Rochester Times Union, May 22, 1922
Do You Remember?
Old R., W. & O. Station; Once Home of G.J. Whitney
The building shown above is scarcely recognizable, today, with its front porch turned into the show windows of a plumber's firm and a gasoline station occupying the space between it and the State street sidewalk. The picture from which the above cut was made was taken in 1894 by Clyde O. DeLand, now of Philadelphia. Mr. DeLand gives the following history of the building:
"The old station of the New York Central's Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg division on State street, above Brown - subject of the accompanying photograph taken in 1894 - was, as its appearance suggests, originally intended for use as a private dwelling. When first occupied it was one of the finest mansions in all Rochester and for many years was pointed to as one of the show places of the city. It was the residence of George J. Whitney, Esq., a man of considerable importance generations ago in affairs of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. His house was surrounded by beautiful grounds commanding view of the upper falls and river gorge of the Genesee and his stable was noted for the excellence of its groomed horses.
"When the Whitney equipage sallied forth with the head-coachman, named Paris, holding the reins, spectators enjoyed a sight which aroused their full admiration. A span of handsome bays faultlessly caparisoned and stepping along proudly and spiritedly before the owner's luxurious carriage was a spectacle of old times such as the most expensive 'twin six' of today can never rival.
"Mr. Whitney was deeply interested in the New York Central and so it may have been a mercy that he was spared, having died a few years before, the humiliation of seeing his attractive residence converted into a railway terminal for the sordid purposes of a rival company. It was remarked at this time: 'If George Whitney could know that the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg had taken possession of his old home by right of Eminent Domain, he would certainly turn over in his grave.'"
In those days the Rome-Watertown was an independent line and to a certain extent a competitor of the Central, although never regarded as a dangerous one. It was frequently subject of jests because of alleged irregularity of its trains and once referred to as 'a crooked streak of rust along the lake shore'; but in spite of these pleasantries the wary New York Central seriously considered it as a rival and one to be watches with ceaseless vigilance.
"In the early '80's a line known as the Belt Railroad was built between Rochester and a point on Lake Ontario, just east of Summerville, where the place known as Windsor Beach was founded. The ostensible object of this enterprise was to attract summer excursionists to the new resort, but it was rumored that the Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad interests who were back of the road really hoped to secure an outlet near the lake for the product of their coal mines in Pennsylvania. If that plan ever received serious consideration it was never carried out.
"Difficulties of making rail connection with the parent line were too great to be overcome and for reasons best known to the vendors the new railroad was sold to the R., W.& O. Subsequently, the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad built a line northward from Lincoln Park, parallel part of the way by the Central's Charlotte branch, to a convenient location below Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, where ample facilities were in due time provided for the trans-shipment of freight cars across the lake.
"Almost immediately after sale of the Belt Railroad to the R., W. & O. it was extended about one mile from the original terminus near Avenue E to Brinker Place and eventually was pushed across the river and along the west bank to its present terminal. Coincident with the work of extending the line, it was decided to save, if possible, Whitney mansion for use as a station or depot, but to move the house away from its site near the river bank so as to make room for trackage of the new terminal and provide a straight way for the main passenger tracks.
"The large brick house was very heavy and so extreme care was required with the delicate piece of engineering needed to move such a huge structure. The ordinary method of moving a frame building on rollers was quite unsuitable for such an undertaking and some people declared that the project was an impossible one because even a slight jar of or weakness in one of the supporting timbers might destroy its equilibrium and tumble the building to the ground.
"A great many large beams thickly coated with heavy grease were carefully laid with mathematical precision upon a firm and level foundation and over this slippery way the future railway station, resting upon a temporary frame work, literally glided westward 100 feet or so without perceptible tremor, finally halting upon its present site, unharmed and sound as ever. It was then anchored to a foundation of solid masonry, there to remain as a convincing testimony to the skill and success of those who superintended this novel feat of engineering, the first known instance of its kind in Rochester.
"The New York Central absorbed the R., W. & O. many years ago as it previously acquired another rival, the ill-fated New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad, which line, for a year or more, threatened with its 'cent a mile' rate of fare and its shorter route, the Central's supremacy between Buffalo and Hudson River points. It may be noted that these absorbed roads both made the same mistake of passing by without entering or touching Rochester - the moral of which is, of course, quite obvious and a lesson for future railway builders to keep in mind.
"The name Whitney is conspicuous upon the many pages of Rochester's early history. Warham Whitney, father of George, came here from Oneida county in 1819 when Rochester was only a small settlement and built a flour mill. His brands of flour soon became famous and helped to confer upon the place its former title: 'Flour City.' The elder Whitney died in 1840, leaving the management of mill to his oldest son, George, who, though only 21 years of age, soon increased the extent and importance of his father's business. He also conducted a store in Frankfort, a suburban district in the general vicinity of the old Frank Street Methodist Church at the corner of Smith.
"In 1857 he built the famous 'Whitney Elevator,' one of the largest of its kind. In those days and shortly afterwards he assumed management of the New York Central's elevators in Buffalo and New York. He early became a director of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, serving on the board through three successive administrations - the Dean Richmond-Erastus Corning, Henry Keep and Vanderbilt regimes - the only member to be thus honored.
"It was virtually manager of the entire western division and at the time of his death had charge of all grain in transit or storage anywhere on the Central road between Buffalo and New York. Mr. Whitney was warm-hearted, highly respected and esteemed by his associates and invariably interested in the welfare of his fellow citizens. For perhaps 12 years he was a director of the Western House of Refuge, later known as the State Industrial School and eight of those years he served as president of the board. He died on the last day of the year 1878 and when told of his death, W.H. Vanderbilt, an old friend, said of him: 'As a husband, as a father, as a friend, he was equally admirable and reliable and as a business man he was exceedingly capable.'"