(Rochester, N.Y.) – Midtown Plaza was the first indoor downtown mall in the country and was designed by famed architect Victor Gruen.
Those are two of the reasons the State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation wrote a letter to the city saying Midtown qualifies for a listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
The letter comes after the city announced plans to tear down Midtown to make way for PAETEC’s world headquarters.
The letter said the atrium is the “most salient feature” and the city should “avoid or mitigate adverse impacts on the facility, particularly the atrium portion.”
“It's value was the fact it was a gathering place for the community,” said architect Roger Brown. “They should study the idea of keeping that plaza space.”
Alternatives will be studied during the environmental review process.
“We kind of go through a process of saying are these alternatives feasible? If it's determined to not be feasible, you take the next step and say, is there any way you can incorporate the historical element?” said Merideth Andreucci of Empire State Development.
Concerns over preservation likely won’t block the project or even slow it down, although they could impact design.
The mayor said he’s respectful of history, but tried everything to save Midtown.
“Perhaps we have an opportunity where the project will go forward, we'll have a development that we want there, but we'll pay respect to the issues that were raised,” he said.
If nothing of the facility is saved, the Landmark Society would likely record and photograph the structure.
The Landmark Society is serving as a facilitator on the project, and has not taken a position on what should be done at the site.
