High Falls - Rochester

[dwtruland]

thanks agan. Since it'll be later in the PM I'll cross on the pedestrian bridge and head North on State Street so I'm on the West side of the falls.

[dwtruland]

It was really easy to get there. Really nice location. Light was great but very windy.

I tried creating a new thread in the photos discussion with some files but since I'm at the hotel it timed out.

You can see the pics in the Waterfalls category on my site at the link below.

[Kelly]

It was really easy to get there. Really nice location. Light was great but very windy.

I tried creating a new thread in the photos discussion with some files but since I'm at the hotel it timed out.

You can see the pics in the Waterfalls category on my site at the link below.

David - the photos are absolutely gorgeous!!!

[Bill_K]

Excellent photos David

[hobkyl]

Great photos Dave! Glad you made down there and had great weather after the heavy rains over the weekend. Your other photos are great too! Love the fox kits

[Matt]

great photos!

[Matt]

I don't know how this news slipped by me:

Land Surrounding High Falls Purchased By Group Looking To Make It An Urban Park

A local group wants to create a 21st century park in the middle of one of Rochester's greatest assets. Friends of the GardenAerial bought 28,000 square feet of historic land in High Falls.

High Falls is considered one of Rochester's biggest landmarks, tucked into the heart of the city.
"There's definitely a lot of potential. If you look around you, there's so much that there could be," said Matthew Traughber.

Traughber and his co-worker Megan Thompson work in the High Falls district and walk the bridge just about daily.

"I love working down here, I love walking down here, it's really, really nice, so it would be great to have more here," said Thompson.

That's the idea for Friends of the GardenAerial Project.

"This is a gem. There is no place in this country where there is a 96-foot waterfall that goes into a gorge in the middle of a city," said Lewis Stess.

Stess is the CEO of Friends of the GardenAerial. He says with the help of donations and grants, the group was able to buy nearly 28,500 square feet of land that surrounds the falls, including the old RG&E Station 4, and the land the water falls over.

"We have turned our backs on it long enough and now the time has come and the opportunity has arisen and we can return it to the community," said Stess.

Stess plans on doing that by turning the land into a highly-designed urban park.

Within the next three years, he's hoping to complete the project's first phase. It will include building a bridge directly over the falls and a three-quarters of a mile trail that loops around the area. His vision is to add more elements within 10 years' time.

"It's going to depend on fundraising, it's going to depend on grant writing. It's going to depend on the community coming together to support this."

Development in High Falls has had its highs and lows. Business owner Sally Wood Winslow says she will be closing her gift shop at the end of June and welcomes the idea.

"I would like to see High Falls still be a wonderful amenity that the public can enjoy day in, day out, 365 days a year," said Wood Winslow.

Stess says despite the challenges of the area, he hopes the GardenAerial project will create a new reason to visit the falls.

"This will be the showcase of Rochester one day. That's our dream and hope," said Stess.

http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_st ... rban-park/


What is their plan?
1 Cre­ate a stun­ning ar­bore­tum, float­ing high above the Gene­see Gorge ON the Pont de Rennes bridge. An ur­ban green­way. A new "gar­den in the sky."

2 Con­struct a new, awe in­spir­ing pedes­trian bridge span­ning the Falls it­self, of­fer­ing breath­tak­ing views and a unique ex­pe­ri­ence; al­low­ing vis­i­tors to get "up close" with our wild river as it plunges al­most 100' into the gorge be­low. The con­struc­tion of this bridge would cre­ate a new 3/4 mile looped trail around the en­tire rim of the gorge.

3 Build a new, environmentally friendly public "winter garden" on the east side of the gorge — a stunning new venue with a panoramic view of the falls and gorge.


Here is the NFP's website.
http://gardenaerial.org/

Thoughts? Would you donate?
I will admit... #2 sold me.

[Kelly]

Thoughts? Would you donate?
I will admit... #2 sold me.

Sure, I'll donate. The Dunkin' Donuts kid sent me some of my money back. Said I was too generous. It will go for this instead.