Rochester, New York Totally Explained

Everything about Rochester New York totally explained

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York State, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind New York City. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City. It is the county seat for Monroe County.
   Rochester's population is approximately 208,000 making it New York's third largest city. It is at the center of a larger Metropolitan Area which encompasses and extends past Monroe County and includes Genesee County, Livingston County, Ontario County, Orleans County and Wayne County. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,037,831 people in the 2000 Census. As of July 1, 2005, this population rose slightly to 1,039,028.
   Rochester was ranked #6 among 379 U.S. Metro areas in the 25th edition of the Places Rated Almanac for Most Livable Cities. In 2007, Rochester was ranked as the top city in the country by Expansion Management Magazine for quality of life. Expansion Management rated the region's public schools sixth best nationwide among metropolitan areas of a million people or more.
   The current Mayor of Rochester is Robert Duffy, who was the city's Police Chief before being elected mayor.

Founding and early history

On November 8, 1803, a 100 acre (ca. 40 ha) tract in Western New York along the Genesee River was purchased by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Major Charles Carroll, and Colonel William Fitzhugh, all of Hagerstown, Maryland. The site was chosen because of three cataracts on the Genesee, offering great potential for water power. Beginning in 1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville. By 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County. In 1823, Rochesterville consisted of and 2,500 residents, and the Village of Rochesterville became known as Rochester. Also in 1823, the Erie Canal aqueduct over the Genesee River was completed, and the Erie Canal east to the Hudson River was opened. Later, after the advent of railroads, the presence of the canal in the center city became bothersome, and it was re-routed south of Rochester. By 1830, Rochester's population was 9,200 and in 1834, it was re-chartered as a city.
   Rochester was first known as "The Young Lion of the West", and then as the "Flour City". By 1838, Rochester was the largest flour-producing city in the United States. Having doubled its population in only ten years, Rochester became America's first "boomtown."
   In 1847, Frederick Douglass founded the abolitonist newspaper The North Star in Rochester. Douglass, a former slave and an antislavery speaker and writer, gained a circulation of over 4,000 readers in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. The North Star served as a forum for abolitionist views.
   In the early 20th century, Rochester became a center of the garment industry, particularly men's fashions. It was home of enterprises such as Fashion Park and Hickey-Freeman. It was home to the pioneer automobile company Cunningham, produced by carriage maker James Cunningham and Sons.
   The population reached 62,386 in 1870, 162,608 in 1900, and 295,750 in 1920. By 1950, population had reached a high of 332,488. It declined to 219,773 by 2000.

Geography and climate

Rochester is at (43.165496, -77.611504). The city is east of Buffalo, west of Syracuse and sits on the southern shore of Lake Ontario. The Genesee River bisects the city.
   According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, of it's land and of it (3.42%) is water.
   Rochester's geography comes from the ice sheets during the Pleistocene epoch. The retreating ice sheets reached a standstill at what is now the southern border of the city, melting at the same rate as they were advancing, depositing sediment along the southern edge of the ice mass. This created a line of hills, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope, the hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill, and Cobb's Hill. Because the sediment of these hills was deposited into a proglacial lake they're stratified and classified as a "kame delta." A brief retreat and readvance of the ice sheet onto the delta piled unstratified (moraine) material there, creating a rare hybrid structure called a "kame moraine."
   The ice sheets also left behind Lake Ontario (one of the five fresh-water Great Lakes), the with its waterfalls and gorges, Irondequoit Bay, Sodus Bay, Braddock's Bay, Mendon Ponds, numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge, and the nearby Finger Lakes.
   According to the City of Rochester, the city has of public streets, of water mains, 44 vehicular and eight pedestrian bridges, 11 public libraries, two police stations (one for the east side, one for the west), and 16 fire stations. The principal source of water is Hemlock Lake, which, with its watershed, is owned by the city. Other water sources are Canadice Lake and Lake Ontario. The 30-year annual average snowfall is . The mean July temperature is, and the mean February temperature is .
   Rochester lies in the Humid continental climate zone, and has four distinct seasons, with often cold and snowy winters. Autumn features brilliant foliage colors, and summer sees comfortable temperatures that usually stay in the low to mid 80s (upper 20s Celsius). Precipitation is plentiful year round.

