Wilmot Rd in Brighton. This video was a joy for me. I haven't thought about "the clock" in years. It was a huge tourist attraction. And I love the song!
Love this! Grew up on Glide St. in the 60s. Downtown, Midtown Plaza, Pittsford Plaza...and yes, we dressed up when we went there! A visit to Lolly Pop Farm to pet the animals was a treat. Pittsford Plaza was an hour drive from NW Rochester in those days! We shopped at Ridgemont, Northgate and Lyell/Mt Read and smaller plazas in the NW. I'd love to go back to those simpler times. I'm going to make sure my son (19yrs old) watches this video! Thanks for the memories!
I was there to visit family about thirteen years ago. My cousin wisely issued us handguns for a sightseeing jaunt through the old neighborhood near the old Delco factory off Lyle Ave. We grew up on the corner of Orchard and Lime Streets. Used to walk down to my Grandparent's house on Whitney St. Some lady recently got shot and killed on the steps of the same house, now long-since boarded up. Yes, we packed heat, and in broad daylight. Damned shame what "they" have done to a once-charming city.
@lazyriver2 Who exactly is "they" ? Why not express yourself? I guess it's the same courage you had when you "were issued handguns" to walk through Rochester. Paranoia is paralyzing. Get socially educated & understand that the times have changed - not the area. Times always change & that makes it feel like areas have changed. It's part of evolution, but all people are fully evolved. Sop whining & blaming those not like you. Your time may have come - & gone. "They" or we - are in power now.
WOW, I didn't know such a video existed and can't wait to send it to all my Rochester friends and relatives. How awesome to go back in time and see all the places near and dear to my heart. My family left Rochester in 1964, moved to southern CAL and I moved to Missouri in 1980 but will never forget Rochester, my home town.
My favorite trips were to Lollipop Farm to feed the deer, look at the new puppies and stop at Meizenzals (sp?) Dairy for an ice cream on the way home. It always seemed like the longest drive from Henrietta to Greece. Got the best dog ever at Lollipop when I was 9 and my parents had her until I was married and had my own kids. And downtown - God what memories.
wow.. loved it.. brought back memories. Have been in Florida for 14 years. Graduated from Monroe HIgh.. in the 60's .Grew up in the Winto/HIghland Ave area.. and loved the parks. Cobbs Hill, skating, Lilacs at Highland Park, going to the beach, Don and Bob's, etc etc. So sad the city has changed so much.
I was born and raised in Rochester. I live in California now, but I look forward to our annual pilgrimage back to the Rochester area every summer. Downtown has clearly suffered, but seems to be making a comeback now. The Finger Lakes are as beautiful as ever. Wegmans is the envy of the supermarket world (people in CA even know about it now). Several of my friends from high school who left Rochester after college have since returned to raise their families. It's still a wonderful place!
Thank-you for the video....This is the hometown I grew up in, just the way I remember it.....have been back a few times and my has it changed-sad to see a place die the way it has
Downtown Rochester isn't what it used to be, but there are parts that are getting better. Ever since Kodak committed corporate suicide by being too stupid to adapt, downtown has languished. Still a good place to live - and the only place to get a real Nick Tahou's garbage plate.
I grew up in Rochester on Culver Rd. across from Cobbs Hill Park. To bad no pics of that as it was beautiful at Lilac time! I left in 1974 and was shocked when I went back a few years ago to visit. What a shame. Charlotte beach vacant, bath house empty, etc. I remember my brother and I taking a bus (with a single transfer) from our house to the Rochester Zoo during the summer and making a day of it. We were 12 and 10 and it was safe! What a change. Sad.
I grew up in Rochester and was back last year, just as Midtown Plaza was set to be demolished. I recall te wonder of the new shopping center, and especially the clock, which I was able to see at the airport. Wonderfully evokative film!
Born and raised in Rochester. Left at 17 after a decade of hauling coal ashes up from the basement to spread on the icy sidewalk in front of the house on Nichols Street. Worked on the NYS Throughway driving a pickup truck right after I turned 16. Graduated from UofA in Tucson, joined Navy, now living in Orange County California.Thanks for the memories.
Brought back lots of great memories. I, too, had the muffler, hat tied under the chin and watched as my Santa Claus balloon got away from me at Sibley's even though my mother insisted on tying it to my wrist..served me right! Was a big deal to take the bus downtown and go shopping with my friend, Kathy and no one bothered you at 14. Schaller's great friends, lots of fun and great place to grow up. Thanks for sharing!
