1. Central City
This tour is a 4/5 of a mile loop. This section of Rochester, New York, crosses the Genesee River and shows a mix of historic buildings with contemporary office and hotel buildings.
2. Hundred Acre Tract
This tour is a 3/5 of a mile loop. This historic center of Rochester contains government offices and some of our city's oldest structures.
3. High Falls-Browns Race District
Welcome to Kodak's neighborhood, where you will see the early industrial heart of Rochester with the High Falls that made us the Flour City.
4. Southern Gateways
This 3/5 of a mile tour (one way) begins at Rochester’s downtown arena and ends at the Strong Museum, with a view of what was Rochester's famed Erie Canal Aqueduct.
5. East End and Cultural District
This 3/5 mile (one way) tour begins at Rochester's world-renowned Eastman Theatre and Eastman School of Music, visits an in-city residential neighborhood and features the city's vibrant East End.
6. Liberty Pole and City East Loop
This entire tour, including 18 stops, is just under a mile loop, with a visit to a fabulous banking temple, former department store buildings and other reminders of what was Rochester's commercial core.
Neighborhood Walking Tours
Corn Hill
Rochester's oldest residential neighborhood contains some of its most interesting domestic architecture. The buildings in this tour, which can be done as a 1 or 1.5 mile loop, span over 160 years of Rochester's history.
East Avenue Beginnings
Rochester’s aristocratic East Avenue is older than the city itself. In 1911, Brighton town officials hired Orringh Stone and other early settlers to build a road from Brighton to the Genesee River. This walking tour covers a portion of that early road from Alexander Street to Arnold Park. You’ll also take a short detour down Prince Street. The entire tour is one mile.
East Avenue from Arnold Park to the George Eastman House
This walking tour is the second in a series of self-guided leisurely strolls down Rochester’s historic and fashionable East Avenue. This one-mile loop starts and ends at Arnold Park.
Seneca Park
Seneca Park has been called the “jewel on the Genesee,” one of Rochester’s greatest historic treasures. During this approximately one-mile loop (with an optional 3/4 mile extension), you will be amazed at how much wilderness survives so close to home. Even frequent park visitors will be surprised; it's different every season!
Highland Park
Highland Park is one of the oldest public arboretums or "tree gardens" in the United States. We hope you enjoy the walk and some wonderful aromas through the witchazels, honeysuckles, smoketrees, dogwoods and azaleas.
Driving Tours
Charlotte Tour
Settled in late-18th century; a resort in 1874, and having been considered "Coney Island of the North;" Charlotte is a wonderful "village" that boasts charming architecture and a rich history.
Cobblestone Architecture
Cobblestone is a type of construction nearly unique to our area. Of the more than 600 such known buildings, almost 90 percent are located within a 70-mile radius of Rochester, and many of those are in nearby Rochester suburbs on both sides of the Genesee River. This article will help you embark on two cobblestone discovery tours: one in Henrietta and one in the towns of Wheatland and Chili. Please view all of these properties from the public right-of-way.