Demographics

In the census of 2000, there were 219,773 people, 88,999 households, and 47,169 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,132.9 people per square mile (2,368.3/km²). There were 99,789 housing units at an average density of 2,784.7/sq mi (1,075.3/km²). The racial makeup was 48.30% White, 38.55% African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.58% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.75% of the population. Ancestries include: German (10.9%), Italian (10.0%), Irish (9.6%), English (5.8%), and Polish (2.7%). (External Link

) Rochester has the largest per capita deaf population in the United States. Rochester is home to internationally recognized programs for the deaf at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (part of the Rochester Institute of Technology) and at the University of Rochester.
   There were 88,999 households of which 30.0% had children under 18 living with them, 25.1% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone 65 or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.19.
   The city population was 28.1% under 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 31. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
   The median income for a city household was $27,123, and the median family income was $31,257. Males had a median income of $30,521, versus $25,139 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,588. About 23.4% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.5% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Rochester Population
1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2004
20,191	36,403	48,204	62,386	89,366	133,896	162,608	218,149	295,750	328,132	324,975	332,488	318,611	296,233	241,741	231,636	219,773	212,481

Economy

The Rochester area is home to a number of international businesses, including Fortune 1000 companies Eastman Kodak, Constellation Brands, and Paychex, as well as several national and regional companies. Because of the high prevalence of imaging and optical science among the industry and the universities, Rochester is known as the world capital of imaging. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester is ranked number one in the country, and the Rochester Institute of Technology has one of the best imaging science departments in the country. In 2005, the University of Rochester became the largest employer in the Rochester area, surpassing Kodak.
The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were both founded in the Rochester area by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley respectively.

Food and beverage

One food product that Rochester calls its own is the "white hot," a variant of the hot dog made by the local Zweigle's company. Another local specialty is the "garbage plate," first served at Nick Tahou Hots. Rochester was home to French's Mustard, whose address was 1 Mustard Street.
   Rochester is also home to Wet Planet Beverages, producer of Jolt Cola and other beverages. High Falls Brewing Company, maker of the Genesee beers and JW Dundee's brand (Honey Brown) also calls Rochester home. Arbor Mist wines are produced in nearby Canandaigua, NY by owner Constellation Brands.
   National frozen food manufacturer Birds Eye is headquartered in suburban Rochester. Heluva Good Cheeses and Seneca Foods are in nearby Wayne County. The Ragú brand of pasta sauce was originally produced in Rochester, and the Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauce is manufactured in Rochester.
   Other local franchises include: Bill Gray's (a hamburger/hotdog joint that lays claim to having "The World's Greatest Cheeseburger"), Country Sweet (known for their chicken wings and BBQ sauce), Boss Sauce, described as a "tantalizing sweet, spicy-hot gourmet after-sauce", was born from the restaurant Eddie's Chicken Coop, Tom Wahl's, Dibella's, Great Northern Pizza Kitchen, Zebb's, Don's Original, and Abbott's Frozen Custard. Dinosaur Bar-b-que, which originated in Syracuse, also operates their second franchise downtown in the former Lehigh Valley Railroad station on the Genesee River.
   The Rochester area is the birthplace of the Wegmans Grocery store chain, which has locations throughout the Northeast and Northern Virginia. In 2005, Wegmans was ranked the best company in America to work for by Fortune Magazine; it has been ranked the best grocery store in America by Consumer Reports and Food Network.

