place

Midtown Plaza (Rochester, New York)

1962 establishments in New York (state)2008 disestablishments in New York (state)Buildings and structures demolished in 2010Buildings and structures under construction in the United StatesCommercial buildings in Rochester, New York
Defunct shopping malls in the United StatesDemolished buildings and structures in New York (state)Demolished shopping malls in the United StatesShopping malls disestablished in 2008Shopping malls established in 1962Shopping malls in New York (state)Victor Gruen buildings
Rochester Midtown Plaza Interior
Rochester Midtown Plaza Interior

Midtown Plaza is a city district in downtown Rochester, New York. The site was originally occupied by an indoor shopping mall designed by Victor Gruen and opened in 1962. Although it was primarily promoted as a retail space, Gruen's vision was for the plaza to function as an all-purpose community space to revitalize the downtown area. The original mall was closed in 2008 after a decline in retail activity and partially demolished. Since 2010 the site has been redeveloped with new buildings and an open lot known as Parcel 5.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Midtown Plaza (Rochester, New York) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Midtown Plaza (Rochester, New York)
Cortland Street, City of Rochester

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Midtown Plaza (Rochester, New York)Continue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.15652 ° E -77.6048 °
placeShow on map

Address

Cortland Street
14604 City of Rochester
New York, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Rochester Midtown Plaza Interior
Rochester Midtown Plaza Interior
Share experience

Nearby Places

Temple Building (Rochester, New York)
Temple Building (Rochester, New York)

The Temple Building is the name of a high-rise building located in Rochester, New York, United States. Standing at 218 feet (66 m), it is the eleventh-tallest building in Rochester. In the early 1920's, Reverend Clinton Wunder, Pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Rochester, NY, convinced his congregation to build the Temple Building. The parish had outgrown their existing church. Wunder thought that a nine-story building would become an economic engine for the Church's mission. Eventually the plans changed to a fourteen-story building. Many in the congregation thought that it was unwise to build a fourteen-story "Skyscraper Church." Wunder prevailed and a building committee, headed by William Hartman, was established. Originally the committee decided to build a hotel with the new church. They changed direction and decided an office building instead of a hotel would be better suited for the needs of the church and also more profitable. Hartman died suddenly in July 1923, but not before every penny of the estimated $1,900,000 needed for construction had been raised to build the Temple Building. The existing church was quickly demolished, and construction began in 1924. Until the Temple Building was complete, the congregation would temporarily worship in the old Lyceum Theater. Arthur Castle, the new chairman of the building committee was determined to finish construction within one year, and very nearly succeeded. Despite many trying circumstances, the new Temple Building was dedicated on September 7, 1925. During the early years of its use, the building’s auditorium was frequently filled to capacity, and it was not uncommon to turn folks away. Wunder had strong oratorical skills and unusual advertising and promotional abilities to promote the Temple Building. Each year more than 100,000 people would walk through the Temple doors to attend worship services or an occasional debate. In 1926, Wunder invited Clarence Darrow to Rochester for a debate at the Temple Building with him on the topic "Has Life A Purpose?" Darrow's argument was based on his bold agnostic theories. The Church prospered and the Temple Building became one of Rochester's most famous landmark destinations.

Xerox Tower
Xerox Tower

Innovation Square, formerly Xerox Tower, is a skyscraper in downtown Rochester, New York, standing at 443 feet (135 m) tall. The tower is the centerpiece of a roughly 2.7 acres (1.1 ha) complex named Xerox Square. When it was built in 1967, it was the tallest building made of poured-in-place exposed aggregate concrete. It is the tallest building in Rochester, as well as the third tallest building in New York outside of New York City. It was initially used as the headquarters of Xerox Corporation. The "Digital X" Xerox logo at the top of the building was removed in 2005 with Xerox's new positioning away from "The Document Company" signature and the related logo in use since 1994.On April 18, 2009, Xerox announced their wish to sell the tower and other buildings in Xerox Square, and lease back the office space. In August 2013 the property was sold to Buckingham Properties for $40 million. Under the terms of the sale Xerox will continue to lease space in the building for eight years, with an option to renew. Between the Summer and Autumn of 2015, a multi-color light display was added to all four corners of the tower roof.The complex formerly featured an outdoor skating rink, and an English pub-style restaurant called The Shakespeare, both of which operated until the late 1970s or 1980s before being converted to a private outdoor lounge for Xerox employees.On January 26, 2018, Xerox has announced that it would vacate the entire building to move all its local employees to Webster.More recently, it was sold to Gallina Development. Gallina announced that it would rename the complex "Innovation Square" and retrofit it with housing, commercial, and college student living space. The auditorium, which was kept, reopened as a performing arts center in September 2021.