The Rochester High Falls historic district is an amazing place to visit in Rochester NY. Nested in historic downtown Rochester NY, the High Falls have been a destination for visitors for over a century.
Historically, all of the hotels were centered in downtown Rochester NY. It was common for overnight guests to walk the half mile trail from Main St to Rochesters High Falls. Guests would frequently comment that they had not suspected such a large waterfall could exist in the middle of an industrialized city.
Rochester High Falls Video
The visit to Rochester High Falls was further enhanced by the stories of Sam Patch, the dare devil who made several leaps off the giant water fall in the 1800’s with his dog. As the story goes, his dog refused to jump on his final attempt, which turned out to be to his death at the bottom of the falls.
Rochester was built on hydro power, which fueled the mills that were crowded along Brown’s Race, adjacent to High Falls. Water was diverted above the big water fall and fed through a series of canals to mills perched on the gorge wall, turning huge waterwheels as the water dropped. Several of the gigantic water wheels can be seen still along Brown’s Race and in the High Falls Visitor Center. Also see this for more pictures.
More recently, the Genesee Brewing Company has restored a historic building on the East side of the High Falls gorge as a visitor center and bar. The building has fantastic views of the falling water and is a great place for visitors to grab a drink.
Written by: Adam
Tags: rochester high falls, rochester ny high falls, rochester water falls, rochester ny high falls, rochester ny water falls, downtown rochester, downtown rochester ny, downtown rochester water falls,
17 Comments
-
Yes. And I actually thought it was really cool before. But now there is something on the other side of the bridge to walk to… A much better experience – and certainly safer on the East side of the gorge now that the Brew House is there.
-
I’m Hoping some of the buildings in the direct area of the brew house on St. Paul start to see some revitalization.
-
I totally agree. That section of town is a little bit run-down, and can be scary. It would be nice to see more positive development there. The proximity to downtown and the gorge is just so awesome, it’s a shame to leave that area underutilized.
-
High falls is a somewhat hidden gem in Rochester and i love it. In some ways it feels more big city like than many areas of downtown. Reminds me a bit of the distillery district of Toronto. I wish more people felt the way i do about high falls. It seems to be largely forgotten, yet it has potential to become the hottest section of the city…
-
Exactly Justin… Couldn’t agree more… Yet, when you visit on a weekend – it is a ghost town. While the businesses have moved in, where are the people and the restaurants? In fact, one closed after 17 years in High Falls in 2009 citing lack of business and interest in downtown nightlife. How do we change that?
-
Sometimes all it takes is one or two businesses taking a chance to spark new interest in an area that could be super cool. Perhaps with the new brewpub, another restaurant will choose the area, which may spark another and so on. Every time we walk around Browns Race (and we go there often), I think of what a cool retail/restaurant area it could be. It has some great outdoor recreation opportunities too. And the proximity to the ball park could be beneficial for those wishing to go out before and after games. Check out the cool stuff GardenAerial (gardenaerial.org) has planned, as well as Benjamin Woelk’s blog post “The Myth of a Vacant High Falls.”)
-
I like the idea of a retail restaurant area as opposed to a restaurant/club area that they tried to do. Hundreds of drunk clubbers running around the area is not appealing to me. Having a nice meal and then walking around a historic area sounds better.
-
YES! I love that too… And it seems like there is plenty of space for the big box stores (no screaming at me – it’s what the people want) to draw the people back in…
-
Yeah that’s probably one of the bigger reasons why the city’s attempt at revitalizing failed for the most part. Restaurants and small shops are the way to go, no doubt.
But as for the big box stores, how about an Ikea on St. Paul? 🙂
-
I believe that’s how you will pull the suburbs back into the city. I know some of my Rocville colleagues will passionately disagree. But I think we have to find the right compromises on this stuff. The big box stores are not going away – so I believe we should at least try to get them in the city where we want the shopping dollars to go… What’s the realistic alternative?
I stand ready to be yelled at… 😉
-
I’m not a big fan of big box stores, but there are lots of vacant HUGE buildings/lots in the city that could absolutely host them in lieu of them building them out in the ‘burbs and contributing to urban sprawl.
-
I’ve seen big box stores in places like Boston and Philly that manage to blend them into the urban character. Not a fan of the stores, but at least they don’t look too suburban in nature. Then I go to places like Charlotte or Raleigh that have the big box stores in the “city” but resemble a Jefferson road atmosphere. It is because of that reason I have no interest in those cities and am very bored when I have to be there. You can have those stores without the area resembling Henrietta.
-
I agree, Dale. There are ways to integrate them in urban centers without knocking stuff down, destroying character and making it feel like stripmall-anywhere USA. Cities like DC and Boston have done it.
-
This is another spot in Rochester that could really turn into something spectacular. One thing Rochester is definitely lacking is a bustling Downtown and entertainment area. I think some careful planning and a some research can turn these areas into urban, hip destinations that people want to go to. There are so many vacant buildings and if they started with even one big business that draws a crowd, others would follow.
-
I agree that the Brew House is a great opportunity for the High Falls area. I’m hoping that this summer with the Brew House open and Frontier Field busy with baseball games and other summer events, there will be even more opportunity to draw people to High Falls. I also agree there is more work to be done. Here’s hoping the Brew House is a success and can attract even more business to the area.
-
Besides the Brew Pub and other dining establishments, retail HAS to be part of the mix. Go to any city with a tourist area. There are restaurants and stores next door to each other. There may be a few clubs in there, but there needs to be retail to keep people in the area before and after they eat.
There also are some built-in places for buskers to work, thus giving people entertainment options besides going into a club.
Right now, it’s offices, a couple/few restaurants, a fantastic view and a Brew Pub. Once you’ve eaten and looked at the falls, what is there to do besides get in your car and go somewhere else?
With the brewpub open, it has become a very cool place to walk around.