On the western end of Carthage is what’s now known as La Avenida, a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood with a long history of being home to many immigrant groups. Since Rochester’s early days, this section of the city would be home to several immigrant groups, including the Irish, Canadians, Germans, Jews, Italians and eventually the Puerto Rican and other Caribbean cultures. Over the years these different cultures would overlap, offering both diversity and tension as each group would blend. Whether in spite of or due to these cultural clashes the North Clinton corridor became the backbone of the growth of Rochester.

For the purpose of confining this article, I’m identifying the neighborhood as bounded by the El Camino trail in the west, Route 104 in the north, Joseph Ave to the east and a couple blocks south of Clifford Ave with La Marketa acting as anchor. Just for fun I’m tacking on the residential area between Seneca, Route 104, Hudson and Norton because otherwise it might be overlooked.

Butterhole

The most dominant immigrant group here through the beginning of the 20th century were the Germans, and they loved their dairy products. Thus was borne the Butterhole name, defining the area bounded by Clifford, Ridge Road, St. Paul and Clinton. In reality Butterhole was more of a melting pot; the Germans were but one of several ethnic and national identities to dominate the area.

The neighborhood had a reputation for dairy and beer and bakeries and all the wonderful German imports, for sure, but it embraced it’s identity the most with sports. Semi-pro teams like the Butterhole Oxfords football team, which had a long-standing feud with the nearby Dutchtown Russers, consistently captured the headlines of the sports pages from the ’30s through the ’50s. The Tartars followed. There were the Little League All-Stars. The Butterhole Reds were the baseball team in the ’50s and ’60s. Then the Butterhole Orioles. There was even a bowling team, the Butterhole Genesees. I’d say 99 out of 100 searches for “Butterhole” in the headlines from 1920-1960 yielded sports stories.

The Butterhole Improvement Association, most active in the ’60s, kept an eye on the riff raff causing trouble in the local taverns. Of note was the Double E Restaurant at 1091 North Clinton Ave, which was cited for frequent fights and disturbing the local residents. When not going after rowdy bar patrons they’d tackle neighborhood beautification projects, having streets paved, adding lights and flower boxes.

There was no shortage of other activities. The Empress Theater at Clinton and Radio Street showed all the latest films, while leaving time for special features in Russian, Polish and German. The Cameo Theater at North Clinton near Bismark also emerged in the era of silent film, later featuring talkies and even Vaudeville before closing in 1957. There was the Avenue D Rec Center, which offered swimming, youth dances every weekend, and a softball field of their own. As Butterhole encompassed an area beyond the El Camino Trail, I’ll mention a few more neighborhood hangouts in my write-up of Carthage.

Hickey-Freeman and “The Temple”

Out of all the industries to fuel the local economy, none stands out quite like Hickey Freeman. Founded in 1899 as Hickey, Freeman, & Mahon Co., it quickly earned a reputation as a high-quality tailor of mens and boys suits. The business started out in a small factory at 84 St. Paul Street and within 9 years had expanded up the road to 240-248 St. Paul Street. Business continued to grow at an exponential rate and by 1912 the company had constructed their own headquarters at Clinton and Avenue D. The new building was massive at over 33,000 square feet. Using 50 tons of steel, one million bricks, and 27,000 feet of glass, it was dedicated as a “temple to fine tailoring”. In 1922 the footprint was expanded along the Avenue D side by nearly 70%, and again by an additional 60,000 sq. feet in 1929. The onset of the Great Depression seemed to have little effect on the company, as their president Jeremiah Hickey was publicly quoted as saying “the recent economic conditions were working to the advantage of the company”. Later it was revealed that the company did not completely avoid the effects of the economic downturn, with one employee quoting Hickey at a sales meeting: “I don’t care whether or not we make a profit, sell the product so we can keep the whole force busy.”

Over the following decades Hickey-Freeman continued to churn out its product for an international market, albeit under different ownership. In 2020 the company made the headlines yet again for helping to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, manufacturing masks and other protective gear for front-line health workers.

La Avenida and The Barrio

In the 1950s when the demographics of the neighborhood were already very mixed, a new group began to arrive. The island territory of Puerto Rico had been struggling with the hacienda system since its takeover by the US after the Spanish-American war, which allowed a booming population to become cheap labor for stateside land owners. After World War II the island, under the leadership of its first democratically-elected Governor Luis Muñoz Marín, experienced some drastic economic changes which resulted in a mass migration to the mainland. Thousands of Puerto Rican residents flowed northward to cities like New York, Rochester and Philadelphia. Our original settlers arrived in Wayne County in the 1940s as farm workers but moved to Rochester when the farm work ended. In the ’50s Rochester was the second most popular destination city for Puerto Ricans behind New York City. As of the 2010 census we are #1 in percent of total Puerto Rican population compared to total city population (13.2%).

