The East Avenue Historic District is one of Rochester’s gems. It is the home of the George Eastman House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Boynton House, Strong-Todd House, Hiram Sibley House and many Claude Bragdon homes — to name a few. The grand East Avenue and its notable architecture is a favorite for strolling, running and biking (especially since the city took the traffic pattern back down to two lanes.) And recently, maintaining the character of the neighborhood has been in the news because of a proposal for a large apartment building that backs up to the George Eastman House.

East Avenue is a super unique place in a country that has been overtaken by strip malls and cookie-cutter architecture, so you can see why people are passionate about protecting it and making changes that are in line with the character of the neighborhood — big and small. The proposed apartment building near the Eastman House is an example of the big. And a proposal to build a 6-car garage behind a residence at East & Granger is an example of a small project that many fear could have a bigger impact on the look and feel of the intersection that grandly houses the gorgeous Asbury Church.
On April 10, the preservation board will consider a proposal to build a 6-car garage on East Avenue and Granger Place (at #1 Granger). Although the plans fall within what’s allowable in the R-3 zoning designation, some in the neighborhood are concerned that the structure would serve as an enormous fence that would create a barrier blocking the view of East Avenue and the surrounding green space. And that barrier goes against the expansive, park-like setting deliberately created back in the 19th century.
About a decade ago, there was a proposal to build parking spaces on the south side of #11 Granger Place down the street. The Preservation Board sided with concerned residents who believed “…the integrity of the entire environment and would seriously alter the park-like setting that is vital to the historical character of the neighborhood.” Similarly, some neighbors are hoping the Preservation Board will not approve the proposal for a 6-car garage.

The meeting will be held at 6PM on Wednesday, April 10 at City Hall, Room 302a.
The concerns are outlined in a letter to the preservation board. Here are some excerpts and photos:
“When George Hollister laid out his subdivision at the end of the 19th century, his intention was to erect homes along the street in a way that would maintain an appreciation of the nature of the surrounding area… an expansive, idyllic spaciousness, giving the entire neighborhood a park-like setting. Plots
were designed for homes to be built with a
good deal of open land before, behind, and
between each mansion. Open space was to be
maintained with trees and shrubs to enhance
the environment. Carriage houses (four were
built on the west side of the street) stood far
back from the houses to permit a sense of
space behind the houses. The Hagen house
(erected on the corner of Granger and East)
had their carriage house built in a far western
corner of their lot, well out of sight (and well
behind the sight line of the back yards). The
carriage house behind George Eastman’s
house (now the offices of Asbury Church)
was also set far back in order to maintain the
spirit of openness and a full luster of the area.
In the following years, a number of carriage houses and garages were built to
accommodate the advent of the automobile. All of them maintained spirit of the
“setback” so the open sight line of back yards were maintained. In fact, a new set of
townhouses on University Avenue was recently erected in a way that preserved the
open sight line of the back yards. The view was one of uninterrupted gardens from East
Avenue to University Avenue, in keeping with the area’s history as a nursery.
The proposed construction at #1 Granger Place would ultimately create a “compound” that would form a sizeable barrier to the neighborhood. In effect, the proposed garage would form an enormous fence, (eight to twelve feet high) blocking the sweeping view of the neighborhood from East Avenue, shutting off the view of East Avenue and the surrounding green space from the west side of the street. As a result, fully five homes will be denied the pleasure of the openness originally designed by the developers.
…
Both the buildings and the green space surrounding them are historically vital.”