South Wedge, Rochester NY

The history of South Wedge

The South Wedge takes its name from its shape. The old Erie Canal route (now I-490) formed one side of the triangle, the Genesee River formed another, and the north edge of the Ellwanger and Barry nursery grounds once closed it off at the south.

Building began in earnest in the 1830s, after the Erie Canal opened in 1825 and Rochester grew fast. Cross streets such as Comfort, Alexander, Hamilton (then Jefferson), Averill (then Munger), Hickory, Gregory and Sanford were laid out in that decade, and the first houses were modest cottages, many with Greek Revival touches. Lumber yards, a boatbuilding basin and warehouses lined the canal and river edges.

In 1840 George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry started the Mount Hope Botanical and Pomological Gardens just south of the neighborhood, and the nursery grew to 650 acres by 1871. The firm built worker housing, later turned nursery land into house lots, and helped launch the city’s first horsecar line along Mount Hope Avenue. By 1875 nearly every lot from Gregory Street north had a building on it.

Most residential streets were built out by 1900, while many of the commercial buildings along South Avenue went up between 1910 and the early 1930s. Construction slowed during the Depression and stopped by the late 1930s, so the neighborhood you see today is largely a nineteenth and early twentieth century place.

In 2013 the core of the neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the South Wedge Historic District, recognized for its canal-era growth and its large collection of vernacular houses.

The homes in South Wedge today

Mostly detached two-story houses built as single-family or two-family homes between the 1840s and 1920s, some now split into apartments. Styles are mostly builder-made versions of Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne and Eastlake, with a few Second Empire houses. You will also find two-to-four-story mixed-use buildings on South Avenue and former school buildings converted to apartments.

Landmarks and parks

• 269-271 Hamilton Street - City landmark owned by Frederick Douglass from 1855 until his death in 1895
• Calvary-St. Andrew’s Church and Nazareth House on Averill Avenue - both individually listed on the National Register
• St. Boniface campus on Gregory Street - historic church, rectory, convent, and the former school building now known as German House
• Former School 13 at 1 Gregory Park - built 1902-03, designed by J. Foster Warner, now apartments
• Abeles Building, 681 South Avenue - City landmark inside the South Avenue/Gregory Street Preservation District
• Mount Hope Cemetery (1838) - just to the south, burial place of Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony

Buying a home in South Wedge

Fall for the house, then do the homework. These are the first things we check here, on top of the usual inspection:

• Is the house inside the South Avenue/Gregory Street Preservation District? If so, exterior changes need City approval before work starts.
• For 1840s to 1880s houses, check the foundation (often stone or brick), sill condition, and any balloon framing, and ask what is under any synthetic siding.
• In houses built as two-family or later split into apartments, confirm the legal unit count with the City and look for separate utilities and egress.
• The full city, school and county tax bill for the exact parcel
• School assignment for the exact address, confirmed with the Rochester City School District

The bigger picture on city taxes, lead rules, two-family homes and the City’s homebuyer grant is in our City of Rochester guide.

Selling a home in South Wedge

Buyers who search for South Wedge are often looking for exactly what makes it South Wedge: the homes, the history and places like 269-271 Hamilton Street. We put that story in the marketing, price the home against true comparables, and launch it to draw a crowd. How we sell · What is my South Wedge home worth?

South Wedge FAQ

Sources

• South Wedge Historic District, National Register nomination (NPS)
• NPS NRIS record 13000307, South Wedge Historic District
• Landmark Society of Western New York, City of Rochester Preservation Districts and City Landmarks
• Celebrate City Living, South Wedge
• Neighborhood names and boundaries: Celebrate City Living, a City of Rochester partnership

We describe neighborhoods by their history, homes and landmarks, never by who lives there. For school or safety questions, use the official sources so you can decide for yourself.

More Rochester neighborhoods: Cobbs Hill · Highland Park · Monroe Village · Neighborhood of the Arts · Park Avenue · Swillburg · Upper Monroe · Upper Mount Hope · Susan B. Anthony · The 14621 · All 35 Rochester neighborhoods