Sandwitched between the Inner loop and the Public Market, South Marketview Heights neighborhood is an area of contrasts. Grand Queen Anne-style homes on long lots contrast with the Foursquares and Colonials with plywood fenestration a few blocks west. The densely packed homes of Ontario and Weld Streets contrast with the bollarded casualties of the eager demolition crews which decimated huge chunks of the neighborhood’s stock.

Much of the land for these homes was originally the property of the famed Riley family. I’m writing a Roctales episode which includes some information about Ashbel Riley’s heroism in the 1830s. One of his sons, George, was a land owner and, while I’d love to write a long piece about his contribution to Rochester history, I’ll let the Clements Library at University of Michigan sum up his work:

George Stillson Riley (1822-1919) was a Rochester attorney, landowner, and, like his father, involved in temperance activities. He was a member of the Genesee Valley Club, president of the Rochester Athenaeum Association, and a board member for the Industrial School of Rochester. Along with Lewis Henry Morgan, George was a founding member of the Grand Order of the Iroquois, which held Indian rituals and politically supported the needs of the Iroquois nations. George Riley inherited his father’s vast Rochester land holdings, and speculated in land interests in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, as well as in railroad corporations, coal mining, and other investments. He suffered financial problems during the 1870s and 1880s, and, when he did not pay his property taxes, the city of Rochester claimed much of his land.

Riley Family Papers at the University of Michigan. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/clementsead/umich-wcl-M-2704cril?byte=25759940;focusrgn=bioghist;subview=standard;view=reslist

The old 16th Ward, as it was more commonly referred to over a century ago, was home to many landmarks that we’re still blessed with today: the Armory building, Otis Lumber, Corpus Christi Church, the Dental Dispensary and School #14 all live on in some form. Some, like the German-American Button Co. factory have been replaced with the now-moving Goodwill Clearance Center. The C.H. Rugg Company, the largest employer of woodworkers in the area around the turn of the 20th century, crammed its manufacturing facilities between Davis and Augusta Streets. The site now houses Ametek Power Instruments.

Perhaps the best surprise this neighborhood holds is a community garden on a corner lot not far from the Public Market. The Sofrito Garden, sponsored by the Marketview Heights Collective Action Project, is a feast for the eyes, and is worth a visit while on foot. I was not prepared for the rabbit hole I’d fall into while researching the lot that the garden occupies. Back in the ’70s there stood a gas station, garage and house on this lot, and by the early ’80s there was legal action being taken to condemn the property, though the city seemed a bit aggressive about condemnation. I could write an essay about what happened leading up to the demolition of this property, but I’ll leave that for another time. Check out this article, or read more about a movement that seems to have its origins in Rochester.

MOVE 227 N Union Sat, Jun 20, 1981 – Page 14 · Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York) · Newspapers.com

I love this neighborhood. I love the grand houses on Alexander, the old churches on Scio, the proximity to the market, the energy of the railroad or East Main Street or the nearby Inner Loop. It feels like the right kind of vibrant that our city needs more of. I still need to come back to explore all of the weird little alleys that criss-cross the neighborhood. I know in many ways this place looks like it’s dying, but I just see more room to grow.