It was the barrio which drew so many of these immigrants to the old Butterhole area, and from there the community exploded. Community services began popping up, like the Ibero-American Action League or the Spanish Action Coalition. With the boom in population came a similar explosion of tensions between the different groups. “Gangs” were formed around mutual protection. The Puerto Rican “Chicos” often butted heads with the Italian “Skinnys”, and the YMCA stepped in with Operation Outreach to help calm the tensions between groups. Despite the efforts of these groups something became painfully obvious over time: the northeast quadrant was for the immigrants, and the city would rather pour resources into the areas that generated more tax revenue. The barrio had to look out for itself, but the people had support.

St. Michael’s and Our Lady of Perpetual Help

La Marketa at The International Plaza

Located near the southeast corner of Clifford and Clinton, La Marketa was supposed to be much more than it is today. The city recognized the need for a public gathering spot for the Puerto Rican community early on, but as plans evolved the ultimate concept became smaller and more compact. Once envisioned as a 2-story shopping mall with a Latin/Caribbean flavor it now resembles a handful of Public Market food stands arranged in a circle. Under the pall of the Covid-19 pandemic a ribbon cutting ceremony was held on October 8, 2020 recognizing 3 decades of planning and effort. It remains to be seen if the space will attract the desired foot traffic during non-pandemic times.

El Camino Trail

A narrow and often overlooked trestle spans the Genesee River, which once connected the industry of this neighborhood to High Falls and the Hojack Swing Bridge in Charlotte. The Rome Watertown & Ogdensburg railroad (later New York Central and successors) made stops at Adler Clothing Co., Michelsen Furniture Co (later the Avenue D Rec Center), Whitmore Rauber & Vicinus (bricks and paving), Addison Lithographing, and so many others.

Years passed and coal was no longer needed at the shuttered BeeBee power plant. Businesses along the line closed their loading docks for good, and the Hojack bridge ceased to operate. In the mid-’80s the “rails to trails” movement endeavored to convert old, unused railroad rights of way to recreation trails. The Genesee Land Trust, under the direction of former County Executive Thomas Frey, realized the old rail line was a perfect candidate, and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in 2012.

The trail has multiple names. The “Thomas R. Frey Butterhole Trail at El Camino” honors the man who saw the project to completion, as well as the historic identity of the area and the multilingual nature of the neighborhood today. In my opinion the trail, as well as the rest of the neighborhood, deserves the Neighborhood of the Arts moniker as much as the place a few miles south of here. Soon after the trail opened the Wall\Therapy project matched international artists with empty walls adjacent to the path. The art of El Camino, combined with other nearby murals, make this section of the city one of the most colorful in the area.

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Red Wing Stadium went on to host some noteworthy events. Babe Ruth made multiple appearances throughout the 1930s and early ’40s. In the early years it served double duty as a football field for the above-mentioned Oxfords vs. Russers games. Boxing, Religious events, and concerts would later be featured here. Van Halen played to almost 20,000 fans on Labor Day of ’86. Nearly ten thousand more would show up for the Grateful Dead and U2 shows the next year.

In 1968 it was renamed Silver Stadium to honor Morrie Silver, the man who prevented the Red Wings from leaving town a decade prior. In the early ’80s there was talk of building a new stadium, but lawyers stepped in and kept things as-is. The stadium was revamped in 1987, upgrading seating and amenities, but the buzz around building a new stadium grew louder until 1995 when funds were awarded to built Frontier Field downtown.

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Yes, this neighborhood has a ton of history, and yes it’s a cultural goldmine that deserves recognition. Let’s also recognize that this neighborhood has some serious problems. One of the biggest obstacles to building La Marketa were the open-air heroin sales going on around the Clifford & Clinton intersection. There were a fair amount of fire-damaged homes that I passed, and blocks of homes that had been torn down over the years. And mere hours after I returned from one of my rides near El Camino a body was found at the trail head. If any neighborhood needs some love it’s this one. In my research I kept on finding a turning point when the residents gave up and moved away: the racial protests of 1964, centered only a few blocks south of here, made more than a few old timers say “enough is enough”. But in reality, the unrest was partly the result of the city giving up on that neighborhood years prior. The writing was on the wall.

I also saw signs of progress. There was significant construction happening around Sullivan and Hoeltzer Streets near La Marketa. I’m encouraged by the good things that happen here: the art, new homes, amazing restaurants, community gardens, and the people. I had more than one good conversation with a staff person at the Ave D Rec Center who was very curious about my travels through the neighborhood. She mentioned there’s still a lot of love for the neighborhood, at least from the people that live there. We shouldn’t forget that it’s still the “forever immigrant neighborhood” and immigrants keep our city vibrant. For me, it’s another neighborhood with family history, so I know I’ll be back to trace some of my own roots, and probably get some Puerto Rican food for lunch while I’m at it.