ROCHESTER, a city of north-western New York, U.S.A., 7o m. E.N.E. of Buffalo, on the Genesee river, the State Barge canal and Lake Ontario; a port of entry and the county seat of Monroe county. It has a municipal airport and is served by the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh, the Erie, the Lehigh Valley, the New York Central, the Pennsylvania and the West Shore railways, inter-urban trolleys, motor-bus and truck lines, lake steamers and canal barges. Pop. (1920) 295,75o (23% foreign born white) ; (1930) 328,132; in 1936, estimated 345,00o.
The city occupies 34 sq.m. on a broad, level plateau, ranging from 500 to 697 ft. above sea-level. Through the centre runs the Genesee river, in a deep gorge with banks 5o to 200 ft. high, and within the city limits are its three cataracts, which have a combined fall of 261 feet. At the mouth of the river is the port of Rochester. The State Barge canal also crosses the city. In the abandoned bed of the Erie canal a subway has been con structed, to accommodate trackage for suburban trolley lines and for a belt-line connecting all the railways, with a boulevard (Broad street) for vehicular traffic at the street level above. The city's 1,300 streets have a total mileage of 526 (453 m. paved). Its park system, planned by Frederick Law Olmsted, embraces 5 large and 55 small parks, covering 1,864 ac., and provides generous facilities for outdoor play and recreation. Durand-Eastman park (484 ac.) has 4 m. of frontage on Lake Ontario, and Genesee Valley park (600 ac.) contains some of the most picturesque stretches of the river. A city-planning bureau has been in existence since 1917, and zoning ordinances are in effect. There are over 170 churches, many of which are afchi tecturally noteworthy, including St. Patrick's cathedral (Roman Catholic) and the Baptist temple.
Rochester is an important educational centre, the seat of the University of Rochester (Baptist; 185o) ; Rochester Theological seminary (Baptist; 185o), not connected with the university; St. Bernard's Theological seminary (Roman Catholic ; 1893) ; the Rochester School of Optometry; and the Athenaeum and Mechanics' institute, founded in 1885 by Henry Lomb, of the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company, in continuation of the Rochester Athenaeum (established 1829), and housed in a large building given by George Eastman. The University of Rochester (founded 1850) consists of a college of arts and sciences, the Eastman school of music (established in 1918 by various gifts from George Eastman, aggregating $12,000,000 by 1928) and the school of medicine and dentistry (established in 1920 through gifts from George Eastman, the General Education Board and others). The total endowment of the university amounts to $51,
405,453 (1936). The public-school system adopted by the people of the city (comprising 52 grammar, 6 junior high, 8 high, 2 con tinuation and 7 special schools in 1934) has led in developing the junior high school, in using the school buildings as commu nity centres, and in various other improvements. There are 35 parochial schools and over 20 other schools under private aus pices. The charitable organizations of the city are jointly financed through a community chest, which had its origin during the World War, and which raised $856,210 in its 1935 campaign con tributed by over 90,00o citizens. The daily papers include the Times-Union (Independent; 1826), the Democrat and Chronicle, the Journal-American (1922), and the German Abendpost (1851). Italian, German, Catholic, and Jewish weeklies are published. Since Jan. 1, 1928, the city has operated under a commission manager form of government. The assessed valuation for 1937 was $625,203,142.
The falls of the Genesee provide a vast water-power, which has been utilized for manufacturing throughout the city's history. There were 636 manufacturing establishments in 1933 employing 35,188 people to whom was paid and using $52,219, 072 worth of material. The aggregate factory output was valued at $159,244,803. The leading products (measured by value) were in 1929 men's clothing ($47,724,512), electrical machinery, appa ratus and supplies ($34,822,358), foundry and machine-shop products ($22,537,586) and boots and shoes, largely women's shoes ($18,567,042). There are more than a score of large nur series in the city and around it, shipping seeds, bulbs and plants to all parts of the country. The city has an extensive wholesale and retail trade. The commerce of its port amounted in 1935 to 556,604 tons, valued at $7,612,587. Exports from the customs dis trict in 1935 were valued at $5,299,000; imports at $3,841,000. Bank debits for the year aggregated $1,179,000,000.