Major shopping centers

Eastview Mall (Victor, New York)
The Mall at Greece Ridge Center (Greece, New York)
Medley Centre (formerly known as Irondequoit Mall) (Irondequoit, New York)
Midtown Plaza
The Marketplace Mall (Henrietta, New York)
Pittsford Plaza (Pittsford, New York)
Rochester Public Market
Village Gate Square

Tallest Structures

As of February, 2008 the top ten tallest buildings in the city are:

Xerox Tower –

Bausch & Lomb Place –

Chase Tower –

Kodak Tower –

First Federal Plaza –

One HSBC Plaza –

Hyatt Regency Hotel –

Times Square Building –

Midtown Tower (to be demolished) –

St. Michael's Church –

Paetec Tower (proposed) – from
According to the April 4, 2008, issue of The Democrat and Chronicle, Paetec Holding Corporation's CEO Arunas Chesonis stated that the new tower to be built as the company's headquarters will rise slightly taller than the Xerox Tower. There hasn't been a confirmed height. The tower, according to Chesonis, should feature a public observation at the top and other public areas and condominiums.

Top private employers

As of 2006, the top private employers in Greater Rochester are:

University of Rochester/Strong Health—17,199

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.—14,461

Eastman Kodak—14,100

Xerox—8,250

ViaHealth/Rochester General Hospital—6,728

Unity Health System—5,002

Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield —4,086

Rochester Institute of Technology—2,827

ITT Corporation—2,613

Tops Markets—2,600
Companies

Several companies have corporate headquarters in the Greater Rochester area.

Ambrosia Software - Software firm

American Specialty Manufacturing Company, Inc. - Creator of Boss Sauce

Bausch & Lomb - Contact lens care & Eye health

Bird's Eye - Producer of frozen and packaged foods

Carestream Health - Health equipment and technology

Choice One Communications - Telecommunications

Constellation Brands - Alcoholic beverages, importer of Corona (beer)

Connection Technology Center - Electronic part manufacturer

Eastman Kodak Company - Photography and Printing

eBaum's World - Internet humor website

Frontier Telephone - Telecommunications

Gatehouse Media - Owner/Publisher of regional periodicals

Gleason Corporation - Gear equipment manufacturer

Harris Interactive - Online surveys

Hickey-Freeman - hand made suits and clothing, including the Bobby Jones line

High Falls Brewing Co. (Genesee Brewing Co.)

Home Properties - Apartment and Properties firm

Monro Muffler and Brake - Auto care chain

Nalgene - Maker of Nalgene brand scientific and consumer products

PAETEC Holding Corp. - Telecommunications

Paychex - Payroll and human resources

Pictometry - Oblique aerial photography

Rochester Midland Corporation - Chemical manufacturing

Sentry Safe - Security systems

Ward's Natural Science- Science educational materials

Wegmans - Grocery store chain

Wet Planet Beverages - Creator of Jolt cola Locally founded corporations that have since moved their headquarters to other locations include French's, Gannett, Western Union, Champion and Xerox.
Many other large companies have a significant presence in Rochester.

Arch Chemicals - Specialty chemicals to control dandruff, mold, and mildew

Barilla Group - Pasta production

CooperVision- Contact Lens manufacturer

Corning Incorporated - Glass and related products

Delphi - auto parts manufacturer has a research and development department

Eastman Chemical Company - Chemical manufacturing and research

Exxon Mobil - Research and Development

General Motors - hydrogen powered research and development

Global Crossing - Telecommunications

Harris - RF engineers radios and communications equipment

ITT Corporation - Space Systems Division headquartered here

Johnson & Johnson's Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics division - Chemical and Pharmaceutical applications

JPMorgan Chase - Large home equity operations center located downtown

M&T Bank - largest local banking franchise

Pactiv - Producer of packaging materials, such as Hefty

Thomson Reuters - An office of their Thomson West division, a publisher of law books and the Westlaw online service

Verizon wireless - Upstate NY call center

Xerox - Manufacturing and Operations
Government
Rochester is governed by a mayor and city council consisting of 4 district members and 5 at-large members.
Cityscape

