Day 298 - Fairport, NY

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***Scroll down to see my offer for Red Cross donations.***

The raised bridge over the Erie Canal.

After Norma and I toured the George Eastman House and Museum in Rochester, NY, where we admired the man, his home, his work, and his legacy, we headed to Fairport, NY, located on the Erie Canal.  In Fairport, we met Norma's friend Linda for lunch at the Tow Path Cafe. I left Norma and Linda after lunch so that they could catch up on each others' news, and I walked in and around Fairport. 

Fairport is a blend of old, historic Main Street buildings and newer, more modern buildings, which allows for a variety of shops that cater both to locals and to tourists:  gift shops, hair salons, a gourmet kitchen shop/grocery store, restaurants, a dry cleaner, medical offices, and other professional services.

The bridge tender's house with raised stairway.

The town's centerpiece is its old metal lift bridge (1914) that raises up the center structure on both ends, taking the roadbed with it, parallel to the water.  The bell clangs, the mechanism turns, and the entire bridge raises up off the water, connecting to two raised stairways on either side.  If the bridge should need to be open for extended periods of time, at least foot traffic can cross the raised bridge by climbing the stairways to the bridge.  I saw the bridge go up at least three times in my short stay in Fairport, twice to let canal "barges" through and once to let the tour boat, the "Colonial Belle," come through.   The "barges" are really canal style boats that people can rent and then cruise along the canal, sort of like floating campers.  They have bicycles stored on the tops of the boats, for use in the many towns along the canal.

Empty Factory Windows

I walked first along North Main, passing a wonderful gourmet kitchen/grocery store named Lombardi's.  Farther down the street, off Main, there was an old, abandoned factory, now for sale, called the American Canning Company, once a major employer in town.

Erie Canal Boat Charter

Also on this side of the canal was the old trolley station, a pet grooming store, a gift shop, a tattoo parlor, and a bar.

I crossed the bridge and walked along South Main.  Here were remnants of the old, historic downtown mixed in with the new.  The "new" included Packett's Landing and Fairport Village Landing, both with the aforementioned modern shops.  Farther along South Main there were churches, old homes converted to businesses, and neighborhoods with remnants of the past, such as hitching posts and "upping stones" or "carriage blocks," which were used for stepping up into carriages.

The Green Lantern Inn

Pure Oil Gas Station

One of the outstanding structures on this end of town is a tall Gothic Victorian that houses the Green Lantern Inn.  This was originally the 1876 mansion of Henry DeLand, who made a fortune in the baking power industry.    Directly in front of the building, facing Main Street, is a small white building which was identified on a historical marker nearby as a "historic gas station building."  Research led me to the fact that this is one of six remaining Pure Oil Company service station buildings designed by August Peterson in 1934.  It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Upping Stone

My walk in Fairport was both informative and entertaining, due to the numerous historical plaques positioned around town.  They are so helpful to photo walkers like me -- thank you, Fairport, for a fair day!



 

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Forward me by email any receipt for an online donation made to the Red Cross for disaster relief, and I will send you a 5x7 print of your choice from any of my daily photo walks or from my website.  Offer good until September 2, 2013.

Visit my web site: camscamerashots.zenfolio.com
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Email:  cam.miller@comcast.net

Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use whatever camera is easy and convenient for walking comfortably; always have a backup camera at the ready in case of mishaps (I use the Nikon Coolpix P7700)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so