The Rochester Warner Family Legacy #7

The Powers building.  It is by far my favorite building of this group.  This is an example of pride going hay wire.  When this building was originally designed and built it was only 5 story's high.  It is very evident in this picture where that was. The roof use to be right where the fancy red brick work ended.  And it was heralded as a beautiful building then.

Then came the competition.  You see, across the street was another new building that was designed and built taller because the two building owners were always in competition with each other.  So the owner of the other building could say he had the taller building.  Well, not to be out done, the owner of the Powers building had the architect design and the contractors build his higher.

The other owner then added more to his and finally the Powers building got its tower and flag pole and that is where the feud ended.  The end result is a hoge poge of styles mixed together on the Powers building.  It has stood the test of time and is one of the cornerstone landmarks of the city of Rochester NY. 

This image here was created using a photo I took as it stands today and a photo of it back in 1910.  I do lament that the ground floor is nothing more then glass now, the most of the rest of the building is as you see it here.

The Rochester Warner Family Legacy #6

Well - have been busy with working from the call center for the past month and a half giving me little to no time to work on this site when I get home.  But, there are 3 buildings left to talk about in this series so I will push to get through them. 

Here is the Warner Castle.  It was designed as a residence in one of the richest parts of Rochester.  It was designed by Andrew Jackson Warner with(it is believed)input from his son.  It stayed within the family it was designed for for many yrs. Then sat empty for many more. 

During its occupancy the husband contracted and built  what is now one of the wonders of the city.  The sunken gardens.  Wanting to emulate the grand English - hidden gardens they created a jewel right in their own back yard. 

Now it is a tourist attraction and a fought over venue for weddings and parties.  But the site is well protected from development, giving us a well preserved piece of our past.