Principal suburbs
Principal suburbs of the city include Brighton, Chili, East Rochester, Fairport, Gates, Greece, Henrietta, Irondequoit, Penfield, Pittsford, Spencerport, Brockport, Victor, and Webster.
Neighborhoods
Rochester has a number of neighborhoods, as well as popular communities in the inner ring suburbs, Brighton, Irondequoit and Greece. Dewey, Barnard, Browncroft, Mt. Read, Edgerton, Lyell, Otis, Dutchtown, 19th Ward, Southwest, Corn Hill, Cascade District, High Falls District, Grove Place, East End, South Wedge, Marketview Heights, Swillburg, Upper Monroe, Park Avenue, Beechwood, 14621 Community, German Village, University-Atlantic, Charlotte and Cobbs Hill are all primary neighborhoods.
Park Avenue
The area around Park Avenue in southeast Rochester is considered the Greenwich Village of Rochester. It is a popular area, especially for students and young people. Lining the streets are cafes, shops, pubs and restaurants. In a broader view, the total area surrounding University Avenue is one of the most culture and art-rich sections of the city. Located here are the Village Gate, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum and Science Center, Rochester Public Market, ArtWalk, George Eastman House and high-end residential streets such as Granger Drive and Oxford Street.
East End
The East End is a residential neighborhood in Downtown Rochester but also the main nightlife district. The Eastman Theater and the Eastman School of Music are in the East End, along with the Little Theatre, an independent film theatre and many clubs, bars and high-end restaurants.
Corn Hill
The Corn Hill neighborhood near downtown is one of the nation's best preserved Victorian neighborhoods and a center for art. It is undergoing renovation and construction for residential buildings along the Genesee River, and the Corn Hill Art Festival is one of the city's most popular gatherings for art display.
Charlotte
Charlotte (shar-LOT) is a lakefront community in Rochester bordering Lake Ontario. It is one of the nicest, safest sections of the city and home to Charlotte Beach, a popular summer destination.
Colleges and Universities
Education is one of Rochester's primary economic areas. The city and its suburbs are home to a number of colleges and universities:

Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Monroe Community College

Nazareth College

Roberts Wesleyan College

Rochester Institute of Technology

Saint John Fisher College

St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry

SUNY Brockport

University of Rochester (including the Eastman School of Music) Together with Alfred University, SUNY Alfred, Empire State College, Finger Lakes Community College, SUNY Geneseo, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, each within an hour of Rochester, these institutions comprise the Rochester Area Colleges consortium.
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R), consistently ranked among the top 35 universities in the nation and deemed "one of the new Ivies," has some of the best undergraduate programs in the country when it comes to the arts, sciences, and engineering, and the medical school has top ranked research programs and one of the best primary care curricula in the nation. The business school is also at the top of its class in many categories.
The University of Rochester's Laboratory For Laser Energetics (LLE) is home to the second highest energy laser in the world, the OMEGA laser. OMEGA is capable of emitting light at a power 100 times the electrical power output of the country in less than one billionth of a second. The LLE is currently constructing the OMEGA EP laser, which will be 50 times more powerful than OMEGA and will be the most powerful laser in the world, able to manifest power densities high enough to examine hawking radiation-like phenomena in the laboratory. The U of R's Laboratory for Laser Energetics is important now, because it serves at the US's main laser fusion program while the Department of Energy is building the National Ignition Facility. "The Laboratory for Laser Energetics has played a leading, national role in efforts to develop nuclear fusion as a reliable energy source and in the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship program," says University President Joel Seligman.
The University of Rochester is home to the Eastman School of Music, which, according to U.S. News and World Report, is the number one music school in America.

Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was founded in 1829 and is the tenth largest private university in the country in terms of full-time students. It is internationally known for its science, computer, engineering, and art programs, as well as for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, a leading deaf-education institution. RIT has leased 60 acres of the campus to Wilmorite Properties, a real estate company based in Rochester, to build an enterprise called Park Point at RIT. It will be open to not just RIT but the Rochester community as well. The project is scheduled to be complete by August 2008.
Monroe Community College
Monroe Community College (MCC) has highly ranked soccer and basketball teams. MCC is home to the Mercer Gallery where students and artists from all over the country exhibit work, located on MCC's Brighton Campus.
Roberts Wesleyan College
Roberts Wesleyan was ranked the third-best value private college in the U.S. by the Princeton Review in 2007—the only school in New York State ranked in the top 10. It is also Rochester's only college affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

