Rochester, New York There is also a Rochester in Ulster County, New York; for that town see Rochester, Ulster County, New York. For other places called "Rochester" see Rochester disambiguation. As of 2004 the population of Rochester, New York is 207,773. A portion of Rochester's skyline, looking north along the Genesee River from the Ford Street Bridge History Main article: History of Rochester, New York Education, Culture and Recreation Rochester is home to a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint John Fisher College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Nazareth College, and the Eastman School of Music. Rochester is also home to a number of cultural institutions including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the Memorial Art Gallery, the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Strong Museum, and the Strasenburg Planetarium. The city's Victorian era Mt. Hope Cemetery includes the final resting place of several famous Americans, including Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass (see List of Rochesterians). Rochester is also known for its extensive park system, including Highland Park, Cobb's Hill Park, Durand-Eastman Park, Genesee Valley Park, Maplewood Park, Edgerton Park, Seneca Park and Ontario Beach Park. The city also has 13 full-time recreation centers, 19 swimming programs, 3 artificial ice rinks, 66 softball/baseball fields, 47 tennis courts, 5 football fields, 7 soccer fields, and 43 outdoor basketball courts. Echoing its famous history as the Flower City, Rochester still has a yearly lilac festival for ten days in May, when nearly 400 named varieties of lilacs bloom, and 100,000 visitors arrive from as far away as Europe and Japan. South of Rochester is the scenic Letchworth State Park with its spectacular canyon and waterfalls. Also to the south and southeast is the glacially-formed Finger Lakes Region, with its numerous lakes and summer cottages. Rochester has developed a number of "festivals" that celebrate the many aspects of Rochester life. These include the Rochester International Jazz Festival, now (2004) in its third year; the Corn Hill Festival (arts, crafts, and food in this historic Third Ward neighborhood); the High Falls Film Festival (held at the George Eastman House?s Dryden Theatre and the Little Theatre downtown); the Image Out/Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (also held at the Little Theatre); the Clothesline Art Festival (artists from the region display their works on the grounds of the Memorial Art Gallery); the Park Avenue Merchants Festival; the Lilac Festival at Highland Park (world famous for its lilac bushes); the Rochester Music Festival; and the Cold Rush Winter Celebration (celebrating the wide variety of winter sports in the Rochester area). There is something for everyone in these festivals. Commerce and Industry The city is also host to a number of international businesses, including Eastman Kodak and Bausch and Lomb, which make Rochester their world headquarters, as well as Xerox, while not headquartered in Rochester, has its principal offices and manufacturing in the Rochester area. Rochester is also home to regional businesses such as Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Paychex, Inc., Roberts Communications, Inc. and National Dairy Holdings LP's Helluva Good Cheese division. Geography Rochester is located at 43°9'56" North, 77°36'41" West (43.165496, -77.611504)1. Rochester is east of Buffalo and west of Syracuse. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.1 km2 (37.1 mi2). 92.8 km2; (35.8 mi2) of it is land and 3.3 km2; (1.3 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 3.42% water. Rochester's scenic geography comes from the glaciers during the Cenozoic era. The retreating glaciers created the Genesee Valley and left rolling hills (drumlin fields) around it, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope, the rolling hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill and Cobb's Hill. These glaciers also left behind Lake Ontario (one of the five fresh-water Great Lakes), the Genesee River with its waterfalls and gorges, Irondequoit, Sodus and Braddock's Bays, numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge, and the nearby Finger Lakes. Transportation Rochester is served by the Greater Rochester International Airport. Daily scheduled air service is provided by Air Canada, AirTran, AmericanAirlines, Continental, Delta, jetBlue, Northwest, United, and U.S. Airways. Both Amtrak (passenger) and Conrail (freight) provide rail service to Rochester. Rochester has interurban and transcontinental bus service via by Greyhound and Trailways. There are three exits off the New York State Thruway (Interstate Route 90) that serve Rochester. Rochester has an extensive freeway (expressway) system which connects all parts of the city and the city with the Thruway. There is marine freight service at the Port of Rochester on Lake Ontario, and Lake Ontario is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. A ferry service across Lake Ontario linking Rochester to Toronto, Ontario commenced service on June 17, 2004. The ferry had its first sold-out trip from Toronto to Rochester on Canada Day, July 1, 2004 despite many skeptics claiming this would never happen. However, on September 7, 2004, The Breeze abruptly suspended service for financial reasons, possibly until April. Demographics As of the census2 of 2000, there are 219,773 people, 88,999 households, and 47,169 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,368.3/km² (6,132.9/mi²). There are 99,789 housing units at an average density of 1,075.3/km² (2,784.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 48.30% White, 38.55% African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.58% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more races. 12.75% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 88,999 households out of which 30.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.1% are married couples living together, 23.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% are non-families. 37.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.36 and the average family size is 3.19. In the city the population is spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city is $27,123, and the median income for a family is $31,257. Males have a median income of $30,521 versus $25,139 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,588. 25.9% of the population and 23.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 37.5% of those under the age of 18 and 15.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. According to the City of Rochester, the city presently has 537 miles (864 km) of public streets, 585 miles (941 km) of water mains, 44 vehicular and 8 pedestrian bridges, 11 public libraries, 7 police stations, and 16 fire stations. The principal source of the city's water is Hemlock Lake, which, with its watershed, is wholly owned by the city. Other water sources are Canadice Lake and Lake Ontario. The 30 year annual average snowfall is 95.0 inches (2.4 m) The mean July temperature 71.3 °F (21.8 °C), and the mean February temperature is 23.6 °F (-4.7 °C) Sports Rochester has five professional sports teams: the Rochester Red Wings (International League) baseball club, Rochester Americans (AHL) hockey club (known commonly as the "Amerks"), and Rochester Raging Rhinos soccer club. All these franchises are minor league level teams. There are also two professional lacrosse teams in Rochester. The Rochester Knighthawks club plays box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League during the winter/spring seasons. Meanwhile, during the summer, the Rochester Rattlers club plays field lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse organization. Sister Cities Rennes, France Wurzburg, Germany Caltanissetta, Italy Rehovot, Israel Krakow, Poland Bamako, Mali Waterford, Ireland Novgorod, Russia Hamamatsu, Japan Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester,_New_York