City - Rochester NY - Downtown Rochester 1904 Postcard

Colorized photo from 1904 Original Title: State Street, Rochester, N.Y Photographer: Detroit Publishing Location: 1 State St, Rochester, NY We are in Rochester, NY on State Street in 1904 at 11am. My guess is that people are out and about looking for lunch, or maybe its the weekend and everyone is shopping. What I find interesting about this scene are all the bicycles, and bike racks, there is one on almost every street corner. That's not often seen, usual a bike is balanced on the curb. On the left is the Powers building, it was originally built in 1869. It has a triple mansard roof and an observation tower which were added after construction between 1873 and 1888. For the only reason so they can remain the tallest building in Rochester. It was made into an historic landmark in 1973, and still sits there today. Further down the block is the Ellwanger & Barry office building, also still there now, minus that awning. In fact many of the buildings on the left side are still there. Off in the distance is a train bridge, it may still be the one that is there today, or it sure looks the same. And on the right was the Exchange, and I believe the one behind it was the library. It has a set of cool looking gargoyles on the roof.