Culture and recreation
Rochester is home to a large number of cultural institutions considering its population. These include the world-renowned Garth Fagan Dance, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Strong - National Museum of Play, the A|V Room, the Strasenburgh Planetarium, and numerous arts organizations. Rochester's Geva Theatre Center is the city's largest professional theatre.
Nightlife
Rochester has several districts containing bars and nightspots but the primary area is the East End District in the southeast part of downtown. Restaurants, bistros, and nightclubs can also be found in the St. Paul Quarter, Monroe Avenue (and Upper Monroe), as well as Park Avenue. The South Wedge neighborhood boasts a wine bar, a British-style pub, an Irish pub, and numerous other restaurants and bars.
Park lands
The city's Victorian era Mt. Hope Cemetery includes the final resting place of Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and George Baldwin Selden. Other scenic cemeteries are Holy Sepulchre and its neighbor the Riverside Cemetery. Rochester is also known for its parks, including the Highland Park, Cobb's Hill Park, Durand-Eastman Park, Genesee Valley Park, Maplewood Park, Edgerton Park, Seneca Park and Ontario Beach Park.
   The city has 13 full-time recreation centers, 19 swimming programs, 3 artificial ice rinks, 66 softball/baseball fields, 47 tennis courts, 5 football fields, 7 soccer fields, and 43 outdoor basketball courts. As a legacy of its time as "The Flower City", Rochester hosts a Lilac Festival for ten days every May, when nearly 400 varieties of lilacs bloom, and 100,000 visitors arrive.
   Mumford, a hamlet in the town of Wheatland, is home to the Genesee Country Village and Museum, a combination of a model village, where examples of local architecture are preserved; sporting art and carriage museums; a nature center; and model gardens.
   To Rochester's south is the scenic Letchworth State Park, the so-called "Grand Canyon of the East", with its river gorge and waterfalls. Also to the south and southeast is the glacially-formed Finger Lakes Region, with its numerous lakes and waterfalls.
Festivals
Rochester has a number of festivals that celebrate the aspects of Rochester life, most of which occur in late spring and throughout summer. These include the Rochester International Jazz Festival, established in 2002; the Corn Hill Festival (arts, crafts, and food in this Third Ward neighborhood); the Rochester-High Falls International Film Festival (held at the George Eastman House's Dryden Theatre and the Little Theatre downtown); ImageOut, The Rochester Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival (also held at the Little Theatre); Clothesline Art Festival (artists from the region display their works on the grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery); Park Avenue Merchants Festival; Lilac Festival at Highland Park; St. Patrick's Day parade (March); Rose Festival at Maplewood Park; Irish festival (September); two Greek festivals - one on East Avenue (in June) and one on South Avenue (in September); Gay Pride Festival (July); Puerto Rican Festival(August); Rochester Music Festival; and the Cold Rush Winter Celebration (celebrating winter sports in the Rochester area).
   During the summer, and especially on the Fourth of July, downtown after dark is lit with fireworks and a laser show at the High Falls venue.
Vernacular
In the Greater Rochester Area, hotdogs can be called "red hots" or "white hots" to distinguish the common (red) hotdog from its local white hotdog variant which includes veal and powdered milk in its ingredients. A banquet facility is known as a "party-house".
   The nearby town of Chili is pronounced with long "i"s: "CHY-lye". The neighborhood of Charlotte is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: "shar-LOT". The suburbs of Riga and Lima, are pronounced "RYE-ga" and "LIE-ma. The suburb of Bergen is pronounced "BER-jin".
Accent
A "Rochester accent" can be described as a form of Inland Northern American English, like a Chicago or Detroit accent. It has been described as nasal, recognized by the vocalization of the short "a" (æ) sound: "and" is closer to "i-uhnd" ([ˈɪənd]).
   It is often described as including the pronunciation of the city itself as "Rach'str" ([ˈɹatʃ.stɚ]).
Media
Rochester has one daily newspaper, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; there are also free weekly publications such as "City" newspaper and the "Freetime" entertainment magazine.
   Rochester has seven broadcast television stations:

