About Rochester

Lilacs in nearby Highland Park

Rochester has many of the benefits and few of the disadvantages of an urban center. It is rated the "best minor league sports city" in the U.S. It is home to the historic Susan B. Anthony House, the acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance Troupe, and the infamous "Garbage Plate" at Nick Tahou's no-frills eatery. Rochester has the world's largest concentration of lilacs. It offers some of the most appealing and affordable housing in the country—not to mention an extensive and highly regarded parks system, and five nationally ranked high schools. It is a regular stop on both the LPGA and Nationwide golf circuits, and an occasional stop for the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and Ryder Cup.

The Erie Canal path

Born as a milltown on the Genesee River, boosted to boomtown status with the opening of the Erie Canal, and brought to the pinnacle of modernity and innovation by its entrepreneurial patriarch George Eastman, Rochester provides a richness and diversity of life that's hard to find outside of the country's largest cities. Its lively "knowledge economy" draws its strength from Eastman Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, Xerox, growing telecommunications, "biotech" and IT sectors and other technology-driven enterprises located here. It hosts the renowned Eastman School of Music, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the University of Rochester.

A beautiful photograph taken by Dr. Deb Pierce at Turning Point Park.