“excalibur”byparsons.peggyis licensed underCC BY 2.0
Hidden away on a back road of Rochester, across from the E-Z Industrial Park self-storage facility is a sword stuck inside a stone that has no earthly business being there. Is it Excalibur? Depending on your version of the legend, it just might be. The only way to tell for sure is to visit it yourself. The real question is, though, are you worthy to break it free?
“Berlin Wall”byRonnie Macdonaldis licensed underCC BY 2.0
No doubt Bausch & Lomb were thrilled when they acquired a genuine piece of the Berlin Wall after it was torn down. Unfortunately for them, a misunderstanding led to the slab being sandblasted completely clean of all graffiti before it even arrived. Since Bausch & Lomb hoped to put an authentic piece of history on display for the people of Rochester, they hired an artist to recreate the graffiti using photographs. It’s not exact, but pretty close and still pretty cool.
“Jack The Ripper Closer”bybixentrois licensed underCC BY 2.0
Francis Tumbelty was the leading suspect in the killing of Jack The Ripper. He moved from his home in London to Rochester where he worked as a cleaner at Lispenard Hospital. He died of natural causes in 1903 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery never charged with the murder of Jack The Ripper, which still remains unsolved to this day.
The Rochester Subway was once a fast and convenient way to get around the city that rivaled most other cities’. After it was abandoned, it became a popular destination for thrill-seeking explorers, graffiti artists, the occasional homeless person and maybe even a ninja turtle or two. While the subway itself isn’t exactly a secret to the locals, very few actually venture down into them to see what’s down there. The graffiti throughout the tunnels is truly exceptional and can easily be viewed (just bring someone along, as you never know else is wandering around down there with you.) The city continues to brainstorm how to revitalize the defunct subway with ideas that include an underground walkway lined with retail shops.
Have you seen this girl? If you live in Rochester, chances are you have. She’s the work of the notorious local street artist Spaceman who has been filling the walls and traffic light boxes of the city with his work for years. His use of Daft Punk-meets-anarchist-style stencils rings reminiscent of the likes of the world’s most famous street artist, Banksy. Rochester is pretty good at covering up his work, but he’s just as good at getting it right back up again.
You have to go to Middlesex for this one, but this one is too good to skip and it’s worth the thrill. Spook Hill is a gravity hill that have a lot of people convinced defies gravity. That’s because when place your car at a specific spot and take your foot off the break, when you should be rolling backwards, it appears that you are, in fact, rolling up the hill. Legend has it that the spirits of Native Americans buried close by are pushing it. I don’t want to ruin the fun with reality in case you want to try it yourself – so go do it. And then, if you’re curious to the mechanics (and you will be,) consult Google.
The Merle Spurrier Gymnasium pool was opened in the University of Rochester’s Susan. B Anthony dormitory in 1955. Bright red painted footprints line the rim of this 25-yard-long, six-lane swimming pool which has been closed since 1982. The abandoned gym became a testing hall which eventually turned into storage for unused desks and chairs. What has become of it resembles something of a mass desk graveyard which, if they weren’t made of wood and metal, would be pretty macabre. Those footprints also make it onto some of the furniture and literally up the walls in some spots. But in a room this strange, they’re rather fitting.
Everything seems to be going on underground in Rochester, so why not throw the Illuminati in the mix to make it even creepier? A catacomb of the infamously elusive secret society is rumored to exist beneath the city with an intricate system of passageways. Mt. Hope Cemetery and the High Falls have some of the highest speculation to where these spots are located. But, just like all Illuminati rumors, they’re just that: Rumors. The city staunchly denies any claims and no proof has ever been uncovered (including entryways or exits.) Of course, that’s the way “they” want it, right? And by “they”, of course, I mean Beyonce.
Or, more specifically, the floor. When the Mighty Mighty Bosstones played at the Horizontal Boogie Bar (now the Water Street Music Hall), the crowd was going crazy for the legendary ska band. But halfway through the set, the band noticed something strange and stopped playing to ask why everyone in the audience was shrinking. They weren’t shrinking, obviously, but the floor was collapsing from right underneath them. Legend has it that people began tearing up the floorboards, begging the band to sign them. You can hear the Bosstones sing about it in “How We Got Away,” in which the band immortalized the night with the lyrics “In Upstate New York, Rochester, perhaps you witnessed the dance floor collapse.”
Sam Patch was the first ever person to jump over Niagara Falls and survive. But when he attempted to jump Rochester’s High Falls in 1829, he met his fatal match and died in front of 8,000 spectators. A Sam Patch balcony was built over the gorge at Terrace Park in memoriam of the dare devil.
If you visit Durand-Eastman Park, usually around sunset, you just might join the ranks of the many who have claimed to seen the Lady In White. This infamous apparition and the local folk lore behind her varies depending on who you talk to, but those who believe say she roams the park as a grieving mother searching for the people responsible for her daughter’s disappearance. The “White Lady’s Castle” wall is a famous spot for people to go looking for, but it’s really just the remnants of an old dining hall, which resembles a castle wall.
Far less bizarre and much more enchanted, the Warner Castle in Highland Park is Rochester’s royalty. It was built as a private residence in 1854 and is now owned by the city as a part of the park for touring. The sunken garden is rumored to have a sealed off entrance to the above-mentioned Illuminati catacombs, but since no one has been able to find it, evidence still remains a rumored mystery. Admission is free for a tour of the grounds.
When Grannies get mad, panties get bunched fast in Rochester. The Raging Grannies is a local activist group that formed in 2002 when a bunch of women decided they were unhappy with proposed budget cuts and the Iraq War. Consisting of 45 members, the Raging Grannies have a CD composed of familiar songs they’ve sung in protest against current politics. Sing it, granny.
People usually go to church to find Jesus. But some people have found him in some fairly spectacular places – toast. One guy in Rochester found him carved into the bark of a tree, making headline news. He told the media “I’ve looked at that tree thousands of times in the past couple years, but never noticed it till now. At first I thought I was seeing things.” Skeptics can visit the tree on the front lawn of the Hickey-Freeman Co. clothing factory and judge for themselves. The eyes are apparently just below the branches.
In the 1800’s, sisters Leah, Margaret and Kate Fox found fame when they claimed to have the ability to communicate with spirits that have crossed over through a coding of knocks heard through the walls of their house. During a public hearing at Corinthian Hall, when spectators were unable to uncover their “tricks,” rumors of the sisters spread, giving them the credit of the birth of American Spiritualism. A commemorative obelisk stands in their honor and the table which they used is currently being moved from location but is set to be back on display by the end of 2014. Did we miss anything? Tell us your favorite secret spot in Rochester in the comments below!
