Lincoln Park & West Avenue
Year Incorporated: 1918
Ward: 20
Population: ??
Fun fact: Lincoln Park contains more single moms than 99.8% of the U.S.[/su_box]
I brought my bike over to the West End Business Park and took a ride down Cairn St, to Chili Ave, and into Lincoln Park. I wanted to head over to the west side for a change, and this little neighborhood was one I’ve passed a bunch of times but never got to explore.
I’ll begin by answering the first question that comes to mind every time I see this neighborhood on a map. Yes, the name is derived from both Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln Park in Chicago. In 1872 a Scottsville resident by the name of Major D. D. S. Brown bought a tract of land in Gates just west of the city border. Having a minor infatuation with Chicago and the late president, Major Brown chose the name for his new property. He subsequently offered a portion of the land to the city for use as a park. The city declined his offer, and it didn’t become part of Rochester until the “Big Steal” of 1919.
I’ve seen this area described as “working class”. I’m still not sure if I agree with the use of that label, but it reminds me of the Northland-Lyceum area in that I always thought the area had way more factories and less houses than it does. Lincoln Park is homey. Sure, there are warehouses and auto shops dotting the area, especially closer to the canal, but as you get closer to downtown the houses look more regal, and much larger.
Chili Ave is busy with auto and foot traffic and, for the segment that I was biking, didn’t offer bike lanes. I wasn’t thrilled with biking on the sidewalk but it was better than being hit by cars. That area is filled with a dense mix of residential, churches, and commercial. There’s a Lincoln Park School (#44) and some parks. The people seemed nice, when I could see them. There were kids in abundance, riding their bikes, playing basketball, and hanging out on front steps. I caught one couple on their steps singing loudly and couldn’t stop smiling at how little they cared of their neighbors’ opinions. The one man I did pass said “hello” but for the most part people kept to themselves. One of my favorite things about this area was the smell. The stretch of Chili Ave past Thurston Road was saturated with the smells of Caribbean cooking.
At the vertex of West Ave and Chili Avenue is a grand United Methodist Church which I know very little about, other than a construction date some time in the 1890s, long after the Bull’s Head neighborhood rose to prominence. I’ll dig deep into Bull’s Head in another post because there’s so much to say about the area’s history.
For the life of me I don’t understand why this city with miles and miles of waterfront appreciates it so little. You’re barely aware of your proximity to the Erie Canal, save for a bridge linking the town of Chili to the city proper. The best attributes of this neighborhood are whomever is cooking on Chili Ave, the families, and the limitless potential of the housing stock. If we choose not to let these properties rot into the ground then this could be a little-known gem of a neighborhood for decades to come.