On a beautiful fall day in late September, I drove into the city of Rochester, NY to visit a park I used to play in as a child. The park is located in the northwest section of the city, west of Lake Avenue, at the junction of Phelps Avenue and Backus Street. My family and I lived on Fulton Avenue, which is a block away from Edgerton Park. My family moved to Greece (a Rochester suburb) when I was 12 years old. Sadly enough, once we moved to Greece, I never went back to the park and this is my first time visiting the park in over 30 years. Interesting experience visiting the park and neighborhood after all these years, and remembering how it used to be. When we lived on Fulton Avenue, the neighborhood wasn't nearly as bad as it is now. In fact, the house we lived in is not even there anymore. Looks like it got demolished and a new house build in its place.
When I was a child, growing up on Fulton Avenue, both my parents worked, so my older brothers looked after me in the summer months and Edgerton Park was somewhat of a daycare center. In the summer, I would spend the entire afternoon at the park, walked home by myself (which is unheard of now), eat supper, then go back to the park for a couple more hours, and walked home, by myself, before it got dark outside.
My first memory of Edgerton Park was when my mom entered me in the Edgerton Park talent show when I was 6 years old. I sung an Italian song that my mom taught me. I have a faint memory of being on stage, singing the song, and people clapping. That experience lead me to my love for music, dancing and the stage. I was a musical theater geek and sang in the chorus at Greece Athena High School.
Below is the stage I sang at, called the Stardust Ballroom, located in the Edgerton Park Recreation Center. Also on this stage, I was in a Christmas play with a bunch of my school friends. I remember I forgot my lines and one of my school friends whispered the lines to me. LOL! I remember playing musical chairs at the Stardust Ballroom, making paper flowers for parade floats and jumping on the trampoline. The ballroom has a balcony and I remember all the kids said it was haunted. This building has a very long history, so, I'm sure the building has a few ghosts roaming around.
The Stardust Ballroom still has an open ballroom dance series that features nostalgic big band music.
Here's the building from the outside.
The stairs below are in the girls restroom in the Edgerton Recreation Center basement, they go up to the Stardust Ballroom. The girls restroom was a popular hangout for girls. I remember sitting on the stairs, and giggling with my school friends. Nothing much has changed here. The girls restroom is pretty much how I remember it.
The tennis courts are still there too, also pretty much how I remember them. Backus Street is a pretty tree-lined street. Back then, the homes were mostly well kept. There was pride in home ownership, which is sorely missing now.
Other childhood memories of Edgerton Park are the playground, arts and crafts, kickball, four square, water slide in the summer (they still have a summer spray park), outside ice skating rink, games, trampoline, after-school girl's club, mother/daughter activities, field trips to Ontario Beach Park. Fun times!
Here's a picture of the Edgerton Park Recreation Center. Remember this building - you'll see it later.
Jefferson High School is also on the Edgerton Park site, so I remember it was always packed with teenagers. Al's Stand, a diner, famous for its lemon ice and steak sandwiches, and a popular teen hangout, is across the street from the park and school. I remember I would often see kids/people bringing food from Al's Stand to eat in the park. Sadly, Al's Stand closed last November, due to the owner having legal problems.
http://rochester.ynn.com/content/news/615303/al-s-stand-serves-its-last-meal/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqjHnjZjQ0o
Below is Al's Stand today - closed and abandoned. There was a time when this place was packed with teens and people and the line would often be out the door. I remember, as a child, wishing I was old enough to hang around the older, cooler high school kids that were always hanging around the diner. Sad to see the diner now in a state of emptiness.
Another fond memory was the Edgerton Library, located at the intersection of Bloss and Backus Streets. The library was located in a wing of a very old building. The library was small, but very quaint. The building was built in 1888, was once a girls dormitory in an institution for male and female juvenile delinquents (child prison). It was called the Western House of Refuge, and later renamed, The State Industrial School. I will discuss the park's history later in the blog.
Here's a picture of the Edgerton Library and the beautiful, old building it was connected too.
Here's another picture of the building. Looks like the workers were taking down the stone wall surrounding the old reform school. Look at the building to the right - it's the Edgerton Recreation Center... still standing today!
