Worked on the cleaning crew at midtown for 20 years, 1978-98. Loved working there at Christmas time. The monorail and the kids visiting santa on magic mountain
I rode it in 1990 and 1991 during a class field trip. For some reason the tropical trees and plants they had planted there had always fascinated and stuck with me.
started going there w/ my mama when they 1st opened, 2nd fl to get a chocolate malt, watching the water fountains and the clock and as i grew into a teen, young adult, how many times in my life did we "meet me at the clock" ... looked for myself/family/friends, one of those little old ladies looked like grandma...
My mom won some stuff doing a call in to WBEE one night and we went to Midtown to pick up her winnings and walk around. Also remember grabbing food at the mall and avoiding the heat from skateboarding around the city all day, even all the way from Greece and back on just the board. Rochester really had a different feel to it in the early 90s and even 00s. I miss some of it
I did my master thesis using the site of this Mall. It was surprising how many times it popped up in my research on shopping centers in general. It's too bad they went this route, also wasteful. Had this mall been maintained and reworked it would have been on the national registry of historic places by now. Everything that has been built on the site since then could have just been put within the complex.
I worked there for 20 years and know some of the behind scenes stuff that went on. The mall had new ownership which was based in Texas who had great plans on how to revive midtown, none of which they ever followed through on . Saw so many of my coworkers let go and watched as store after store closed for good. Knew it was time to go in 1998 when they started cutting hours and tenents leaving.
Now even the Malls that took it out of business are going out of business themselves. The thing about these places is that its the experience that makes it great, once that experience starts to suffer its hard to save them.
you know what? nothing the democrats have done since taking over NY | Rochester will ever compare to the grander it was before their intervention. MidTown Plaza speaks of responsible capitalism, constitutionalism, love of architecture and good living standards for everybody. For years it brought happiest and fondest memories to many, and so it was more than just a bunch of stores under one roof. It was an experience of a life time that only Rochesterians who lived thru that time, can attest to that it actually existed.
How totally sad. Thank you for the video as it brought back so many memories. I grew up in Rochester and Midtown was a big part of it. I moved in early 80's out of the state but was so upset to hear that mall was gone. They used to have a great restaurant at the top of the Mall. Remember the train also. They should have gotten new anchors to fill Forman's and McCurdy spots.
Midtown Plaza is where I first saw the girl who would be my wife. It was in the Cafe shown at 1:27. We just celebrated our 43 anniversary of meeting on Halloween....
When the cops were told not to stop the bad element from hanging around and gangs were on main st at bus stops it scared away the customers P.C. correct ended it just look 19th ward haven for drugs criminals run freely no stop frisk anyone out after midnite is usualy up to no good
They really should have donated the monorail to strong natural museum of play. It was fully functional still and kids loved it. I'll never forget the last day it was up , myself and my 3 boys went for 1 last ride .
This was the only place that made me feel like my dad was still with me. I miss going to Wendy's with him and seeing Santa as a child on magic mountain.
Rozita , Yes . Did the same thing in the 60s and 70s , Christmas Downtown . See Santa in Midtown and ride thru the Mountain in the Monorail Then go over to Sibley's and wait in line to see Santa again . Stopping on the way home from School while changing To Another Bus and going in once in a while . I did Midtown a lot in the 80s but it was not the same . I took my Nephew thru there on the last day That the whole Skyway was open so he could imagine what it was like .
The clock of nations is now at the airport. Glad they saved it. I actually rode the monorail once, in December 1995 when I was 6 1/2. It was too crowded in there though. I remember seeing the clock too. That was one of the only times I can remember being in Midtown Plaza before it closed. My parents and my aunts and uncles are always talking about it and Sibley's. My grandma LOVED going there. And my grandpa was a security guard there for awhile. Gram was always telling me about the way downtown used to be. I wish I could've experienced something like Santa's workshop and the magic corridor during my childhood Christmases, and even if I did in 1995, I only got to ride the monorail because Sibley's was already closed. I guess it was because of the 4 major malls being built that made Midtown lose business. :( I miss the old Irondequoit mall too. Wish they'd do something about it!
Stephen R Midtown made downtown a wonderful place to hang out at. It's a shame they let it die out. I think it was to keep the black youth from wanting to be in the downtown area.
What a nice tribute to Midtown. I have fond memories of going there as a child, riding the monorail, watching the clock of nations, and visiting Santa's workshop in Sibley's. It's too bad it closed. It was definitely a reason to go to midtown.
