Using These Self-Guided Walking Tours of Downtown Rochester

Welcome to Corn Hill, the heart of Rochester’s oldest residential neighborhood, once known as the Third Ward. Protected by the Genesee River to the east, the Erie Canal (which followed the present route of Broad Street), and the Genesee Valley Canal (now Ford Street), the area offered early 19th century Rochesterians the same advantages residents of this sheltered, yet very urban, neighborhood enjoy today.

Millers and merchants built impressive homes during Rochester’s first growth after the building of the Erie Canal (1820s and 30s) while real estate investors built more modest dwellings for sale or rent to the city’s booming population. Scottish immigrants’ influence is still reflected in the neighborhood street names of “Greig,” “Edinburgh,” and “Glasgow,” and former slaves settled over the hill along Clarissa Street.

The neighborhood was first known by its political designation as the Third Ward, but as earlier cottages were replaced by more substantial dwellings in later architectural styles, Rochesterians dubbed it the “Ruffled Shirt Ward” or the “Silk Stocking District.” Known for its architectural diversity and sense of style, the old Third Ward was also favored for its congeniality and commitment to improving life in the city.

Changes accelerated in the 20th century and as decades passed, the neighborhood began to experience a decline, hastened after World War II by the general population exodus to the suburbs. By the early 1960s, highway and Civic Center construction had claimed many irreplaceable landmarks, and urban renewal threatened to take what was left.

Faced with the loss of large swaths of the neighborhood, the Landmark Society joined forces with residents to preserve the architectural legacy that remained through a combination of educational activities and political advocacy. These efforts helped turn a threatened neighborhood into the city’s greatest example of large-scale historic preservation. Beginning in the 1980s, new residences, designed to be compatible with the scale and character of historic streetscapes, began to fill in areas cleared decades earlier during urban renewal campaigns, breathing new life into this dynamic section of the city.

This self-guided tour offers an introduction to Corn Hill’s diverse architectural heritage, from the oldest building in the neighborhood to some of the newest.

The tour can be taken as either a 1-mile or 1.6-mile loop.

The tour begins at the Campbell-Whittlesey House Museum at 131 S. Fitzhugh Street, just south of the Inner Loop expressway.

1. The Campbell-Whittlesey House, 131 S. Fitzhugh Street

   A nationally significant example of Greek Revival architecture, the Campbell-Whittlesey House has been restored by the Landmark Society as a museum for learning about urban life in the 19th century. The house was built in 1835-36, when Rochester was an Erie Canal boomtown, for merchant and flour miller Benjamin Campbell and his wife Sophronia Campbell. On the Fitzhugh Street side of the building, the large bracket over the door to the left is a particularly unusual feature. The museum is open to the public for visitation on Thursday and Friday afternoons from noon to 3:00 p.m., or contact the Landmark Society to arrange a group tour at another time.

2. The Hoyt-Potter House, 133 S. Fitzhugh Street

   The Greek Revival-style Hoyt-Potter House (1840) was built by David Hoyt, a bookseller. It was acquired in 1850 by Western Union Telegraph president Henry Potter, whose family lived here over 50 years. In the mid-20th century, it stood vacant and derelict, deliberately abandoned by an owner who wanted to tear it down to create a parking lot. The house survived a suspicious fire, vandalism, and exposure to the elements; after 20 years of neglect, the city declared it a hazard, and took it via eimnent domain in order to ensure its preservation. Developers purchased and restored the house, and sold it to the Landmark Society in 1991. Today it serves as the Landmark Society's headquarters and offices of the Corn Hill Neighbors Association.

3. 138 S. Fitzhugh Street

   Typical of the smaller houses of the time, this 1852 building is enhanced by its fine ironwork. Its first owner was a foundry bookkeeper and stove manufacturer named Elijah Bottum. Subsequent owners included a minister, an architect, a chemist, and a professor. The oval plaque at the peak of the gable is a fire plaque, a relic of an era before municipal fire departments were established. Homeowners paid private companies for fire protection; the companies provided plaques so that their firefighters would know which houses to save.

4. 144 S. Fitzhugh Street

   The Italianate-style Hayden House (1850s) – part of a row of similarly styled houses - was built by Rochester mayor and furniture manufacturer Charles Hayden. Note the unusual porch columns, which show Egyptian influence. Vacated in 1970 after a serious fire, the house was restored in 1982-83.

5. 149 S. Fitzhugh Street

   Pointed arches, multiple gables, and sophisticated design characterize this elegant c. 1870 house, the only example of a formal Gothic Revival house in the Third Ward. Vacant for over a decade, it was restored in the late 1970s.

   Continue to the next intersection, and turn right onto South Plymouth Avenue.

6. 275 South Plymouth Avenue

   The original house on this site was built in the 1880s. It was dramatically remodeled in 1919 when the third floor, rear wing, and three-story portico were added, changing it from a single-family house to an apartment building. The building now reflects the Classical Revival style, an early-20th century movement that recycled many classical details.

7. 263 South Plymouth Avenue

   The Amon Bronson House (1844) is one of the most distinctive in the region. Few Greek Revival designs included curved features such as this bowed front, which recalls Boston architecture.

