Upper Falls, Rochester NY

The history of Upper Falls

Upper Falls is named for the waterfall on the Genesee River at its western edge, the same falls known on the west bank as the High Falls. The neighborhood lies just north of downtown on the east side of the river. This land was originally part of the town of Brighton and came into Rochester when the city was incorporated in 1834.

In the early years the high bluffs north of the falls, between St. Paul Street and the gorge, were mostly open ground. That tract, called Falls Field, had the best view of the falls, and visitors strolled out to see it, traveling circuses pitched their tents there, and a beer garden opened in the 1840s. The Rochester and Auburn Railroad, finished in 1841, swung through in a wide arc from the brink of the falls and became part of the New York Central in 1854. For decades its busy grade crossings slowed building north of the tracks.

That changed in the 1870s. Brewers dug cellars into the gorge bank to keep their beer cool with river water, new streets such as Hanover Street were laid out north of the tracks, and in 1874 Bausch and Lomb opened the first building of its factory on North St. Paul Street overlooking the gorge. When the railroad raised its tracks and built underpasses at St. Paul, Clinton, St. Joseph, Hudson and North streets, the whole district opened up, and by 1891 electric trolley lines ran north on these streets beyond Clifford Avenue.

By 1900 the area was largely built out, with modest frame houses and cottages lining narrow streets and alleys and stores along Clinton Avenue and Joseph Avenue, which the City Council renamed from St. Joseph Street in 1900. Industry lined St. Paul Street and the gorge, including Bausch and Lomb, the Bartholomay and Genesee breweries and the Rochester Gas Works. In 1873 St. Michael’s parish was organized at North Clinton and Clifford avenues, and its Gothic Revival church, designed by Adolphus Druiding, was dedicated in 1890.

The neighborhood’s grandest building came in 1914, when the New York Central opened its third Rochester passenger station, designed by Claude Bragdon. It filled the block on the north side of Central Avenue between Clinton and Joseph avenues, and its three great arched windows were meant to suggest the driving wheels of a locomotive. As rail travel declined, the building was sold to a private investor, and demolition began in 1965; the last section came down in 1978. A new intermodal station, later named for Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter, opened on Central Avenue in 2017.

The mid-20th century brought rebuilding. The Chatham Gardens apartments, 184 units at Joseph Avenue and Kelly Street, were built in 1964 under a state housing program, and in 1966 and 1967 the City drew up plans for an Upper Falls Renewal Project, including new building regulations and land use controls. Some older houses were later cleared. In 2018 the 150-apartment Upper Falls Square opened at Hudson Avenue and Cleveland Street on about 3.2 acres where the City had razed condemned homes.

The homes in Upper Falls today

The oldest housing is a mix of modest frame cottages and two-family houses on narrow lots, much of it in place by 1900, along with larger multi-unit houses. Mid-century apartment complexes such as Chatham Gardens (1964) and newer single-family homes and apartments built on cleared lots in recent decades fill in between. Ages vary a lot block to block, so ask for the year built on each listing.

Landmarks and parks

• St. Michael’s Church - Gothic Revival church on North Clinton Avenue by Adolphus Druiding, dedicated in 1890
• High Falls and the Genesee River gorge - the waterfall that gives the neighborhood its name; the bluffs here were once Falls Field, a favorite viewpoint
• St. Paul Street industrial corridor - breweries, Bausch and Lomb and other plants lined the gorge here from the 1870s
• Louise M. Slaughter Rochester Station - the city’s train station on Central Avenue, opened 2017 on the same street as Claude Bragdon’s 1914 station
• Chatham Gardens - 1964 apartment complex at Joseph Avenue and Kelly Street

Buying a home in Upper Falls

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

• For two-family and multi-unit houses, confirm the legal unit count and a current City Certificate of Occupancy.
• Older homes need a lead paint disclosure if built before 1978; ask about lead-safe condition.
• On lots near the rail corridor or the old St. Paul Street industrial sites, review zoning and any environmental records.
• 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 Upper Falls

Buyers who search for Upper Falls are often looking for exactly what makes it Upper Falls: the homes, the history and places like St. Michael’s Church. 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 Upper Falls home worth?

Upper Falls FAQ

Sources

• Blake McKelvey, Rochester’s Near Northeast, Rochester History (1967)
• Rochester Public Library, Lost Rochester: The New York Central Railroad Station
• St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish, Saint Michael’s Church
• Great American Stations, Rochester, NY Louise M. Slaughter Station
• Cornell University Library archives, Upper Falls Renewal Project files (1966-1967)
• Rochester Business Journal: $4.5 million in upgrades completed at Upper Falls apartment community (Chatham Gardens, 2018)
• Rochester Business Journal: Work to begin on $50 million housing project (Upper Falls Square, 2017)
• 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.

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