Nestled in the northeast corner of the city is the old 22nd (26th?) ward, now known as the Northland & Lyceum neighborhood. I’d like to suggest a catchier moniker for the area: Flavortown. With Pudgie’s Pizza, Savoia Pastries and Donuts Delite immediately surrounding it, this neighborhood is blessed with some of the most noteworthy food choices in the entire city.

The area is comprised largely of the old Bauman farm land, the same family that now owns and operates a popular farm of the same name in Penfield.
This was the same spot where the somewhat controversial Municipal Hospital once stood. Opened in 1903 this site was a replacement for the disastrous Hope Hospital near Mount Hope Cemetery. There was an effort to locate the new campus where the present-day UR Strong campus now stands, but due to various land disputes this site was the city’s primary tuberculosis ward until 1926.

I began my ride at the Waring Rd Plaza, home to the time-worn post office. I’d love for the city to invest some funds in this area. It feels like a remote outpost, unworthy of a boost because Irondequoit and the Ridge Road commercial districts are right there, and the tax base doesn’t warrant more investment in a redundant commercial strip. Similarly, the above-mentioned Pudgie’s Pizza is an almost permanent fixture, surrounded by blight that doesn’t need to be there.

Perhaps the biggest attraction to the area is Bausch and Lomb, one of the city’s industrial powerhouses. I love that they’ve installed a field of solar panels on Lyceum. Rochester still doesn’t have enough examples of large-scale renewable power, so B&L leads by example.

I’m consistently drawn to unique church architecture, and the building that houses Bridge Builders Ministries is certainly unique. I wonder how often this structure is hit by lightning.

Northland/Lyceum looks like an ideal neighborhood for a starter home. I passed street after street of postwar cinderblock ranches and Cape Cod-style houses, with the occasional 20th-century Colonial mixed in. Almost all of the lawns were well-tended. This is one of those areas that are often described as “working class”. I have an issue with that term being used to describe lower-middle-class areas, mainly because most homeowners are working, and if they’re not they’re filthy rich and own a mega mansion. This area is modest, not showy. The streets were very quiet on a weekday afternoon, and I barely interacted with anyone, save for a construction crew. While I wish there was more commercial vibrancy here, residents have access to most of the staples within walking distance. Would I live here? Yeah. Not forever, but it’s a great place to start your home-ownership adventure.