Making the Most of Recent Developments - Ellwanger and Barry Square - Part One

(Please note: While I wrote this a few years ago, I believe that despite a few anachronisms, it's even more relevant now. It appears Parcel 5 has become available again. - Petr Josef Chudoba)

“‘We have the ability to influence its development,’ [Mayor Robert] Duffy said. ‘What happens to Midtown Plaza will play a fundamental role in the rebirth of downtown Rochester.’”[1]

“Midtown Plaza — six buildings in the heart of Rochester marked by empty storefronts and vacant offices — will be demolished to make way for a new headquarters for the growing telecommunications company PAETEC. PAETEC Holding Corp. founder and Chief Executive Arunas Chesonis, who during the summer initiated the idea of moving his company from Perinton to downtown, said he hopes to have the new building up and occupied in as little as four years. PAETEC has about 600 workers in a Route 96 office park and has been growing by about 100 people a year. By the time the company moves downtown, it could be bringing 1,000 to 1,200 jobs, Chesonis said. ‘This to me is the beginning of a renaissance downtown,’ Mayor Robert Duffy said during Tuesday’s announcement by Gov. Eliot Spitzer at Midtown Plaza. ‘To me, it’s Christmas in October.’”[2]

Abstract

“Paetec will use only about 500,000 square feet of the entire 11-acre site. It will be hard to confirm the exact footprint of the building, [Chris] Muller [a corporate spokesperson for Paetec] says, until the company is further along in the design. ‘The city will go through a process of unbundling that site,’ says [Heidi] Zimmer-Meyer. ‘The site will be broken down into something like five or six different sections, and Paetec will take at least one.’”[3]

Whatever is done with the remaining land will, to a great extent, determine the destiny of downtown Rochester. I believe that the best possible use for this land is a town square.

A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, plaza (Spanish), piazza (Italian), Platz (German) and place (French). Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, music concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. Being centrally located, town squares are usually surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, and clothing stores. At their center is often a fountain, well, monument, or statue.

Indeed, this idea is already being considered by some:

“By year’s end, the administration intends to recommend to City Council millions of dollars in contracts and studies that would lead to demolition next year and redevelopment plans.

One concept for redeveloping the total Midtown site, drafted by local design professionals before PAETEC’s announcement, breaks up the block with at least two new streets and creates something of a Rockefeller Center, opening onto East Main Street, with the tallest building backing up to Broad Street.”[4]

Rochester’s Original Town Square

But isn’t a town square out of character for Rochester? Not in the least!

When Monroe County was created in 1831, a courthouse square had to be chosen. Three sites were in the running: Brown’s Square (proposed by Matthew and Francis Brown), Washington Square (proposed by Elisha Johnson), and a site at the center of the 100-acre tract (proposed by Colonel Rochester and his partners). Because of its more central location, the commission accepted Colonel Rochester’s courthouse square.

Unfortunately, as the city developed, this square never became an open area for the people to congregate, and the residents of Rochester went without a town square for the next 130 years.

Midtown Plaza – Designed to be the New Town Square

The idea for Midtown Plaza started in the late 1950’s with discussions between Gilbert J.C. McCurdy, owner of the McCurdy’s department stores and Maurice F Forman, owner of the B. Forman Co. department stores. Both owners were concerned about downtown Rochester’s viability and came up with the idea of an indoor shopping center.

At that point in time, the obvious architect to contact was Victor Gruen, called “the inventor of the modern shopping mall.” Gruen, an Austrian by birth, developed the mall concept from his personal vision of an ideal America, a concept that would benefit both the consumer and the retailer. He combined art and architecture along with an uncanny sense of marketing savvy to redefine what it meant to shop in America.[5]

As a native of Austria, Gruen was quite familiar and at home with the idea of the town square.

In an article entitled “Designer Hails Midtown Plaza as New ‘Town Square’,” his intent is clearly spelled out:

“Victor Gruen, who conceived it, looks upon Midtown Plaza as a modern version of the town square. ‘It is a place where people can meet, can shop, can congregate, where things are happening,’ he said yesterday. ‘The plaza should provide Rochester with a focal point, not only for shopping excursions, but also for entertainment, for meetings, for lectures, for art exhibits, for musicales.’”[6]

Alluding frequently to the architectural surprises and delights of European cities, he singled out Venice and its Piazza St. Marco [photo left], asking:

“‘Why is it that we, the citizens of the richest nation in the world, have to travel thousands of miles to find restfulness and serenity and beauty of this kind?’”[7]

Hoping to re-create the atmosphere of a town square at Midtown Plaza, he incorporated a plethora of art, numerous benches, fountains, a four hundred seat auditorium and a sidewalk café into his plans. He sought to encourage the sort of social intermingling that he saw as the enriching essence of urban life.[8]

The crowning touch was the 28-foot-high Clock of the Nations, which was built exclusively for this huge town square.[9] The visitors’ brochure for Midtown Plaza explained:

“As the plazas of Europe, from the days of the Renaissance, have traditionally been enlivened by the village clock, so Midtown Plaza - America’s first downtown ‘Galleria’ - features the ‘Clock of the Nations’ to mark the time of the day with a colorful pageant.

