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 March 13, 2011 and can be found here.
Greetings from Rochester! Lately you may have noticed lots of old images stuck to the sides of the buildings downtown. The images are actually larger reproductions of old postcards--some a century old--and they pay homage to the gorgeous buildings that once lined Rochester's streets. For the past two years I've been collecting a lot of these same vintage postcards. I like to say "vintage" instead of "old" because most of them are new to me - plus I can't imagine these incredible images ever getting old in the other sense of the word.
Well, I finally did it. It was a monumental task but now you can flip thru my entire collection of vintage Rochester postcard images right from your computer. All 178 views - scanned, uploaded, and labeled for your viewing pleasure...
You can view the entire image set using the viewer below. Although I recommend heading over to the photo set on Flickr
where the image resolution is much better.
Just what is my fascination with these colorful little snapshots of Rochester? Most of them date back to before my great grandparents had even stepped foot on American soil. I myself have only lived in Rochester for a little over 10 years.
If you grew up here maybe you are already familiar with all of these local places and the stories of how they came to be - or how they came to disappear. But, like my great grandparents ninety years ago, I too am pretty much "fresh off the boat". Although I arrived in Rochester by way of a broken down Nissan Sentra in 1995, what I brought with me was much the same. Just a toothbrush and memories of my native land (Long Island). I had very little sense of this place (Rochester) as it was before I arrived.
So I think maybe collecting these postcards has been a way for me to learn more about this place I now call home. And for my kids, who are now growing up here, these images are like little stories I can pass down to them and their kids.
Whether you've lived in Rochester for generations, or if you just landed from outer space, take a flip thru my collection of vintage views on Flickr
and get yourself caught up.
As I collect new postcards--and I'm finding new ones every day--I'll be adding them to this Flickr album. So you'll definitely want to bookmark it!
Reproductions of some of these views are available to purchase, framed or unframed and in a variety sizes at RochesterSubway.com/postcards . Although most of these vintage postcards are not for sale, for a $10 fee I can supply you with a high-resolution scan of any image. If you are a serious collector and are interested in buying a particular card, please contact me .
