikes.
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Apr 2, 2023 03:08
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Better than the old Xerox logo.
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Apr 2, 2023 05:46
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Buttchocks posted:Better than the old Xerox logo. The 90’s xerox logo is an all-timer, though.
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Apr 2, 2023 05:47
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Buttchocks posted:Better than the old Xerox logo. This has a very "canned malt liquor" aesthetic.
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Apr 2, 2023 14:27
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Brawnfire posted:This has a very "canned malt liquor" aesthetic. Reminds me of Toughman V
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Apr 2, 2023 14:30
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Brawnfire posted:
So this was a dumb joke I forgot about until I was reading an article and the name "General Duryea" leapt out at me, and reminded me to look into it. Turns out it's General Abram Duryée, Civil War general and later complete rear end in a top hat fascist police commissioner of New York City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abram_Dury%C3%A9e I get that the past is what it is, but there's something extra weird about naming your car after a Civil War general, no matter how recent those events were
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Apr 4, 2023 21:11
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Brawnfire posted:So this was a dumb joke I forgot about until I was reading an article and the name "General Duryea" leapt out at me, and reminded me to look into it. It's not named after that guy. It's named after the company, which the founders named after themelves.
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Apr 5, 2023 08:51
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Oh wow, well poo poo! I guess I hosed that one up! Thanks, that makes it a fair amount better. ...still sounds like diarrhea, sort of.
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Apr 5, 2023 14:49
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I was happy to see the thread end up on the latest Pragmatica post, so I thought I'd celebrate by randomly posting about Butts. [https://catalogplus.libraryweb.org/?section=resource&resourceid=1650129376] A portrait of Isaac Butts.  [https://archive.org/details/johnbuttshisances00butt/mode/2up  [https://archive.org/details/johnbuttshisances00butt/mode/2up] The Butts coat of arms, as found in “Butts Lineage”. That’s a lot of argent!  [http://photo.libraryweb.org/rochimag/rpm/rpm00/rpm00126.jpg] 1875 Atlas Isaac Butts operated a furniture factory and turning mill off of Aqueduct Street. One can see the bridged-over mill race with exposed pool adjacent to the turning mill. The future Butts Place is just marked “ST.”  1888 Plat [http://photo.libraryweb.org/rochimag/rpm/rpm00/rpm00243.jpg] Much of the area between the aqueduct and is open space at this point.  1900 Plat  [http://libraryweb.org/~digitized/scrapbooks/roch_museum_obits/v_6.pdf] Butts Place had a bridge over the mill raceway that passes under the area:  27 May 1903, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120546950/bridge-over-raceway/]  1910 Plat  07 Aug 1926, Sat [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120545779/extension-of-butts-place/] Butts to be extended.  23 Jul 1957, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121260002/butts-place-replaced/] Butts to be replaced.  23 Jul 1957, Tue [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120546742/butts-place-expected-to-be-widened/] Butts to be widened.  04 Sep 1957, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121248593/filled-in-butts/] Butts to be filled in.  02 Dec 1957, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121248405/warming-hands-on-butts/] Warming hands on Butts.  19 Mar 1958, Wed [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120546053/wrong-way-goes-both-ways/] Butts is wrong way both ways.  01 Dec 1958, Mon [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121248242/named-for-isaac-butts/]  25 Jan 1959, Sun [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120546603/you-can-bank-on-butts/]
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Apr 8, 2023 05:54
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Butts lmao Incidentally I'm starting a volunteer position at my city's archives doing cataloguing stuff like old photos. If I see anything neat I'll maybe write it up.
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Apr 8, 2023 05:56
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Looking forward to it! I love old photos, even if I don't know the people. Sometimes especially then. My mom just got this insane-looking old photo album at a sale recently with embossed metal moon and stars on it, I'll have to get some shots of it. Some great old photos in there.
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Apr 8, 2023 23:28
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Brawnfire posted:
What an unfortunate name. You'd think the family would have changed it to something more respectable. I had to click through to see who the new conductor was. I'd not heard of Theodore Bloomfield. He only lasted four years, '59-'63. The RPO has burned through a lot of conductors over the years. There's even a few missing from the Wikipedia page.
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Apr 9, 2023 03:03
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As you are no doubt aware, the Butts name is one of farternal greatness! Content warning: suicide So I have a bizarre interest in archaic methods of suicide, such as drinking carbolic acid, or opening the gas taps for a nice lie-down. Due to the macabre nature of this line of research, I haven't shared anything in the thread. But I thought this story was weird enough to share, and nobody dies:  29 Jul 1904, Fri [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/122625495/not-carbolic/] Edit: I just realized they misspelled "light footfall" as "light football" lmao Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 02:59 on Apr 11, 2023 |
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Apr 10, 2023 19:22
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Yesterday at the office I received a mysterious phone call telling me not to give a woman in black any poison. It was then I remembered I work in an Agatha Christie novel.
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Apr 11, 2023 01:09
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Buttchocks posted:Yesterday at the office I received a mysterious phone call telling me not to give a woman in black any poison. It was then I remembered I work in an Agatha Christie novel. Are you hiring?
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Apr 11, 2023 05:13
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So I'm having a really weird experience. As I mentioned earlier itt, my mom bought an album at an estate sale because she recognized a surname written on a few of the photos, and confirmed they were relatives of a friend of hers. Cool stuff, her friend is very pleased.  Anyhow, I take a look at this album and immediately recognize two other surnames from researching my own house. A short genealogical research montage set to Blondie later, and it turns out they were family of the people who had lived in my house from the 1920s* to the 1960s. I'm seriously having difficulty grasping the level of coincidence and special knowledge that went into making this discovery and drawing the connection. It makes a city and over a century of its history feel downright small and cozy. Brawnfire has a new favorite as of 16:56 on Apr 11, 2023 |
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Apr 11, 2023 15:52
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That’s very cool, but that journal looks like an item from Diablo and I’m forbidding you to read it until you’re sure it won’t open a portal to hell in Monroe county.
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Apr 12, 2023 07:05
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Can you think of a more fitting spot?
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Apr 12, 2023 14:06
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Brawnfire posted:Can you think of a more fitting spot? Gates
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Apr 12, 2023 17:55
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