I wish I could've been there when Midtown was in it's prime. Saying it's a shame that it was torn down would not do what happened justice, it's more than a shame. It's a travesty. The people who run this city are so stupid, they spent 10s or hundreds of millions on a stupid cruise ship we didn't need, but they couldn't put some money into restoring the plaza instead of tearing it down? And what is being built in it's place? A bunch of lame offices? =/
What happened to the clock? It reminds me a lot of the Disney "It's a Small World" ride (and was created about the same time) -- except people stood still and the "ride" moved around them.
@@dougwilliams4127 I know this is really late, but if you're still wondering, as of 2019 or so, it was moved into storage in the airport for some bureaucratic reasons. Hopefully someday it'll be displayed in the public
Such a magical place to be taken away 😢so sad, will always be remembered 😢
Paetec headquarters 🙄 This mall was far superior to any in the suburbs, except Eastview.
Worked on the cleaning crew at midtown for 20 years, 1978-98. Loved working there at Christmas time. The monorail and the kids visiting santa on magic mountain
I rode it in 1990 and 1991 during a class field trip. For some reason the tropical trees and plants they had planted there had always fascinated and stuck with me.
I remember first going there as a kid in 1990. I remember that clock and riding on the monerale. It was during the xmas season as a class field trip.
Downtown Rochester is no longer downtown Rochester.
I'm not one who lives in a past that is long gone, pining and wailing of what was. It was fun to go there. Great place.
started going there w/ my mama when they 1st opened, 2nd fl to get a chocolate malt, watching the water fountains and the clock and as i grew into a teen, young adult, how many times in my life did we "meet me at the clock" ... looked for myself/family/friends, one of those little old ladies looked like grandma...
My mom won some stuff doing a call in to WBEE one night and we went to Midtown to pick up her winnings and walk around. Also remember grabbing food at the mall and avoiding the heat from skateboarding around the city all day, even all the way from Greece and back on just the board. Rochester really had a different feel to it in the early 90s and even 00s. I miss some of it
I did my master thesis using the site of this Mall. It was surprising how many times it popped up in my research on shopping centers in general. It's too bad they went this route, also wasteful. Had this mall been maintained and reworked it would have been on the national registry of historic places by now. Everything that has been built on the site since then could have just been put within the complex.
I worked there for 20 years and know some of the behind scenes stuff that went on. The mall had new ownership which was based in Texas who had great plans on how to revive midtown, none of which they ever followed through on . Saw so many of my coworkers let go and watched as store after store closed for good. Knew it was time to go in 1998 when they started cutting hours and tenents leaving.
Now even the Malls that took it out of business are going out of business themselves. The thing about these places is that its the experience that makes it great, once that experience starts to suffer its hard to save them.
you know what? nothing the democrats have done since taking over NY | Rochester will ever compare to the grander it was before their intervention. MidTown Plaza speaks of responsible capitalism, constitutionalism, love of architecture and good living standards for everybody. For years it brought happiest and fondest memories to many, and so it was more than just a bunch of stores under one roof. It was an experience of a life time that only Rochesterians who lived thru that time, can attest to that it actually existed.
So very sad.
My Senior Prom was held in that place....eeek!
How totally sad. Thank you for the video as it brought back so many memories. I grew up in Rochester and Midtown was a big part of it. I moved in early 80's out of the state but was so upset to hear that mall was gone. They used to have a great restaurant at the top of the Mall. Remember the train also. They should have gotten new anchors to fill Forman's and McCurdy spots.
Once Kodak, xerox and bouch and Lomb went down, everything in Rochester went with it.
When you see the patents they sat on for decades that would have kept them all booming really is hard not to get mad at.
Uhuru was bad, man - only place I ever visited in the place - over and over again - so vital compared to the plasticity of everything else there.
It actually opened in 1962.
I just saw this... sad. I loved the clock there!
Used to work down Main St. I'd catch the bus up to MM, grab something quick at Wegmans for lunch then walk back to work. Man, I miss it.
I saw my first hippie and Midtown Plaza back in the day
Wow I remember all day Sunday fa sure
Are the little boy and girl in this video still alive? Does anybody know who they are?
🤫
I remember Midtown Plaza from the 1960s...the clock was beautiful!