CBS: WROC 8 (cable 8)

NBC: WHEC 10 (cable 10)

ABC: WHAM 13 (cable 13)

PBS: WXXI 21 (cable 11)

FOX: WUHF 31 (cable 7)

MyNetworkTV: WBGT 40/26 (cable 18)

CW CW-WHAM (13-2) (cable 16) Rochester also has several radio stations, both AM and FM including:
WXXI (Public Radio) WCMF (Rock and Roll) WDKX (Urban Contemporary Radio) WHAM (News and Talk Radio)
Rochester's cable television provider is Time Warner Cable, which provides R News, a 24-hour local news channel.
Points of interest

Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial

Cobbs Hill Park and Reservoir

Ellwanger Garden

Genesee Country Village and Museum, about away

George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film

Geva Theatre Center

Hamlin Beach State Park

High Falls and the High Falls Entertainment District

Highland Park

Kodak Park

Liberty Pole

Little Theatre, one of the oldest art-house movie theaters in the country

Maplewood Park Rose Garden

Mendon Ponds Park

Midtown Plaza, the nation's first downtown shopping mall

Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, the nation's first Victorian cemetery

Nick Tahou Hots

Ontario Beach Park and the Port of Rochester at Charlotte

The Rochester Auditorium

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum

SeaBreeze amusement park.

Seneca Park Zoo, one of the top three family attractions in the area

Strong - National Museum of Play, nation's second-largest children's museum housing the National Toy Hall of Fame

Susan B. Anthony House

Times Square Building, noted for its "Wings of Victory" statue.

University Avenue and Park Avenue Artistic Districts

University of Rochester

University of Rochester Arboretum

University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music and Eastman Theatre

Water Street Music Hall
Sports
Rochester was named the top minor league sports market in the country by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal in July 2005; and the number 10 "best golf city" in America by Golf Magazine in 2007.
Professional sports
Rochester has seven professional sports teams:

