Between Darkness & Light | Rochester Subway

When you hear the term subway, you tend to think about long stretches of tunnels that run trains mostly underground. But that is only sometimes the case; if you look at the TTC’s subway system, a great deal runs above ground but below grade. And that’s the key; you can also call roads that run under train tracks ‘subways’, but what does this all have to do with Rochester? Context being everything, the Rochester Subway, or simply “The Subway”, was a rapid transit system that mainly ran below grade. It was one of many rapid transit systems that grew in the United States through the early to mid-20th Century. It ultimately failed because it failed to expand and exploit the chances to expand. But unlike the system in Cincinnati, Rochester’s subway actually operated. The Rochester Subway is a unique piece of the city’s history and an abandoned location I have some exciting stories and memories of, so much so that despite being a risky spot, it is one I never failed to visit whenever I was in Rochester and had some time and energy.

The story of the Rochester Subway starts with the Erie Canal. The canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson River near Troy, New York, saw completion in 1825 and immediately changed the face of commerce through New York. Ships now had easier access to the northern states and no longer had to travel across the St. Lawrence River. The Erie Canal’s influence changed the face of many cities located along the corridor and inspired the construction of the Welland Canal in Upper Canada. Starting in 1908, a multi-year plan to update, expand, and reroute the canal, better known as the Barge Canal, started; the plan would see half of the original route abandoned. The City of Rochester, desperate to tie together some interurban lines and freight lines in the city, saw an opportunity to use the section of the canal that would be abandoned through the downtown. The city hired George S Swain in 1910 to complete an engineering survey that showed that using the old canal trench and building a short stretch of tunnel could create a rapid transit network that could interface with freight railways and interurban systems. The plan was promoted by Mayor Hiram Edgerton and gained council support. In 1919, the city purchased the old canal trench and the Broad Street Aqueduct that carried the canal over the Genesee River. Council approved construction in 1921, and it started in May 1922. The project saw the trench increase in depth by a meter and a half. The downtown tunnel would see the subway run a little over three kilometres underground and travel over the Genesee River using the old aqueduct. The approximately sixteen-kilometre track ran east to west. It was serviced by twenty stations, with connections along the route for interurban and freight lines. A dedicated car shop and maintenance yard was near the General Motors plant. While the freight and interurban lines made use of system rolling stock, the city acquired a single GE 1200V electric locomotive to pull steamrolling stock through the system and other maintenance vehicles and ten JG Brill wooden cars, initially completed in 1902 as trailers but converted to motor cars. The city contracted operations to the New York State Railways, and the system went into operation in December 1927. While the system saw immediate use by freight and interurban operators, use of the rapid transit option needed to be faster to pick up. It also didn’t help that almost all the interurban operators went under during the great depression starting in 1929, and even New York State Railways went into receivership. The city scrambled and established a city-specific transit operator, Rochester Transit Corporation, that took over operations in 1938. The new operator quickly replaced the old GE locomotive with a newer electric locomotive and ditched the wooden cars. Choosing instead 1916 era all steel Cincinnati Car Company Interurban units. Despite this, the subway ran on a single line, expanding the city in different directions. The city commerce commissioner wanted to expand the subway’s reach and use the older interurban lines. The American entry into World War Two put a hold on any expansion.

When rationing hit in 1941, the subway got a significant boost, and many could no longer use their personal automobiles. Between 1941 and 1947, the Subway carried five million passengers annually. The post-war economic boom and the push by the automobile makers to get everyone into cars and large limited access freeways became the norm, and ridership on the subway dropped. The subway provided a valuable service for those who could not afford a car, and many in Rochester began to see the usefulness of the subway. And while the ridership declined in 1948, the public continued to call for expansion to help make the subway relevant and valuable. These calls fell on deaf ears, and the city council began to cut costs, reducing weekday service and cancelling Sunday service altogether. And then, in a secret vote, the council ended subway service entirely in 1955, with 30 June 1956 being the last day of passenger service. While passenger service ended, the use of the subway for freight continued. Gannett Newspapers continued to accept and send out freight from the underground receiving docks. Eastman-Kodak and General Motors continued using the subway tracks to manage the freight, with operations being maintained by New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio. 1959, a subway section became part of the Eastern Express Highway (I-490). The tracks and canal trench were filled into the GM plant in 1976 as a cost-saving measure to the city, but not before a large set of tracks were removed along with some rolling stock, saved and salvaged by the New York Museum of Transportation and the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. In 1981, the construction of I-590 saw more sections of the old subway trench filled. The tunnel operations ceased in 1997 when Gannett Newspapers moved to new buildings outside downtown Rochester. The tunnel soon became a haven for those living rough, a canvas for street artists, and a focal point for urban explorers. The growing cost to maintain the tunnel would see the city try and float the idea to fill in the entire tunnel in 2004. Such a plan would cause more harm than good for all the infrastructure down there. Not to mention public backlash at destroying a piece of the city’s history. Groups formed to try and see an adaptive reuse of the space, including a pedestrian walkway, retail outlets, and even a parking garage. The biggest concern was the Broad Street Aqueduct, as it had been designated a historic landmark in 1976. The other entrance to the tunnel section proved far less controversial; in 2004, plans were made to fill in that section, although it didn’t start until 2010, when construction of the Rochester Community Sports Complex began. Seven years later, the last surviving station, Court Street, was demolished, and the entrance filled in during the construction of new condos. The tunnel remains intact today; a single entrance at the Gannett Building allows city staff to access and maintain the infrastructure found in the tunnel. And while plans continue to swirl about the future, with several false starts, movement is being made, albeit slowly. Thanks to a commenter, they redirected me to a more optimistic view on the restoration and revitalisation of the iconic aqueduct.