8. 249 South Plymouth Avenue

   The Churchill House (1848) was built by William Churchill, a mason and architect. The classical porch columns are Greek Revival in character, while the house suggests the emerging Italianate style.

   At the next intersection, turn left onto Atkinson Street.

9. 15, 17, and 21 Atkinson Street

   The houses at 15, 17, and 21 Atkinson Street form a pleasant grouping of similar, modest Greek Revival houses. The house at #17 was built for Henry Shaw, a wealthy St. Louis fur trader, and has been carefully maintained through its long history. The house at #21 was neglected for years before its renovation in the 1970s. Clues to the Greek Revival style are most easily seen in the treatment of the roof: a shallow roof pitch, deep cornice, low frieze windows beneath the eaves, and distinctive gable returns (where the roofline appears to "turn" to form a partial triangle shape at the gable ends of the building) are all characteristics of the style.

10. 20 Atkinson Street

    Nicknamed the "Taj Mahal" by neighbors, this handsome brick house underwent major rehabilitation in the late 1970s. The Italianate-style building was constructed in the 1860s by A.M. Badger, a local tool manufacturer.

11. 42 Atkinson Street

    This house was built about 1860 by Isaac Loomis, one of Rochester’s earliest builder/architects. Originally his home, it is a rare example of a Gothic Revival cottage. The decorative bargeboard, which ornaments the gable end of the roof, clearly sets the house apart from its more austere Greek Revival neighbors.

    Turn right onto Greenwood Street, and be careful on the narrow sidewalks.

12. Greenwood Street

    A stroll down tiny Greenwood Street is like a voyage back in time. This one-block-long street is one of the finest examples of a 19-century working-class neighborhood, and has no major 20th or 21st century intrusions to disrupt its historic appearance. Real-estate speculators built these houses, fitting as many houses as they could onto very small lots. Despite their diminutive size, the houses have many notable details. Fine examples of the Greek Revival style can be seen at Nos. 15, 14, 10, and 4, while No. 16 is an example of the later, more whimsical Eastlake style. The house at No. 9 has the only carriage house on the street. The owner may have been a dairyman or iceman who used a horse for his work, as few people living on this street would have been wealthy enough to own a horse for personal transportation.

    At the end of Greenwood Street, look straight ahead.

13. 114-116 Troup Street

    A rare example of early row housing, this building was constructed in 1870 when land in the Third Ward was at a premium. The mansard roof and raised basement add interest to this handsome building.

    Turn left onto Troup Street.

14. 118 Troup Street

    Built in the 1860s by Dr. Azel Backus, this distinctive mid-19th century house was occupied by physicians for over 40 years. It features Eastlake gable trim and Italianate detailing.

15. 129 Troup Street

    Bracketed porch posts and elaborate gable trim decorate this Eastlake-style house, which was constructed about 1880.

16. Hervey Ely House, 138 Troup Street

    This prominent Greek Revival "temple-style" house was built in 1837 by Hervey Ely, a local flour miller. It is considered to be one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in western New York State. Ely lost his wealth and had to sell the house, which was owned by several wealthy and prominent Rochesterians before its purchase in 1920 by the Irondequoit chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

17. 139 Troup Street

    The site next door to this house, where garden apartments now stand, was once the location of one of Rochester’s most extravagant houses. The Kimball Mansion, home of tobacco magnate William S. Kimball, exemplified the opulence and eclecticism of the Gilded Age. Kimball’s daughter, Cecelia, lived in the house at 139 after her marriage to George C. Gordon. The house later became Knorr Sanitarium, and is still a health-related facility.

    Turn left onto Eagle Street.

18. 16 Eagle Street

    This ca. 1851 house is typical of the modest homes that 19th-century craftsmen built on the smaller side streets in the Third Ward.

19. 53 Atkinson Street

    William Rhoades, a shoemaker, built this house in 1869 and lived here until 1884 when he built the smaller house on the rear of the lot. Restored in 1970, the house and garden are surrounded by iron fencing from Mt. Hope Cemetery.

    Turn right on Atkinson Street.

20. 79 Atkinson Street

    Built in 1894, this Queen Anne house replaced an earlier Greek Revival cottage located on this site. The present house was built by Anthony Miller, a local businessman whose family resided here for over 90 years.

21. 345 Clarissa Street

    Pre-revolutionary houses (Colonial in the strict sense) do not exist in the Rochester area, as the first European settlers arrived after the Revolutionary War. By the early 19th century, when Rochesterville was established, the Federal (or Post-Colonial) style was in vogue. The only surviving example of the Federal style house in the Third Ward, the house at 345 Clarissa Street was moved to its present site by 1851. The Federal style was characterized by lightness, symmetry, and tall proportions. Special attention was given to the entranceway, which often included a fan window, side windows, and small columned porch. Additions in the 1860s enlarged the house to its current size.

    Turn left onto Clarissa Street.

22. Mt. Olivet Baptist Church

    Mt. Olivet Baptist Church was organized in 1910, and the congregation built its first building on this site between 1912 and 1915. That building was replaced by a second church, begun in 1923 and dedicated in 1927. Today the 1927 sanctuary remains part of the church complex, but a state-of-the-art sanctuary dedicated in 1999 is the main worship space for this thriving congregation.

