Park Avenue

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Location
Park Avenue and the surrounding area in the Southeast Quadrant.
Boundaries
North - Park Avenue
South - Monroe Avenue, Canterbury Road, and Harvard Street
East - Park Avenue
West - Alexander Street
Neighborhood Association
Park Ave Merchants Association
[WWW]Park Central Neighborhood Association

Park Avenue is a small yet lively tributary that runs west to east, starting at Alexander Street and going through Colby Street where it then takes a quick sharp turn and meets with East Avenue. (Note that Park and East mostly run parallel. Park runs parallel to Monroe Avenue as well.) Some other notable roads Park intersects with are Meigs Street, South Goodman Street, Oxford Street, and Culver Road.

"Park Avenue" also refers to the surrounding area, which is one of Rochester's best-known neighborhoods for strolling and shopping in an urban environment. Traveling east from Meigs to Culver you’ll find an eclectic mix of residential and commercial properties, including pubs, restaurants, coffeehouses, and shopping. The commercial density is greatest from the intersection of Edgerton Street to Culver. From Culver to Colby is the ABC Streets Neighborhood, which is quiet and residential.

The Park Avenue Summer Art Festival is one of the city's largest art festivals. It takes place every year during the first weekend of August.

History

Park Avenue itself was first laid out in 1852 but did not assume its current form until 1875, when Park Avenue, Crescent Street, and Bates Street merged to create the Park Avenue we know today. The surrounding area became one of downtown's earliest suburbs, steadily growing in population and prosperity. Many grand homes were built during this era.

Between the Great Depression and the 1950s, however, both East and Park Avenues began a period of decline. The advent of the automobile encouraged people to leave the cities and created noise and parking problems for those who remained. Many of the mansions and larger homes were broken up into apartments, prompting the formation of the Park Avenue Neighborhood Association in 1969 to focus on codes, preservation, and revival. The Park Avenue Summer Art Festival was founded in 1976, a time when Park Avenue was considered by many to be a "bad neighborhood." Needless to say, that time has long passed. 1 2

Living in Park Ave

Among the drawbacks to living in this area are higher rents and a petty crime factor alleged to come from its high concentration of college students and proximity to the grittier Monroe Village. There is also a sizable homeless population that can often be seen rooting through the trash for returnables. Unlike the surrounding neighborhoods, Park Ave is lacking in racial and socioeconomic diversity and caters primarily to college or young professionals tastes. Only 5% of Park Avenue households are families with children. Although whites make up only 44% of Rochester's population, they make up 88% of Park Avenue residents.3

Still, Park Avenue is a very nice neighborhood with a ton of curb appeal. It is conveniently located within easy walking and biking distance of other Rochester hotspots. North is East Avenue and the Neighborhood of the Arts. A few blocks south is the Monroe Village portion of Monroe Avenue, another active area of the city for restaurants and shops. West of Park Ave is the happening nightlife of the East End, while the South Wedge is about a five-minute bike ride. Parts of Park Ave, Monroe Village, and the East End are considered to form the Park-Meigs Neighborhood.

Parks and Gardens

The area is home to several small parks as well as some wonderful gardens. Morrison Park marks the entrance to the ABC Streets section, while the Massaro Sculpture Garden, privately owned and maintained, is very much an outdoor art exhibit. The Park Avenue Green, located on Park Ave between Westminister Road and Barrington Street, provides a nice respite from strolling and is decorated every year for Christmas. A larger green space, located adjacent to the Goodman Street intersection, is owned by the Rochester Museum and Science Center and is popular with dog owners. Goodwin Park, located at the end of Sibley Place off East Avenue, has a playground for children and an entrance on Park Avenue.

Cobbs Hill Park is within walking distance up Culver Road.

Trees are plentiful, both on the Avenue itself and along the residential streets. Both Oxford Street and Arnold Park are divided by tree-lined malls.

Apartment Info

The Park Avenue area has many studio and one-bedroom apartments to offer. Studios range from $500-$710 most with all utilities included, with the average price around $550 (with heat and water included). One-bedroom apartments range from about $600 to $1000+, most with heat and hot water included. (It is harder to find 1 bedroom apartments with all utilities included, but there are some out there and they are worth the search!) Two-bedroom apartments, single rooms, and whole houses are also available but are not as common. Rooms for rent start at $325 with some utilities included. Two-bedroom apartments usually range between $800 and $1000+ depending on amenities. Houses for rent tend to be large and pricey.

For U of R students

You can bike to both the University of Rochester River Campus and the Eastman School of Music. The latter is much closer and can be walked to in about twenty to forty-five minutes, depending on where you are in the Park Ave area. The [WWW]Orange Line shuttlebus is available free to UR students and employees, with stops at East and Alexander, East and Barrington, and at Park and Culver.

Establishments

parkavebanner.jpgPark Ave banner. Photo by Rachel Blumenthal (April 2007)

ParkAveStreet.jpgPark Ave Street Scene ParkAveBottles.jpgShop Window parkavefestbyrocpicdotcom.jpgThe crowd at the Park Avenue Summer Art Festival

Real Estate

Food & Drink (from East to West)

Salons and Spas

Services

Shops

Other

See Also

Awards

The Park Avenue neighborhood was voted "Best Neighborhood" in City Newspaper's "Best Of" Awards in 2008, and "Best Neighborhood/Town" in 2009.45

Images: Used with permission under the Creative Commons Lic.

Comments:

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2012-04-17 20:39:16   My impressions:

1. Park Avenue is often promoted as a great shopping destination. Although there are a few cool boutiques, the vast majority of the businesses here are either restaurants or salons.

2. Most Park Ave residents are either students or recent graduates. It's like being on a college campus: everyone you see is young! This also means that the populace is semi-transient and isn't putting down roots here. Outside the ABC Streets Neighborhood (which has few rental units) there's really no sense of community like you have in the South Wedge.

4. Park Ave is also very white. Very odd in a city that's almost 40% black.

5. The crime rate in this neighborhood is higher than you think. This [WWW]crime map, [WWW]linked to through the Rochester Public Safety site, indicates that there is a high level of theft, burglary, and the occasional mugging in the Park Ave area. Cars are especially vulnerable, both to being stolen and being broken into. (Try to get a place with off-street parking or better yet, a garage.) I had my bike snatched, although that can and will happen anywhere (thieves love bikes). There is also a surprising number of homeless people but I've never heard of them being any trouble. Violent crime, on the other hand, seems pretty nonexistent.

6. Lots of curb appeal and great gardens. You're actually better off looking at cool architecture than shopping.

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