Random memories: In front of the Edgerton Recreation Center (facing Backus Street) there used to be a swing set and a sandbox, where I would play with other kids, so, I had a clear view of the library and the beautiful, old building next door. Other than the library, I don't know what the building was used for. I'm assuming it was rooms for rent or apartments. I remember sometimes I would see people going in and out of the building. I loved looking at the old building with all the windows, and wondered what stories it could tell behind those walls. I remember whispers from other kids that girls were being held as prisoners in the basement, so perhaps some kids may have known about it's past life. It's sad that the building was demolished. There is now grass, trees, and a playground where the old building once stood. The city is quick to take down old buildings and not renovate them.
Another memory is the stone monument of Mayor Edgerton (above), whom the park is named after. The monument was facing Backus Street. I don't remember the columns behind the monument, so that must have been taken down before I was born. The monument had benches build in and people could sit and wait for the bus. There was also inscriptions written in the stone wall. Sadly enough, the stone monument was taken down and I don't know what happened to it. The only part that was saved was the sculpted portrait of Mayor Edgerton and it now hangs between elevators in the Edgerton Recreation Center.
The following photo is one of the entrances to the Edgerton Recreation Center. The building was originally built as a chapel for the old Western House of Refuge reform school. I remember sitting on those steps! I'm glad they left this portion of the building untouched because it definitely does looks like an entrance to a chapel.
I looked around the park to see if I could find items depicting the park's history, but only found a few photos posted on a board.
Remembering my childhood memories and my love for the park, I became interested in the park's history and did some research on the site. I discovered Edgerton Park has a fascinating history that spans 167 years. Pretty amazing.
In 1846, New York State created the Western House of Refuge, it was the first institution for the confinement of juvenile delinquents in the United States. It was home to delinquent boys. The institution opened in 1849 with rooms for 50 juveniles. In 1875, it was decided that girls could be housed there as well. So, the institution kept getting bigger and bigger, with more and more buildings being added to the site.
In 1884, the site was under investigation by the New York State Assembly. The institution was criticized for its harsh punishments, contract child labor system, and lack of schooling. Because of the investigation, many reforms took place and corporate punishments and contract child labor was immediately abolished by 1893. Real schooling was established at the site, and the child inmates, in addition to their regular classes, were taught trades, such as carpentry and bricklaying. In 1886, the biggest change came when the Western House of Refuge changed its name to the State Industrial School.
Here's a photograph of the entrance to the State Industrial School (formerly the Western House of Refuge). Look at the building on the left, it's the school's chapel. Remember the Edgerton Recreation Center? There it is, still standing today.
Despite adding new buildings to the site, the state decided to move the school to a more rural setting in Rush, New York. The school abandoned the site in 1907. The city of Rochester bought the site in 1911 and renamed it Exposition Park. The city remodeled some of the school's existing buildings, demolished some buildings, and added some buildings.
Exposition Park was used for large events, such as the annual Rochester Exposition, which included agricultural exhibits, concerts, baby contests, horse shows, auto shows, and parades. The park also housed a zoo, museum, and library.
A 1932 poster advertising the Rochester Exposition. Looks like the Exposition centered on patriotic holidays.
Horse show photo from 1912.
On to the inside of the Edgerton Recreation Center (below). Entering the building's basement, I see columns with street names written on them and I see Fulton - the street my family and I used to live on. Cool! To the right, where you see the red wall, is the room where we did arts and crafts projects. I peeked inside the glass and the room is now divided into an office and exercise equipment room. To the left of the room, in the darkened area, there used to be game tables - ping pong and a pool table. There is now exercise equipment in the area. Further left is the historic Edgerton Model Railroad Room. The Model Railroad Room was doing tours on the day of my visit, so that was pretty neat. Had an interesting conversation with one of the railroad club members who also started coming to the park as a child and his dad got him involved in the railroad club. Here's a few of the Model Railroad Room websites:
http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589942175
http://www.edgertonmodelrailroadclub.com/
http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589942175
http://www.edgertonmodelrailroadclub.com/
Fulton Avenue
There was a small group of kids/adults at the Model Railroad tour on the day of my visit. It's really a cool place to visit. I definitely recommend it. Christmas time is when they get tons of people taking the tour.
This is the entrance to the train room that I remember as a child.
Misc. photos I took of the train layouts. Each layout has its own season - Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. Winter was the best.
I imagine the Kodak trains will someday be worth lots of money. HAHA!
I looked around the park to see if I could find items depicting the park's history, but only found a few photos posted on a board.
Remembering my childhood memories and my love for the park, I became interested in the park's history and did some research on the site. I discovered Edgerton Park has a fascinating history that spans 167 years. Pretty amazing.