Club Sport Founded League Venue

Rochester Red Wings Baseball 1899 International League Frontier Field

Rochester Americans Ice hockey 1956 AHL Blue Cross Arena

Rochester Knighthawks Indoor lacrosse 1995 NLL Blue Cross Arena

Rochester Rhinos Soccer 1996 USL First Division PAETEC Park

Rochester Rattlers Field lacrosse 2001 MLL PAETEC Park

Rochester Razorsharks Basketball 2005 PBL Blue Cross Arena

Rochester Raiders Indoor football 2006 CIFL Blue Cross Arena

Among cities in North America with at least seven current professional teams, Rochester is the only one whose teams all have cumulative winning regular season records.
   The Rochester Red Wings baseball club, the AAA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, play in the International League. The Rochester Americans ice hockey team, the AHL affiliate for the NHL Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, are known as the "Amerks". The Rochester Rhinos soccer club play in the USL First Division, which is the second-highest level American soccer league. There are two professional lacrosse teams. Rochester Knighthawks play box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League during winter and spring. In summer, the Rochester Rattlers play field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse organization. The newest local professional sports teams are Rochester Razorsharks (of the Premier Basketball League) and Rochester Raiders (Continental Indoor Football League).
   Rochester is home to the Empire State Roar, a semi-pro team in the league known as the Women's Professional Football League, and the Rochester Rhinos women's team of the W-League, an advanced amateur tier of the United Soccer Leagues.
   Professional golf regularly comes to Rochester. The PGA Championship and the US Open have been held at Oak Hill Country Club, as was the 1995 Ryder Cup. The Xerox Classic Tournament on the Nationwide Tour comes every August. The Wegmans LPGA tournament is yearly in June at Locust Hill Country Club.
   While Rochester currently has no teams at the top level of the major American sports, the city does host training camp for the NFL's Buffalo Bills each summer since 2000 at St. John Fisher College in the suburban of Pittsford. The absence of a major pro sports team hasn't always been the case. From 1920–1925, Rochester was home to the Rochester Jeffersons, a charter member of the National Football League. From 1948–1957, the Rochester Royals played in the National Basketball Association, winning the NBA championship in 1951. In soccer, the Rochester Lancers played from 1970–1980 in the top-level North American Soccer League.
   Since 1877, 29 teams in eight professional sports have represented Rochester, according to The Rochester Sports Project by local sports historian Douglas Brei. In spring 2006, Brei showed that Rochester's professional sports teams were collectively approaching 25,000 games played. That game was played on June 16, 2006, when Red Wings hosted the Indianapolis Indians at Frontier Field. He also reports that only six active franchises in the history of North American professional sports have played in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 1800s: Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Rochester Red Wings.
   The city has two independent pro-wrestling leagues: Next Era Wrestling and NWA Upstate which operate in and around the city.
   Rochester is home territory of the Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are further tied to Rochester through their owner, Rochester billionaire Tom Golisano.
College sports
Almost all area college sports are played at the NCAA Division III level. An exception is the RIT men's ice hockey team, which moved up to the Division I level in 2005. Hobart College, an hour away from Rochester in Geneva, has a Division I men's lacrosse team.
   Among junior colleges, MCC is dominant in NJCAA Division II sports.
Club Sports
Rochester is home to two men's rugby teams, the Rochester Aardvarks and the Rochester Colonials:(External Link). Both have long histories, with the Aardvarks celebrating their 40th anniversary in 2006, and the Colonials celebrating 25 years in 2005. The Aardvarks are one of the few rugby teams in the country to own its own pitch: Aardvark Park in Henrietta, New York. The Aardvarks and the Colonials both have hosted local and state-wide tournaments and the Colonials hosted the 2007 USA Rugby National Collegiate All-Star Championships. Both teams thrive on local college and university players. The Rochester Bicycling Club is a social and fitness bicycling club.
Transportation

Maritime transport
There is marine freight service at the Port of Rochester on Lake Ontario, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
   A short-lived, high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry Spirit of Ontario I, nicknamed The Breeze, linked Rochester to Toronto, Ontario across Lake Ontario. It operated between June 17, 2004, and December 12, 2005, and cost the city $42.5 million. It was sold to Forde Reederei Seetouristik, a German company, for $30 million.
Air transport
Rochester is served by the Greater Rochester International Airport. Daily scheduled air service is provided by Air Canada / Air Georgian, AirTran Airways, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, United, and US Airways.
Mass transit
Amtrak (passenger) and freight lines provide rail service to Rochester. Rochester has intercity and transcontinental bus service via Greyhound and Trailways.
   Local bus service in Rochester and its county suburbs is provided by the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) via its Regional Transit Service (RTS) subsidiary. RTS also provides suburban service outside the immediate Rochester area and runs smaller transportation systems in outlying counties, such as WATS (Wayne Area Transportation System).
   From 1927 to 1957, Rochester had a light rail underground transit system called the Rochester Subway. It was the smallest city in the world to have one. There are proposals to put in a new system, possibly using some of the old tunnels. One includes converting the Broad Street bridge tunnel—the former canal aqueduct—into an underground pedestrian walkway, which would also include a Rochester Transportation Museum, and a tram system.
   The former subway tunnels have become a controversy. Many city homeless use the tunnels for shelter, and a few areas near tunnel entrances have gained the reputation as being dangerous. One proposal before the city council has asked the city to fill the tunnels. This has generated controversy as the cost of filling the tunnels would be comparable to restoring the Rochester Subway.
   The Genesee River bridge (Broad Street) that it used retains the lower track level.

