The Streets of Rochester

c.1910. This was taken from the upper left window of the Central Fire Station. Altered little, the four buildings on the right side of the street are still there, as are a few of the middle buildings on the left side of the road.

c.1912

This scene gives a good view of south Broadway in the early 20th century. On the sw corner is the Cook Hotel, a Rochester landmark for decades. Built in 1869, it was one of the most opulant hotels in the city. One of its early managers was John Kahler, who later went on to own his own notable hotels, the Kahler and Kahler Grand. In 1947, the upper floors were destroyed by a fire, and in 1949 the building was torn down altogether and a Woolworth's raised on the site. The Woolworth's building can still be found on the corner, going by the name Lanmark.
A little further down the street, roughly beneath the white banner, is the Paine Furniture Co. Paine recently closed its doors after nearly 100 years in business in the same location.
At the end of the street is the towering Central Fire Station. Because of the lack of a bridge over the Zumbro River, Broadway ended at 4th St well into the 20th century.
It is unclear why there is a backwards "Boston Clothing House" label floating in mid-air.

The majority of this scene near Broadway and 2nd St S is now taken up by the Radisson Hotel.

The Cook Hotel, which had burned a few years earlier, was torn down and replaced by the Woolworth's on the left in 1949. The building, heavily remodeled, is now the Lanmark Building and is mostly leased as Mayo Clinic office space. The E.A. Knowlton department store is on the right corner. Later, it was replaced by a Dayton's, and is now a Mayo Clinic office building with a Red Lobster restaurant on the ground floor. From there to the Plummer building, the First State Bank and International Order of Odd Fellows buildings are the only original structures left. Most of the visible buildings on the left side of the street are still there, other than the Congregational Church (barely visible beyond the 201 Building and the Hotel Martin sign), which was demolished in 1963, and the Hotel Martin, which was demolished in 2007. Mayo Clinic's Hilton research building stands in place of the Congregational Church, and the former Hotel Martin is now a parking lot.

Probably around 1955. The most significant changes since the previous photo was taken are the new Mayo Clinic building in the background, and the massive Dayton's store that replaced the E.A. Knowlton department store in 1954.

Here we see First Street SW at approximately Fifth Ave SW, c.1960. The Kahler Hotel is visible in the background, and across from that is the 1914 Mayo Clinic building. Between the Post Office and the Kahler is either the Mayo Clinic annex or a wing of the Damon Hotel. The Damon Hotel burned in 1960, and the Annex became a parking lot.

This is a great shot of a fast-changing period of time in Rochester's history. As unrecognizable as it may be, this is the intersection of 1st Ave SW and 2nd St SW (only 2nd was called Zumbro Street back then, and 1st was Main). The International Order of Odd Fellows building is on the right; the Masonic Temple on the left. This may have been taken during the time prior to 1914 when the Mayo brothers were working out of the Temple building. It's certainly later than 1911, as the Zumbro Hotel (flying the flag) has been fully completed. It's difficult to tell, however, if the 1912 Post Office directly across from the Zumbro has been built yet (it sat back a bit and may be hidden).

This is a unique snapshot in time. The card is postmarked Oct, 1930. The Plummer building had been erected only three years before. The Pierce House, which stood immediately to the north of the Lawler Theatre, moved to its current location in 1928 and in its place was built the Model Laundry, which you see here. The shorter brick building beyond that is the public library, and the white "new" Masonic Temple is across the street from that. The large structure just down the block from the Temple is the Zumbro Hotel. Just visible in the extreme right of the card is the corner of the 1884 City Hall, which would be torn down the next year and replaced by the "new" city hall which stands there now. Barely visible beyond City Hall is the awning of Holland's market, which is now City Cafe and Newt's bar. The two buildings to the far left were razed in 2007, making the surviving 1/3 of the Colonial Hospital (visible in the far background) the only building left from the west side of the street.