This is the Rochester that i will always remember. I grew up in Irondequoit, raised my family in Pittsford and get back every year. My father and brother owned the Peanut shop on Main and Clinton. I worked there during my college years. Things have changed, it's really sad how crime has devestated this beautiful city.
This was fun to watch. So many memories. And, as one of the other commentors said, you can never forget the smell of the peanut shop at Main and Clinton. My girlfriend's mom worked there. I drove through Main St last week and found it horrifying. What decent business would ever think of opening there? Very sad.
Well, Rochester is just another rust belt city undergoing changes. Nothing like Youngstown, Ohio. And it is still one (if you look at the population) smart city. Bunch of good colleges. And very close to a more intelligent country.
Thank you for the link; I can smell the air downtown! Woolworth's, the peanut shop on the corner of Clinton and Main, Sibley's, Edward's dept. stores. Great memories there where I grew up.:)
OMG! I grew up in Rochester - Gates. Mom always took me downtown to the midtown mall @ Xmas...Sibleys Edwards Woolworths. All spectacular during the holidays! When I saw Lollipop Farm I almost cried - went there all the time as a kid! Went back Nov 2010 for a 35 year class reunion and it was so different...saw the clock at at the airport ...memories...moved away in 77...
no doubt at all, growing up in the 50's and 60's in Rochester was a thing of beauty, and I was quite poor...since then it seems the coffee got better and the doughnuts became junk
nothing like that now. i don't even dare go downtown. it did have the honor of being the city with the highest murder rate in the U.S. one year not that long ago. bummer to see the city degrade to what it is today. my aunt took me to midtown a few times when i was a kit. always got a kick out of the parking garage underground.
Great song! I'd seen Slipton Fell several times back in the 80s.
I've seen this video on WXXI several times. It's from a 60s "info-mercial" that promotes Rochester. It's hilarious to watch now. Midtown Plaza (America's first indoor mall) is gone, soon to be the corporate HQ of Paetec, who is raking the city over the coals with it's demands.
The famous clock is temporarily at the airport, and should be moving to the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong Memorial.
Enjoyed this video. I also grew up in Rochester; I moved away in 1984 but I try to go back to visit at least once a year. My grandma, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 102, worked at the Edwards store shown in the video. She'd take me 'downtown' to buy clothes for me; she'd take me 'downtown' during Christmas when I was little also. Wonderful memories! She'd have me dress up, which included a little 'muffler' (for my hands), hat that tied under the chin and a matching scarf. I miss her.
Nice vid, looks sort of like a comercial for 1963-something GM products, I never remembered all those mega-clean and rust free cars back then. And the blue skies!
Great song and video, I too grew up in Rochester, good place to grow up, left at 17 yrs old in 1955, joined the Army (stayed 2o yrs) never moved back. Visited a half dozen times or so, it sure has changed.
Thank you, good memories..
bingo1608 6 months ago
Tears, man. Good stuff.
Jinshiro 7 months ago
Oh, can't even describe feel watching this - my Dad had that same year Chevy.Midtown is all gone now - all gone.
spazie123 9 months ago
One of the best videos I've seen on YT! Good song too.
MANHATTANBEEFMAN 10 months ago
Thank you for posting this! You can still see the clock. It is at the airport now....
stonel1957 11 months ago
Wilmot Rd in Brighton. This video was a joy for me. I haven't thought about "the clock" in years. It was a huge tourist attraction. And I love the song!
lauriedickey 11 months ago
Digging those shots of Pittsford Plaza. I kinda wish A&P was still in Rochester.
carpetbomberz 11 months ago
WOW!!!! LOVE it Lisa... Where did you ever find it?
souladdictred 11 months ago
This was great! Loved to see the way things used to be here in the Rochester area! Simpler times, very nice trip down memory lane. Nice song, too.