    Continue to Adams Street, and turn left.

23. 101 Adams Street

    Relocated here from Troup St. in 1980, this carefully restored Queen Anne house features patterned clapboards and delicately turned spindles that are characteristic of 1880s architecture.

24. 97 Adams Street

    A designated City of Rochester Landmark, this imposing brick house is an outstanding example of the Second Empire style, embellished with a slate roof, cast iron cresting, brackets, and an imposing tower. The house was completed in 1872 by businessman Jacob Irwin and it remained in his family through the 1930s. Subsequently, in the 1950s, it became apartments for R.I.T. students, before its initial rehabilitation in the 1960s as part of a Landmark Society demonstration project. During the past two decades, the present owner has completed the meticulous restoration of both interior and exterior features, including extensive copper, slate, plaster, and woodwork repairs.

25. Nathaniel Rochester Community School No. 3

    The first School No. 3 was built in 1820, facing Tremont Street, when Rochester was only a village, and was rebuilt in 1840 and again in 1912. The present building was constructed on almost the same site but faces Adams Street. It was constructed using precast concrete exterior wall panels on a structural steel frame, and was completed in 1976. The school was named after Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, founder of the city.

    To continue the tour, about 1/2 more mile, continue to Frederick Douglass Boulevard, and turn right. If you prefer to end your tour, continue past Frederick Douglass Boulevard to South Fitzhugh Street and turn left; continue 0.1 mile to the Campbell-Whittlesey House.

26. Frederick Douglass Boulevard/Corn Hill Commons

    Frederick Douglass Boulevard was part of South Plymouth Avenue until the 1960s, when the Third Ward Urban Renewal plan created a new street pattern. This section of the street was renamed in 1980 in honor of the great abolitionist leader. The east side of the street is now lined by part of Corn Hill Commons, a major redevelopment project constructed in the 1980s on 12 acres cleared through urban renewal. The project consisted of 120 townhouses, 38 single-family houses, and 32 apartments, all designed by Roger Brown of Barkstrom and LaCroix to harmonize with the historic architecture while taking on a distinctly modern appearance. The success of the project inspired other developers to construct new housing in the Third Ward in the 1980s, a trend that contributed greatly to the revitalization of the neighborhood.

    The route takes you counterclockwise around Lunsford Circle.

27. 407 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

    The Cady-Cody House (1839) is a stucco-over-brick Greek Revival residence that was built by Col. Henry Cady, the engineer for the second Erie Canal aqueduct.

28. Former Corn Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, 144-150 Edinburgh Street

    The red Medina sandstone outer walls of this church are what remains of the Richardsonian Romanesque-style exterior of Corn Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, built in 1900. Due to declining membership, the United Methodist denomination donated the building to the African Methodist Episcopal denomination in 1969. Several suspicious fires damaged the building in 1970-71; after the last and most disastrous fire in August 1971, the handful of members left in the congregation banded together to build a new sanctuary within the surviving sandstone walls. The building now houses the End Time Deliverance Miracle Ministry.

29. Immaculate Conception Church

    Immaculate Conception Church was founded by Irish immigrants in 1849. The main building, built in a modified Romanesque style, dates to 1864-72, although it was seriously damaged in an 1872 fire. Since then, the church has lost a spire on its north tower and gained an entrance portico on the east façade. The major windows date to the twentieth century; the main windows, of richly colored stained glass from Germany, were installed in 1923, followed by the blue rose windows and three lancet windows behind the organ, all made by Rochester’s Pike Stained Glass Studio in the 1950s.

30. 47-57 Glasgow Street

    This 1880s building was constructed by William Knight, a real estate promoter, and is the only surviving example of 19th-century brick row houses in the Third Ward.

31. Lunsford Park

    Lunsford Park was laid out in 1837 and was called "Caledonia Square," reflecting the heritage of the predominantly Scottish immigrants who settled in the area. The park was later known as "Plymouth Park," as Plymouth Avenue ran north and south from the circle. Its current name dates to 1986, when it was rededicated in honor of Dr. Charles Lunsford, one of Rochester’s first African-American physicians. The gazebo dates to the 1880s, and originally stood in the garden of the Redemptorist Fathers next to St. Joseph Church in downtown Rochester. It was moved here in 1979, a few years after St. Joseph’s Church was destroyed in a fire.

    Continue around Lunsford Circle and turn right on Edinburgh Street.

32. Corn Hill Commons – Alley

    As you head east on Edinburgh Street, look to the left along an alley lined by garages. Every unit in Corn Hill Commons has its own garage; the decision to locate these garages along mid-block alleys rather than the main streets has helped the modern housing to blend with historic houses built before the automobile age.

    At the end of Edinburgh Street, turn left on South Fitzhugh Street; continue north to return to the Campbell-Whittlesey House.

Visit Corn Hill Neighbors

This tour is adapted from the brochure, "A Walking Tour of Corn Hill," produced by the Landmark Society of Western New York. Original text by Cynthia Howk and Ann Salter. Drawings by Ray Nau.