Major Highways and Roads that serve the Greater Rochester Area
There are three exits off the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) that serve Rochester. Rochester has an extensive freeway (expressway) system which connects all parts of the city and the city with the Thruway. During the Thruway's construction, a disagreement between the governor of New York and mayor of Rochester resulted in a bypass of downtown Rochester, leaving the city struggling for growth.
Rochester's expressway system, conceived in the 1950s, was designed as two concentric circles with feeder expressways from the west, south and east. The system allows for quick travel within the metropolitan area and a lack of the traffic gridlock typically found in cities of comparable size; in part this is because the system was designed to accommodate an anticipated year-2000 metro population of 5 million, whereas the present-day population is just over one million.
   The Outer Loop circles just outside the city limits while the Inner Loop circles around the immediate downtown area within the city proper. From the west are Lake Ontario State Parkway, NY-531 and I-490; Interstate 390 feeds from the south; and NY-104, NY-441, and I-490 approach from the east. Four Interstate Highways run through the Greater Rochester area: Interstate 90 (New York State Thruway)

I-90 runs from Seattle to Boston. I-90 connects to I-390 and I-490 to serve the Greater Rochester Area. Interstate 390 (Genesee Expressway)

I-390 runs south-north, crossing I-90 (exit 46) and routing north through Rochester's western suburbs. Its northern end is at I-490, however it continues north as NY-390 until it merges into the Lake Ontario State Parkway. South of I-90, I-390 runs to Avoca, New York, where it meets up with U.S. Highway 15 and the Southern Tier Expressway, I-86. Interstate 490 (Western/Eastern Expressway)

I-490 runs west-east through Rochester, starting at Le Roy, New York and ending in Victor, New York. It interchanges with the two other Interstates in Rochester: I-390 at the western city limit and I-590 at the eastern limit, as well as connecting at both ends with the Thruway, I-90 (exits 47 and 45). In July 2007, a new bridge over the Genesee River was completed and named the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge. Interstate 590

I-590 runs south-north through Rochester's eastern suburbs. Its southern end is at I-390, while the northern end is at I-490; the highway continues north to the shore of Lake Ontario as NY-590.

In decreasing usage is the term "Can of Worms", referring to the previously dangerous at-grade intersection of Interstate 490 and expressway NY-590 on the eastern edge of the Rochester city limits, bordering the suburb of Brighton. In the 1980s, a multimillion dollar project created a system of overpasses and ramps that reduced the danger but resulted in the loss of certain exits. New York State Route Expressways:
New York State Route 104 (Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway, West Ridge Road)

NY 104 - Just east of the NY 590 interchange, NY 104 becomes the Irondequoit-Wayne County Expressway and crosses the Irondequoit Bay Bridge. On the other side of the Bay Bridge, in the town of Webster, NY 104 has exits before returning to an at-grade highway at Basket Road. New York State Route 390

NY 390 is an extension of Interstate 390 from the I-390/I-490 interchange in Gates. The northern terminus is at the Lake Ontario State Parkway in Greece, less than a mile from the Lake Ontario shoreline. New York State Route 531 (Spencerport Expressway)

NY 531 serves as a connector between the northwestern suburbs of Rochester and Interstate 490. New York State Route 590

NY 590 is a limited-access extension of Interstate 590 at runs from an interchange between Interstate 490 and I-590 on the Brighton/Rochester border. The northern terminus is at Culver Road in Irondequoit, near Sea Breeze (the western shore of Irondequoit Bay at Lake Ontario). New York State Parkways: Lake Ontario State Parkway

Lake Ontario State Parkway travels from Lakeside Beach State Park in Carlton, Orleans County. The eastern end is at Lake Avenue in the city of Rochester in Monroe County.
Notable citizens
� See List of people from Rochester, New York

Sister cities
Rochester has ten sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International. They are all dedicated by a branched concrete walkway over the Genesee River, dubbed the Sister Cities Bridge (known as the Frank and Janet Lamb Bridge since October 2006):

Bamako, Mali

Caltanissetta, Italy

Hamamatsu, Japan

Kraków, Poland

Novgorod, Russia

San Felipe de Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Rehovot, Israel

Rennes, France

Waterford, Ireland

Würzburg, GermanyFurther Information
Get more info on 'Rochester New York'.

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