The clock of your new town square depicts 12 nations, representing the major cultures of the world. On each hour, as all stages open and revolve, the animated scene of the country of the hour is lighted and comes to life, while folk tunes of the land fill the air. Midtown Plaza has recaptured for your enjoyment and your children’s enjoyment the lively and gay atmosphere of the faraway market places of the world.”[10]

The Democrat and Chronicle referred to this town square concept as “One of the outstanding features of the proposed new Midtown Plaza.”[11]

Midtown Plaza was built in an amazing 13 months and opened to the public April 10, 1962. [12] Even before it formally opened, it was hailed to the nation’s newspapers and magazines as a pioneering example of urban redevelopment[13] and was the country’s first completed major downtown renewal project.[14]

Midtown Plaza was the largest downtown business and shopping complex under one roof in America.[15] Angelo J. Chiarella, Midtown’s general manager and a vice president, said at the time, “The Midtown Plaza concept is the most significant thing to happen to American cities in our time.”[16]

ESA, in their July-August, 1962 issue, called Midtown Plaza “Rochester’s new ‘Village Square’”[17] and “a Twentieth Century town square.” [18] The Democrat and Chronicle[19] and the Times-Union[20] concurred.

As such, requests for information came in from all over the country.

“‘Literally hundreds of chambers of commerce have asked for information about Midtown,’ says Vernon W. Dean of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce Retail Division.

‘To date, about 150 cities are interested in finding out about Midtown and many are considering sending delegations here to see it.’”[21]

Gruen was at the height of his influence when Midtown Plaza was completed and the project attracted international attention. City officials and planners from around the world came to see his solution to the mid-century urban crisis. Gruen cited Midtown Plaza as “one project that is unusual and probably the farthest advanced” of such projects around the nation.[22]

As such, Midtown won several design awards.[23] Among them was a first prize award from the State Society of Architects for Midtown Plaza’s excellence of design.[24]

Kudos count for nothing unless the concept works. Did it work? Did we have a viable town square? The Times-Union thought so:

“Until Midtown Plaza opened, downtown Rochester sadly lacked a place where people could come together and see each other as something more than blurred figures on the streets. We had nothing in the nature of a town square.

The Midtown mall, however, serves this purpose very well. It gives the city a focal point it lacked. The daily crowds in the mall haven’t all been hurrying through. They’ve been sitting a little and looking a little and, in the process, getting a better idea of the people they live with.”[25]

Midtown Plaza became the host to political rallies, meetings, lectures, exhibits, harvest queen competitions, college dances, entertainment, music concerts, musicales and more.

Christmas was the high point of the year for Midtown Plaza. Each year, Midtown was mobbed with miniature Rochesterians in mittens, waiting in line to ride the monorail or sit on Santa’s lap on the Magic Mountain. It would be difficult indeed to find someone who has not taken part in this yearly ritual. You might say, it wouldn’t be Christmas in Rochester without our trip to Midtown Plaza.

Gruen was ecstatic with how his project had turned out, stating:

“‘Not even in our most optimistic moments could we have foreseen the extent to which the Plaza has become a focal point of civic, political, cultural and artistic life.’”[26]

Later in life Gruen dismissed the strictly commercial suburban malls as “those bastard developments” but continued to hold Midtown in high regard. It is probably the project that most closely followed his plan and shared his civic vision.[27]

Clearly, Rochester is ready for a new town square. The concept is part of our collective character.

[1] “City of Rochester considers Midtown purchase,” by Tara E. Buck, Daily Record (Rochester), November 14, 2006.

[2] “Midtown Out, PAETEC In,” by Matthew Daneman, Mary Chao and Steve Orr, Democrat and Chronicle, October 17, 2007.

[3] “Midtown Plaza: After the hoopla, questions linger,” By Tim Louis Macaluso, Rochester City Newspaper, October 23, 2007.

\[4] “Problems emerging in razing Midtown,” by Brian Sharp, Democrat and Chronicle, October 26, 2007.

[5] https://eh.net/bookreviews/library/0761

[6] “Designer Hails Midtown Plaza as New ‘Town Square’,” Democrat and Chronicle, April 4, 1962.

[7] “Beauty Can Rout Ugliness in Cities - Midtown Plaza Expert Sees Arts Important to Marts,” Times-Union, December 4, 1958.

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midtown_Plaza_(Rochester)

[9] Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly, October, 1962, p. 112.

[10] “Clock Gives Plaza Old World Flavor,” Democrat and Chronicle, May 17, 1962, quoting the Midtown visitors’ brochure.

[11] “On the Record: Midtown Plaza Features Hailed,” Democrat and Chronicle, November 26, 1958.

[12] Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly, October, 1962, p. 111.

[13] “Midtown Plaza Designer Continues Battle Against the Automobile,” by Gene Oishi, Democrat and Chronicle, March 8, 1964.

[14] ESA, July-August, 1962, p. 6.

[15] Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly, October, 1962, p. 110.

[16] “Midtown Plaza Success,” Democrat and Chronicle, March 29, 1964.

[17] ESA, July-August, 1962, p. 6.

[18] ESA, July-August, 1962, p. 7.

[19] “Midtown Plaza Success,” Democrat and Chronicle, March 29, 1964.

[20] “Midtown a Year Later: How It Has Fared,” by Schuyler Townson, Times-Union, April 17, 1963

[21] Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly, October, 1962, p. 113.

[22] “Midtown Plaza Project Cited in Magazine,” Times-Union, June 14, 1960.

[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midtown_Plaza_(Rochester)

[24] Midtown Plaza Design Hailed,” Times-Union, October 14, 1965.

[25] “Rochester Gets A Gathering Place,” Times-Union, May 7, 1962.

[26] “Midtown Plaza Gets More Kudos,” Times-Union, October 31, 1963.

[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midtown_Plaza_%28Rochester%29

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