Barbvid9 11 months ago
Love this! Grew up on Glide St. in the 60s. Downtown, Midtown Plaza, Pittsford Plaza...and yes, we dressed up when we went there! A visit to Lolly Pop Farm to pet the animals was a treat. Pittsford Plaza was an hour drive from NW Rochester in those days! We shopped at Ridgemont, Northgate and Lyell/Mt Read and smaller plazas in the NW. I'd love to go back to those simpler times. I'm going to make sure my son (19yrs old) watches this video! Thanks for the memories!
ericjzecc 11 months ago
Do a search on YouTube of "Rochester: A City of Quality (1963)" and see the original movie from which the footage was taken (it will be in 3 parts).
alanrivaldo 11 months ago
Comment removed
alanrivaldo 11 months ago
I was there to visit family about thirteen years ago. My cousin wisely issued us handguns for a sightseeing jaunt through the old neighborhood near the old Delco factory off Lyle Ave. We grew up on the corner of Orchard and Lime Streets. Used to walk down to my Grandparent's house on Whitney St. Some lady recently got shot and killed on the steps of the same house, now long-since boarded up. Yes, we packed heat, and in broad daylight. Damned shame what "they" have done to a once-charming city.
lazyriver2 11 months ago
@lazyriver2 Who exactly is "they" ? Why not express yourself? I guess it's the same courage you had when you "were issued handguns" to walk through Rochester. Paranoia is paralyzing. Get socially educated & understand that the times have changed - not the area. Times always change & that makes it feel like areas have changed. It's part of evolution, but all people are fully evolved. Sop whining & blaming those not like you. Your time may have come - & gone. "They" or we - are in power now.
koolzeum 11 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
'they' would be 'we'.
plap17 11 months ago
Comment removed
plap17 11 months ago
WOW, I didn't know such a video existed and can't wait to send it to all my Rochester friends and relatives. How awesome to go back in time and see all the places near and dear to my heart. My family left Rochester in 1964, moved to southern CAL and I moved to Missouri in 1980 but will never forget Rochester, my home town.
Sharoncat2008 11 months ago
what year was this song written?
jayamiller 11 months ago
@jayamiller It says copywrite date of 1977, maybe that's it?
rpowarz 11 months ago
My favorite trips were to Lollipop Farm to feed the deer, look at the new puppies and stop at Meizenzals (sp?) Dairy for an ice cream on the way home. It always seemed like the longest drive from Henrietta to Greece. Got the best dog ever at Lollipop when I was 9 and my parents had her until I was married and had my own kids. And downtown - God what memories.
pobrien258 11 months ago
wow.. loved it.. brought back memories. Have been in Florida for 14 years. Graduated from Monroe HIgh.. in the 60's .Grew up in the Winto/HIghland Ave area.. and loved the parks. Cobbs Hill, skating, Lilacs at Highland Park, going to the beach, Don and Bob's, etc etc. So sad the city has changed so much.
724sjm 11 months ago
I was born and raised in Rochester. I live in California now, but I look forward to our annual pilgrimage back to the Rochester area every summer. Downtown has clearly suffered, but seems to be making a comeback now. The Finger Lakes are as beautiful as ever. Wegmans is the envy of the supermarket world (people in CA even know about it now). Several of my friends from high school who left Rochester after college have since returned to raise their families. It's still a wonderful place!
seekbim 11 months ago
Thanks for the memories.
RB1US 11 months ago
Thank-you for the video....This is the hometown I grew up in, just the way I remember it.....have been back a few times and my has it changed-sad to see a place die the way it has
Spuddleducks 11 months ago
Downtown Rochester isn't what it used to be, but there are parts that are getting better. Ever since Kodak committed corporate suicide by being too stupid to adapt, downtown has languished. Still a good place to live - and the only place to get a real Nick Tahou's garbage plate.
djfelttip 11 months ago
I grew up in Rochester on Culver Rd. across from Cobbs Hill Park. To bad no pics of that as it was beautiful at Lilac time! I left in 1974 and was shocked when I went back a few years ago to visit. What a shame. Charlotte beach vacant, bath house empty, etc. I remember my brother and I taking a bus (with a single transfer) from our house to the Rochester Zoo during the summer and making a day of it. We were 12 and 10 and it was safe! What a change. Sad.
jonesnpxh 11 months ago
I grew up in Rochester and was back last year, just as Midtown Plaza was set to be demolished. I recall te wonder of the new shopping center, and especially the clock, which I was able to see at the airport. Wonderfully evokative film!
blueeyes2330 11 months ago
Wuz That ST.Stanislovs Cathedrathal? No Fair.
jaymoe67 11 months ago
Those Days.
jaymoe67 11 months ago
Oh for the love of Gooddness, No Fair.
jaymoe67 11 months ago
Born and raised in Rochester. Left at 17 after a decade of hauling coal ashes up from the basement to spread on the icy sidewalk in front of the house on Nichols Street. Worked on the NYS Throughway driving a pickup truck right after I turned 16. Graduated from UofA in Tucson, joined Navy, now living in Orange County California.Thanks for the memories.
