ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Introduction

The details of Rochester

By Eric Rezsnyak

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Rochester can be easy to overlook if you consider only the broad strokes. It's a home to once-major businesses that have seen better days. For the past decade-plus, the city itself has experienced a slow but steady drop in population. And there are times of the year when it's buried under inches of snow, sometimes feeling more like the Siberian tundra than a mid-sized American city.

But when you scratch the surface and look at the details, the picture that emerges is quite different. Rochester may have some struggling corporate giants, but it remains a major academic center, with nearly a dozen colleges and universities in the area. The population may not be as large as it once was, but the city and county are still home to unique, varied neighborhoods and towns filled with engaged citizens trying to improve their communities. Although the winters can get rough around February or March, the area's vibrant arts and entertainment scene never catches a cold. And once the snow and ice are gone, the people make sure to take advantage of the area's gorgeous natural assets.

This Annual Manual is designed to help you appreciate some of Rochester's best details. From a look at several of the communities that help to define the region to a timeline of local rock 'n' roll history to profiles of favorite shopping and dining destinations, these pages will give you a good starting point from which to appreciate Rochester, a mid-sized city with a lot to offer.

In This Guide...

Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Guide to Monroe

Monroe County is about as diverse a community as you can find: a mid-size city, rural areas with orchards and farm markets, suburbs with 20th-century tract houses and shopping malls, and quaint, Victorian villages. The Genesee River and the Erie Canal bisect the county, more or less vertically and diagonally, so geology and history are a constant presence, shaping everything from traffic patterns to architecture and public festivals.

By Jen Graney Mar 18, 2009

places in Rochester to do fun
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: The history of rock in the ROC

It's cold in the winter. It's muggy in the summer.

By Frank De Blase Mar 18, 2009

Rochester music scene history local artists
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Rochester Favorites

FOOD & DRINK [ BEST OF ] BY CITY NEWSPAPER READERS

Mar 18, 2009

food drink restaurants
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Arts & Entertainment

Get in the picture

ART You watch them as they strut the stage, bathed in footlights, commanding a scene or captivating a crowd.

By Eric Rezsnyak Mar 18, 2009

to do fun theater arts entertainment
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Choices

DINER | HIGHLAND PARK DINER As a 6-year-old with a taste for scrumptious food (read: plain noodles with peanut butter) there was only one place to head to for Sunday brunch with the family: the Highland Park Diner (960 S Clinton Ave, 461-5040).

Mar 18, 2009

best of places choices
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Man on the Street

Maureen Galvin Hometown: Gates

Mar 18, 2009

best of interviews man on the street
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: Rochester Colleges

You live, you learn

[ COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES ] BY LEAH KRAUS With nearly a dozen colleges and universities in the area, Rochester offers an academic atmosphere mixed with all the fun that comes with having a rich vein of young adults making the most out of their college years.

Mar 18, 2009

colleges education guide
Annual Manual

ANNUAL MANUAL '09: 2009 Festival Guide

[ EVENTS ] COMPILED BY LEAH KRAUS For a city its size Rochester is jam-packed with events.

Mar 18, 2009

festivals 2009