[Goodbye Midtown]

In 1962, Midtown Plaza opened as the first urban indoor shopping mall in the US. The mall was built to entice suburban residents to shop and socialize in the core of the city. Midtown was the heart of downtown Rochester, NY and housed all sorts of retail businesses including a grocery store. As a twenty something Rochester native I have many incredible personal memories of Midtown Plaza. Shopping with my family, getting my ears pierced at the earring tree, school field trips, and of course the Christmas time celebrations that made Midtown a premier winter spot. Christmas included a visit up Magic Mountain to see Santa and a ride on the monorail. As a child Midtown was exciting- it was a bustling mall beautifully decorated with a towering totem pole, colorful flags, and what i believed to be a magical clock- the clock of nations. The clock was so much fun to watch as it opened every hour and dolls from around the world danced to music.

Midtown was a place that brought people from different socio-economical backgrounds together in one place. And as the suburbs of Rochester grew there were fewer and fewer places this type of community interaction occurred. Today Midtown is a far cry from what it once was- and the Rochester government has decided to demolish the structure to make way for a corporate headquarters. I, like many other city residents, am not pleased with this decision which will bring less than 1,000 jobs to the downtown area. Downtown still suffers terribly from a lack of retail and entertainment choices which would bring people and revenue downtown. Seems ironic that downtown is becoming more and more enticing for suburban residents who want to live in an "urban community", however, shopping will still be done primarily in the suburbs. Not exactly urban planning at it's best. I can only hope that even once Midtown is gone the city of Rochester will somehow foster the type of community interactions that made Midtown a Rochester landmark. Goodbye Midtown- you will be sorely missed.
-CleverGypsy