AJC9 11 months ago
Brought back lots of great memories. I, too, had the muffler, hat tied under the chin and watched as my Santa Claus balloon got away from me at Sibley's even though my mother insisted on tying it to my wrist..served me right! Was a big deal to take the bus downtown and go shopping with my friend, Kathy and no one bothered you at 14. Schaller's great friends, lots of fun and great place to grow up. Thanks for sharing!
ivybean1 11 months ago
Grey up in the City. Later moved to Brighton.
sandy78 11 months ago
This is the Rochester that i will always remember. I grew up in Irondequoit, raised my family in Pittsford and get back every year. My father and brother owned the Peanut shop on Main and Clinton. I worked there during my college years. Things have changed, it's really sad how crime has devestated this beautiful city.
ronlbarb 11 months ago
This was fun to watch. So many memories. And, as one of the other commentors said, you can never forget the smell of the peanut shop at Main and Clinton. My girlfriend's mom worked there. I drove through Main St last week and found it horrifying. What decent business would ever think of opening there? Very sad.
ellymaeKendall 11 months ago
Well, Rochester is just another rust belt city undergoing changes. Nothing like Youngstown, Ohio. And it is still one (if you look at the population) smart city. Bunch of good colleges. And very close to a more intelligent country.
lskarin 11 months ago
Thank you for the link; I can smell the air downtown! Woolworth's, the peanut shop on the corner of Clinton and Main, Sibley's, Edward's dept. stores. Great memories there where I grew up.:)
D. Coop'
59dcooper 11 months ago
OMG! I grew up in Rochester - Gates. Mom always took me downtown to the midtown mall @ Xmas...Sibleys Edwards Woolworths. All spectacular during the holidays! When I saw Lollipop Farm I almost cried - went there all the time as a kid! Went back Nov 2010 for a 35 year class reunion and it was so different...saw the clock at at the airport ...memories...moved away in 77...
MrTrigger57 11 months ago
no doubt at all, growing up in the 50's and 60's in Rochester was a thing of beauty, and I was quite poor...since then it seems the coffee got better and the doughnuts became junk
mamadree 11 months ago
nothing like that now. i don't even dare go downtown. it did have the honor of being the city with the highest murder rate in the U.S. one year not that long ago. bummer to see the city degrade to what it is today. my aunt took me to midtown a few times when i was a kit. always got a kick out of the parking garage underground.
jetcat4445t 11 months ago
Great song! I'd seen Slipton Fell several times back in the 80s.
I've seen this video on WXXI several times. It's from a 60s "info-mercial" that promotes Rochester. It's hilarious to watch now. Midtown Plaza (America's first indoor mall) is gone, soon to be the corporate HQ of Paetec, who is raking the city over the coals with it's demands.
The famous clock is temporarily at the airport, and should be moving to the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong Memorial.
feddy53 11 months ago
Enjoyed this video. I also grew up in Rochester; I moved away in 1984 but I try to go back to visit at least once a year. My grandma, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 102, worked at the Edwards store shown in the video. She'd take me 'downtown' to buy clothes for me; she'd take me 'downtown' during Christmas when I was little also. Wonderful memories! She'd have me dress up, which included a little 'muffler' (for my hands), hat that tied under the chin and a matching scarf. I miss her.
tiffanychez 11 months ago
Nice vid, looks sort of like a comercial for 1963-something GM products, I never remembered all those mega-clean and rust free cars back then. And the blue skies!
162gcp 11 months ago
Great song and video, I too grew up in Rochester, good place to grow up, left at 17 yrs old in 1955, joined the Army (stayed 2o yrs) never moved back. Visited a half dozen times or so, it sure has changed.
dservati 1 year ago
What a grate place and city to grow up in , I DID :-) A very special place !
1730elf 1 year ago
oh boy!! Plaid Stamps!
cdpete 1 year ago
Great work!
tbbeqa 1 year ago
very cool
RITRPAC 1 year ago
ROCHESTER!!
drzendoom 1 year ago