Historic Brighton Village

This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published February 25, 2013 and can be found here.

This weekend, Wegmans closed their current East Avenue store so they could transition into their new, larger building

. The new store replaces a historic area that was once the center of Brighton in the 19th century. The old Village of Brighton was served by the Erie Canal (now I-490). The canal was rerouted in the early 20th century and the entire area was annexed to the City of Rochester in 1905...

The first town meeting of Brighton was held in April 4, 1814 at the tavern owned by Orringh Stone. The town, which once stretched from the western banks of the Genesee River to Irondequoit Bay, and from Lake Ontario to the Henrietta town line, was named by William Billinghurst for his home in England. The village was officially incorporated in 1855 and Brighton gradually became smaller, beginning around 1823, when the City of Rochester began appropriating land. In 1905 the city annexed the Village of Brighton itself, located at the present-day site of Winton Road and East Avenue. The village was moved to the Twelve Corners area.

Streetview panorama of historic Brighton Village. [IMAGE: Google Streetview]

This poorly stitched together panorama (from Google Streetview) shows the buildings on the north side of East Avenue, including the original Wegmans at 1750 and the shuttered businesses of Old Brighton Antiques at 1794, Cyrus Oriental Rugs at 1796, Janet Bakel interior decorators at 1802, Safelink Supply and Upstate New York Alarm at 1806 and Fountain Bleu Coiffures at 1812. (Click the panorama for a larger view. Some scrolling required.)

This is a series of pictures taken by Andy Olenick (April, 2011) in an effort to document the buildings before they were torn down. This view, looking northeast, shows the buildings on the north side of East Avenue, including the shuttered businesses of Old Brighton Antiques at 1794 East Ave. and Cyrus Oriental Rugs at 1796. [PHOTO: Andy Olenick, Rochester Public Library]

The following is a series of pictures taken by Andy Olenick (April, 2011) in an effort to document the buildings before they were torn down...

The interior of 1794 East Avenue... The former Old Brighton Antiques.

The interior of 1796 East Avenue... Former Cyrus Oriental Rugs.

This view, looking north, shows a detail of the building at 1800-1802 East Avenue, once Janet Bakel Interior Decorators.

The original entrance of 1800-1802 East Avenue.

Decorative ceiling inside 1800-1802 East Avenue.

The second floor at 1800-1802 East Avenue. The stairway to attic.

The hallway of 1800-1802 East Avenue.

One of the rooms on the second floor of 1800-1802 East Avenue. Looking at front windows.

The building which formerly housed Safelink Supply and Upstate New York Alarm. The building once housed a bank.

A detail of the entryway at 1806 East Avenue.

The vault at 1806 East Avenue.

The Fountain Bleu Coiffures, shortly before it closed to make way for the new Wegmans.

This plat map (1910) shows the area of old Brighton Village shortly after it was annexed by the City of Rochester.

The opening of the fire station for Hose Co. No. 19 on East Avenue (c.1909). The station was taken over from Brighton. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone Collection]

This was the fire station for Hose Co. No. 19 on East Avenue. It stood where the current Wegman's parking lot is near Probert Street. This photo was taken at the opening of the new fire station (c.1909). The station was taken over from Brighton.

This was 25 N. Winton Road, north of East Avenue. The building began as Brighton School District No. 2. and became the Brighton branch of the Rochester Public Library after the village was annexed by the City of Rochester. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone Collection]

This was 25 N. Winton Road, north of East Avenue. The building began as Brighton School District No. 2. When the area was annexed by the City of Rochester it became Rochester Public School No. 1 in 1905. Martin Brewer Anderson School No. 1 replaced it in 1922. The building opened as the Brighton Branch of the Rochester Public Library on Jan. 2, 1923. This library was in use until plans were announced to replace it with a new branch on Winton Road. A public auction of the building and land was held on June 6, 1967. The buyer was obliged to demolish or move the building. The demolition occurred sometime in the last week of October, 1967.

A group portrait of children at Brighton School No. 2, accompanied by their teacher, Kate Lotz (later Mrs. Lays). The school was located at North Avenue (later Winton Road) in Brighton Village. 1902. [PHOTO: Brighton Municipal Historian Collection]

This is a group portrait of some children at Brighton School No. 2 (1902). Their teacher was Kate Lotz (later Mrs. Lays).

The new East Avenue Wegmans as seen from Winton Road and University Avenue. [PHOTO: RochesterSubway.com]

This is the same corner as seen today.

Chris Gemignani