In April 2022, Mayor Evans introduced the Aqueduct Reimagined and Riverfront Promenades project, as part of the ROC the Riverway / Building Bridges to the Future initiative. Aqueduct Reimagined will reveal the historic Erie Canal Aqueduct and transform the Broad Street Bridge into a dynamic public space that uniquely celebrates the rich history and culture of Rochester, New York. – Overview: Aqueduct Reimaging

In the summer of 2007, I attended a worldwide urban exploration event in Buffalo. I connected for the first time there with a group of American explorers, many of whom I became friends with. Later that year, I was invited to attend an event in Rochester. I went because that’s what I was doing then and discovered a fantastic city. The explorer community certainly did not disappoint. After meeting downtown, we headed out on foot to the Subway; it was my first time checking out anything of the sort, and under the cover of darkness, we snuck into the subway. I use the term ‘snuck’ loosely; the place was wide open, but access required you to get in via an active street downtown. Even with the large group, we made it into the tunnels quickly. I’m surprised we got away with such a group in such a wide-open area, but we did avoid the aqueduct as much as possible on that trip. I also remember firing off Roman candles and setting up a bonfire with whatever fuel we could find. In hindsight, both were rather silly, but we got away with both. It was the following year that I got my one and only time accessing the subway from the other entrance before construction started and had the chance to walk the entire length of the underground. It also proved to be the first of many daytime trips. The aqueduct portion drew me in, I’m not one to take in street art, but I can appreciate well-done pieces, and they certainly made an impression on me. It quickly became a favourite spot of mine whenever I visited Rochester, even if it wasn’t for an urban exploration event. The only time I did not check out the subway was on the tail end of a camping trip collecting photos for my War of 1812 project. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to; I was exhausted. I did a trip with a group of Kodak employees, and I shot Kodak films. To prove the place’s comfort, I did a few solo trips, shooting large format and even my trusty Rolleiflex with a roll of Kodak Panatomic-X. The best is that we never got caught and didn’t even have any close shaves with authorities or the unhoused. But one of the best parts is that after checking out, the subway was heading back up and having some fantastic BBQ at Dinosaur BBQ right above the former Court Street entrance.

If there is one location where I shot many films, it is the Rochester Subway. But before that, I was strictly digital, and my early photos left much to be desired. Working underground with next to no light made me use a lot of flash, handheld, strange angles and compositions. But that didn’t mean I didn’t get a good shot; once I got comfortable, I started to play with off-camera light and other generated light (such as a campfire). There was much playing with light painting, flashlights, off-camera light, and lots of work with long exposures. By my second trip to the subway, I could see a cleanup of my composition and my style of using leading lines. The one thing I played with a lot in the subway was colour; with the amount of street art covering the aqueduct, there shouldn’t be a surprise. I also punched up the contrast and saturation to make the colours pop. The roll of Portra 400 colours could have been better; Ektar would have been a better choice. But despite the colourful environment, the role of Panatomic-X is one of my favourites; the slow speed and low contrast worked well in the environment. There is a clear improvement in my photography throughout my trips to the subway despite being so disconnected by time. But sometimes, that helps me see a clear improvement in my style and technical abilities.

The subway is one of those places where I wish to return with some of my new camera gear, films, and other understandings. And while access is now limited (I’m sure there are still ways to sneak in), I hope it will see a resurgence and be reopened for the public. And I’ll plan a trip to Rochester to check it out with my family to share some of my exploring days. Of all the locations in Rochester, this is the one I’m glad has survived in some form. You can check out all my images over on Flickr.