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Spotlight On:
Western New York State: Rochester: The Young Lion of the West
By
Ted Curtis
The
coming of the Erie Canal in 1825 made Rochester the nation’s first
boom town, “The Young Lion of the West”.
Rochester flour, ground from Genesee Valley wheat, was world
renowned. “It makes the
finest cakes” said Queen Victoria in 1844, and ordered 4,000 barrels
for her kitchens.
In
September 2000, the opening of the World Canal Conference put
Rochester’s waterways on the map again as a flotilla of 82 boats
proceeded down the river from the Erie Canal crossing in Genesee Valley
Park to the newly completed Corn Hill Landing just south of Downtown
Rochester.
Ten
years ago the Genesee River was hidden from view by a twelve-foot high
flood control wall erected in 1918.
In 1991, the city, working in partnership with the Corn Hill
Waterfront and Navigation Foundation, knocked down 100 feet of the wall
and built a handsome dock for the Sam Patch, a 49 passenger, Nineteenth
Century packet boat replica. The
Foundation had the replica built to bring passengers back to the river
and the canal.
So
successful was this venture that the Canal Corporation chose the Corn
Hill Landing as the site of the Erie Canal Harbor in Rochester, one of
the eight harbors that the Thruway Authority is developing across the
canal system.
The
new dock, which is beautifully designed, constructed and landscaped,
will make Rochester the premier urban destination on the canal. Boats will moor in the shadow of the Rochester skyline and be
only moments away from hotels, restaurants, and attractions in the heart
of downtown Rochester.
In
keeping with the Canal Corporation’s goal of promoting public-private
partnerships, Corn Hill Navigation will build a new 150 passenger tour
boat to be called the Mary Jemison, and Mark IV developers will build
128 units of luxury apartments immediately adjacent to the dock.
Thus,
Rochester returns 175 years later to reclaim its heritage as one of the
most attractive destinations on the newly restored Erie Canal.
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