In Any Other City...
If you're like me, you find yourself using the phrase "in any other city" rather often to precede a disparaging comment about Rochester. I do it quite often, usually to express my frustration at our snail's pace revitalization. I came across a great photo of a long-abandoned building on Maszman Speaks! that made me think: in any other city, this would be the coolest place to live or work.
According to Maszman, this is RG&E's abandoned Powerhouse #4. Imagine living in the river gorge, immediately adjacent to High Falls. You'd take the elevator down to get to your office or apartment, but you wouldn't be in the basement. This would either be ridiculously awesome or just plain ridiculous. Much like Buffalo's storied grain elevators, this structure would likely be very difficult to convert to modern usage. But I can guarantee, in any other city, this would be a sought-after address. At best, we'll have to wait until local developer Ben Kendig (or some other intrepid soul) can figure out how to make this work, as he has with so many other local landmarks. At worst, it will continue to decay alongside our postcard attraction as further proof of our area's inability to get anything right.
posted by Man About Town @ 2:34 PM
Comments: 4
