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.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 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.
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2009.
