THE CITY'S NEIGHBORHOOD CORNUCOPIA

Rochester is known as a city of neighborhoods - three dozen across the city's four quadrants are recognized by the City's Bureau of Neighborhood Initiatives.  Each has its own character and amenities that provides a distinct experience from the other neighborhoods.  From the tree lined residential avenues of Maplewood to the eclectic funkiness of the South Wedge Business district Rochester has a neighborhood that will feel like home to you.  The urban charm and gracious homes of the 19th Ward to the family friendly yards in Browncroft.  Explore neighborhoods using the drop-down menu from the Neighborhoods navigation link above and find your perfect home and your perfect neighborhood in the city.

Here's an overview of the city's four quadrants:

All four city sectors border on the Genesee River and include a rainbow of residential neighborhoods with housing options for every taste and means.

Each offers convenient commercial strips, ample green space, recreation centers and playgrounds, cultural resources, library branches, fine public and parochial schools, nearby child care facilities' modernized street lighting and the full complement of municipal services.

NORTHEAST

Housing here offers a choice of apartment types, modest cottages, Queen Anne mansions, stately Tudors and new, single-family in-fill homes in traditional urban styles with porches, exterior trim and other features designed to blend into the charming ambiance of well-established city neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods reflect the wealth of the City's heritage with food and specialty stores offering Slavic, German, Polish, Jamaican, Hispanic, Turkish and Southern delicacies that represent the successive waves of immigrants for whose skills and talents Rochester is renowned.

Major employers include Bausch & Lomb, Gleason Works, Rochester General Hospital, High Falls Brewery, and the Coca Cola bottling plant.

Schools in this sector are East and Franklin high schools, Frederick Douglass Middle School and various elementary schools.

Scenic, leisure-time and community resources in this sector cover a vivid menu of cultural experiences, from the artistic troves of the Memorial Art Gallery to the cornucopia of tastes, aromas and sights at the Public Market.  Seneca Park's expanded zoo, hiking trails, pool, playing fields and picnic areas and Durand Eastman Park's golf course, trails, picnic areas and beach. Northeast parkland totals 1,403 acres.

SOUTHWEST

Housing options are dazzling, from Corn Hill's urbane new town homes and the preservation districts' eclectic mix of restored, vintage dwellings to new and seasoned single-family homes converted doubles, multiple brick or woodframe structures and the traditional colonials of the Sibley Tract.

Neighborhoods range from charming preservation areas perfect for commuters to family-oriented "small town" settings. Full-service business strips ~ border most neighborhoods. Corner stores and ethnic groceries are close-at-hand and jazz clubs are easy to find.

Public schools include Nathaniel Rochester School and Wilson Magnet High (rated among N.Y. State's top 10) and convenient elementary schools.

Major employers are St. Mary's Hospital, Eastman Kodak's Lincoln plant and Taylor Instrument.

Scenic and leisure-time resources here begin at Downtown's edge with cultural treasures like the landmark home of suffragist Susan B. Anthony and historic Corn Hill's streets of restored 19th-century homes. Greenspace and recreational resources include Aberdeen Square, the Frost St. recreation area, the Boys and Girls Club, the Arnett "Y" branch and the 79-acre Genesee Valley Park (enclosed ice rink, Olympic pool complex, canoe launch, playing fields, tennis courts and picnic areas), among a total of 251 parkland acres in this sector.

SOUTHEAST

Housing covers the gamut from charming cottages in Swillburg and South Wedge, substantial singlefamily homes in the Ellwanger-Barry and Highland-Cobbs Hill areas to landmark dwellings in historic Wadsworth Square and estate-like Greek Revival mansions and grounds on East and Park Avenues, plus condos and charming apartments, both new and converted.

Neighborhoods offer distinctive housing in scenic and historic settings, tree-lined streets with park views, revitalized commercial areas with unique boutiques and restaurants and an active social context for young singles.

Public schools include Monroe High School and the School of the Arts and several elementary schools.

The major employers are institutions, of which the largest is the University of Rochester and its Medical Center (Strong Hospital), plus Highland hospital.

Scenic, leisure-time and cultural resources abound: Rochester Museum and Science Center and Planetarium, the Eastman House International Museum of Photography, Cobb's Hill Recreation Area and Center (fishing/skating pond, tennis courts. playing fields and playground) and Highland Park's 155 acres of famous lilacs and other blooms, the Highland Bowl concert stage and scenic, historic Mt. Hope Cemetery. Parkland in the Southeast totals 1,195 acres.

NORTHWEST

The housing stock features homes built in every decade since the 1920s: Newer homes and elegant beachfront structures in the Charlotte neighborhood, older mansions in Maplewood, generous doubles in Edgerton, compact single-family dwellings in Lyell-Otis and affordable apartments in Dutchtown.

Neighborhoods are dotted with bakeries and restaurants serving ethnic specialties from Italian, German and Hungarian cuisine to West Indian, Hispanic and Asian delicacies.

Schools include Edison Tech., John Marshall, Aquinas and Nazareth Academy high schools, Jefferson and Charlotte junior highs and a number of elementary schools.

The major employer in this quadrant is Eastman Kodak. Its Kodak Park and International Headquarters located here provide employment for 45,530 area residents.

Scenic and leisure-time resources include High Falls Park with its 90-foot-high Upper Falls in the historic Brown's Race area, Jones Square Park with its gazebo surrounded by stately homes and churches, the Edgerton Recreation Center and its Stardust Ballroom, Upper and Lower Maplewood Park with its Rose Gardens and natural ice rink and the Charlotte Beach/Port of Rochester area for dining, dance clubs and water-related sports to the all-American pastime at Frontier Field (home of the Red Wings triple-A baseball club and Rochester Rhino's soccer).. Parkland in this sector totals 969 acres.

  

The Downtown CBD (Central Business District)

Downtown sector Housing includes a distinct residential neighborhood in the Grove Place Preservation District with historic brick dwellings, Brownstone row houses and new condos and townhouses, as well as high rise apartments, conve rted lofts and residential hotels located within the commercial district and along the river.

All are steps from leisure-time options, from the Eastman Theater concert hall, GeVa Theatre playhouse, Little movie theater and the renowned Strong Museum to stylish dance clubs, chic restaurants and performance areas, like the Festival Tent, War Memorial, Riverside Convention Center and daytime and weekend concerts at parks like Crossroads and Manhattan Square, with its ice rink, playground and waterfall.

Residents can walk to employment in office buildings, to government, legal and commercial services or to shopping in the Main & Clinton retail district around Midtown Plaza.

Educational opportunities include the Eastman and Hochstein schools of music, Brockport State and Cornell University extension programs and a variety of business and vocational schools for those pursuing degrees or job-related skills.