Anybody else looking for any of the relatives in this video? :-( I thought I saw my grandma
tears rolling down my face. I remember that when I was a little girl
Midtown Plaza is where I first saw the girl who would be my wife. It was in the Cafe shown at 1:27. We just celebrated our 43 anniversary of meeting on Halloween....
Midtown was the heart of downtown Rochester..When that left it was never the same.Im looking at my childhood
Mc curteys b formans all gone now
When the cops were told not to stop the bad element from hanging around and gangs were on main st at bus stops it scared away the customers P.C. correct ended it just look 19th ward haven for drugs criminals run freely no stop frisk anyone out after midnite is usualy up to no good
They really should have donated the monorail to strong natural museum of play. It was fully functional still and kids loved it. I'll never forget the last day it was up , myself and my 3 boys went for 1 last ride .
Monorail is at transportation museum in industry ny
so sad :'(
What a shame. Such a beautiful mall. When they knocked it down, they knocked down Downtown Rochester.
I remember the last night or Silver Stadium, I threw up all over myself but somehow not any of the memorabilia I was carrying lol
This was the only place that made me feel like my dad was still with me. I miss going to Wendy's with him and seeing Santa as a child on magic mountain.
Sorry for your loss. I lost my parents, too. It's hard to cope.
I went there a few times the last two years it was open there was only 3 stores left open it was weird tbh
I noticed it was a very caucasian area. So many white Christians in. I one area.
I spent my teen years living in "Little Italy". Loved it.
It reflected the demographics of its time.
When I a was a kid growing up in Rochester, every Christmas I would go to the Midtown Mall and Ride the monorail train.
My mother took me here throughout my entire childhood. We started going there right after it opened. It was grand. This is lovely.
Rozita , Yes . Did the same thing in the 60s and 70s , Christmas Downtown . See Santa in Midtown and ride thru the Mountain in the Monorail Then go over to Sibley's and wait in line to see Santa again . Stopping on the way home from School while changing To Another Bus and going in once in a while . I did Midtown a lot in the 80s but it was not the same . I took my Nephew thru there on the last day That the whole Skyway was open so he could imagine what it was like .
"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."the ROC!
Well done. I cried a little. Thank you.
Midtown is stii getting terad down
Hey guys it's me the guy who wrote the original comment I would like to say the place were midtown is a parking lot now sad right
The clock of nations is now at the airport. Glad they saved it. I actually rode the monorail once, in December 1995 when I was 6 1/2. It was too crowded in there though. I remember seeing the clock too. That was one of the only times I can remember being in Midtown Plaza before it closed. My parents and my aunts and uncles are always talking about it and Sibley's. My grandma LOVED going there. And my grandpa was a security guard there for awhile. Gram was always telling me about the way downtown used to be. I wish I could've experienced something like Santa's workshop and the magic corridor during my childhood Christmases, and even if I did in 1995, I only got to ride the monorail because Sibley's was already closed. I guess it was because of the 4 major malls being built that made Midtown lose business. :( I miss the old Irondequoit mall too. Wish they'd do something about it!
Stephen R Midtown made downtown a wonderful place to hang out at. It's a shame they let it die out. I think it was to keep the black youth from wanting to be in the downtown area.
What a nice tribute to Midtown. I have fond memories of going there as a child, riding the monorail, watching the clock of nations, and visiting Santa's workshop in Sibley's. It's too bad it closed. It was definitely a reason to go to midtown.
I wish I could've been there when Midtown was in it's prime. Saying it's a shame that it was torn down would not do what happened justice, it's more than a shame. It's a travesty. The people who run this city are so stupid, they spent 10s or hundreds of millions on a stupid cruise ship we didn't need, but they couldn't put some money into restoring the plaza instead of tearing it down? And what is being built in it's place? A bunch of lame offices? =/
Black was allow in midtown back in those days...
Esos fueron mis mejores anos nunca los horbidare
That was later ..But we got in there ..I personally had great times there
What happened to the clock? It reminds me a lot of the Disney "It's a Small World" ride (and was created about the same time) -- except people stood still and the "ride" moved around them.
Clausewitz move to the Rochester International Airport but it's not there now
@@gcorsette Could you please tell us where the Clock of Nations went after it was in the Airport?
@@dougwilliams4127 I know this is really late, but if you're still wondering, as of 2019 or so, it was moved into storage in the airport for some bureaucratic reasons. Hopefully someday it'll be displayed in the public