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Using These Self-Guided Walking Tours of Downtown Rochester
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From hidden nooks and crannies to eye-catching modern edifices, six downtown walking tours, with photos and maps, will introduce you to Rochester’s past as seen through the best of its historic and contemporary architecture.
Want to know more? Click on Show the Map or Download Tour. The easy-to-follow numbering system on the map corresponds to the numbering
system on the tour pages. Each 3-6 page tour is full of historic and architectural information on a compact, easily walkable section of Rochester's downtown. Now, get out and walk!
About this tour
This tour begins at Rochester’s famed Eastman Theatre and Eastman School of
Music (1) that anchor the city’s cultural district. The tour continues
through Grove Place - downtown Rochester’s tucked away, historic residential
neighborhood - and ends at the Little Theatre (15). Along the way, you’ll
stroll past urban-style restaurants, a bakery, nightclubs, and coffee
shops - all contributors to the ambiance of the city’s vibrant East End.
Historic Highlights: There’s lots of local history on this tour, starting
with the Grove Place area, which two pioneer families settled in the 1840s.
The Grove Place Preservation District contains distinguished 19th century
residential buildings, including the Ward House (6) and the Gibbs Street
townhouses (4). Then, walking along East Avenue, you will retrace the
footsteps of some of Rochester’s earliest pioneers. At the end of this tour,
continue east on the avenue until you come to Alexander Street. This is the
start of the East Avenue Historic District.
Significant Architecture:
A decade of change shows in the classical
architectural styles of the 1922 Eastman Theatre in contrast with the 1930s
Art Deco facades of Hallman’s Chevrolet (14) (now Spot Coffee) and the Little Theatre (15).
Special Notes:
Grove Place is a district on the National Register of Historic
Places. The cluster of buildings on Gibbs and East Avenue is Rochester’s
only potential National Register district whose nomination was vetoed by its
buildings’ owners.
Church: The 1892 Christ Church (12), a National Register building, at 141
East Avenue, 454-3878.
Information about our city can be found at the Greater Rochester Visitors Association, 45 East Avenue, 546-3070.
Eating and Entertainment: Little Theatre Café (15), 2 Vine (14), Spot Coffee (14), Eastman Theatre (1), Kilbourn Hall (1) and more.
Major Employers: Eastman School of Music (1), RG&E (9).
Adjacent Historic District: East Avenue.
Links to Public Sites Eastman School of Music (1), Little Theatre (15),
downtown YMCA.