In 1846, New York State created the Western House of Refuge, it was the first institution for the confinement of juvenile delinquents in the United States. It was home to delinquent boys. The institution opened in 1849 with rooms for 50 juveniles. In 1875, it was decided that girls could be housed there as well. So, the institution kept getting bigger and bigger, with more and more buildings being added to the site.
In 1884, the site was under investigation by the New York State Assembly. The institution was criticized for its harsh punishments, contract child labor system, and lack of schooling. Because of the investigation, many reforms took place and corporate punishments and contract child labor was immediately abolished by 1893. Real schooling was established at the site, and the child inmates, in addition to their regular classes, were taught trades, such as carpentry and bricklaying. In 1886, the biggest change came when the Western House of Refuge changed its name to the State Industrial School.
Here's a photograph of the entrance to the State Industrial School (formerly the Western House of Refuge). Look at the building on the left, it's the school's chapel. Remember the Edgerton Recreation Center? There it is, still standing today.
Despite adding new buildings to the site, the state decided to move the school to a more rural setting in Rush, New York. The school abandoned the site in 1907. The city of Rochester bought the site in 1911 and renamed it Exposition Park. The city remodeled some of the school's existing buildings, demolished some buildings, and added some buildings.
Exposition Park was used for large events, such as the annual Rochester Exposition, which included agricultural exhibits, concerts, baby contests, horse shows, auto shows, and parades. The park also housed a zoo, museum, and library.
A 1932 poster advertising the Rochester Exposition. Looks like the Exposition centered on patriotic holidays.
A photo of a concert and bandstand. A very odd looking structure.
Baby show photos from 1926.
Bear kissing the zookeeper from 1914.
Horse show photo from 1912.
Car show from 1926.
A 1921 exhibit on fruit diseases and injurious insects.
Art show from 1912.
Huge crowds were the norm at the annual event.
Looks like Exposition Park was clearly the heart of the city and a happy, fun place. Perhaps, the first Monroe County Fair/museum/art gallery/zoo/library/sports arena, all in one central location. In those days, people could probably take the streetcar, or the subway to get to the park.
In 1922, Mayor Edgerton died and the park was renamed in his honor. The Rochester Expo faded away after World War II.
During the late 1940's and 1950's, the drill hall, which was part of the old reform school, was converted into a 4,200 seat indoor sports arena, called The Edgerton Park Arena. The Edgerton Park Arena was the home of the early NBA's Rochester Royals, from 1945 to 1955. The Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) won the NBA championship in Game 7 of the 1950-51 season.
http://www.nba.com/encyclopedia/rochester_royals_1951.html.
In the 1940's, the arena also hosted dances by the Glenn Miller Orchestra and cowboy star Gene Autry. The arena was demolished in the late 1950's.
In 1950, the historic Edgerton Model Railroad Room was launched in the basement of the Edgerton Community Center. It was built by the Police Athletic League as a way to reach out to youth. The city took over the management in 1961, along with the help of volunteers. It still stands today conducting public tours.
When the Rochester Expo faded away, and the buildings of the original Western House of Refuge/State Industrial School fell into disrepair, the buildings were demolished rather than renovate them. The only surviving building is the Edgerton Recreation Center, (formerly the school's chapel).
Today Edgerton Park is a neighborhood park, playground, athletic fields, a water spray park, the Stardust Ballroom (where dances are still held), the Model Railroad Room (where tours are still held), but gone are the days of huge crowds - no more exhibitions, horse shows, baby contests, or NBA's Rochester Royals basketball games. It's pretty quiet now and the only sounds on the day of my visit was a small group of boys playing basketball. The neighborhood is a lot more poorer and the houses a lot more shabbier than how I remember them. It seems sad to me now that people (my own parents) abandoned the city and moved to the suburbs. I can honestly say, I have wonderful childhood memories of playing in the park and growing up in the city.
Hard to imagine a park where children laugh and play was once a place where children only knew drudgery, and hopelessness. I would suspect Mayor Edgerton had pride in transforming the site into a park and bringing joy into many people's lives.
The city could be doing so much more to promote the park and the amazing history of the location. It's a shame all the old buildings were taken down because the site could have been an historical museum. Perhaps a museum is not that far-fetched an idea for a place that had so many lives and captured history. Perhaps someone out there has the same vision that Mayor Edergton had for the city.
I love Edgerton Park - a big part of my childhood. Thank you Edgerton Park for bringing fun and joy into my life and to countless others. Loved my visit and I will be back again.
http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/rochimag/architecture/LostRochester/WesternHouse/WesternHouse.htm
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