Author: Michael Provost

Dodge Hotel ~ 1890

Stone Arch Bridge ~ Painted 1910

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Historical Highlights
Of
Downtown Rochester

Self-Guided Walking Tour
Enjoy a leisurely stroll around the downtown area and learn some of the interesting historical facts on our architectural heritage. The tour begins at City Hall on Wakefield Street. Two hour free parking is available at the City of Rochester Municipal Complex behind city hall or on the street. The entire walk is 1.8 miles and should take approximately 45 minutes to one hour.

Central Square

Rochester City Hall, 31 Wakefield Street, completed in 1908, this Neoclassical/Georgian Revival style red brick building is trimmed with granite. The present City Hall building was built on the former John McDuffee estate in 1896 behind a white house. After city hall was completed, the house was sold and moved to Portland Street where it is today. The area in front of City Hall was used for a small park and monuments were erected honoring World War I and World War II veterans. Rochester Opera House is located inside Rochester City Hall. The main floor of the Opera House can be raised to an angle for a better view of the stage and lowered to be flat for dances and sports. This is done by a system of pulleys and leather belts; the only floor of its kind known to still be in existence.
Spaulding Houses, 78 Wakefield Street, built around 1920 in a Georgian Revival Style by brothers, Roland H. (NH Governor, 1915-17) and Huntly M. Spaulding (NH Governor 1927-29). Huntley’s home was built around 1920 and opened as an Inn in 1998; Roland’s home, built in the mid-1920’s, now houses a restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating.
Studley’s Florist & Garden Center, 82 Wakefield Street, was founded in 1928 and has grown to include a full range of floral design services, an extensive selection of annual and perennial plants plus landscape and irrigation services.
Gafney Home, 90 Wakefield Street, was built in 1896, in Romanesque Revival style by prominent Rochester Attorney and Judge Charles B. Gafney. Judge Gafney died at age 54 in 1898, his invalid wife died in 1900 and the trustees of his estate opened the home for the aged September 12, 1904.
Linscott Court, 20 Columbus Avenue, built in 1895 by Perkins and Jones with Albert Linscott (who became a partner in the company 2 years later); last housed Encore Shoe Manufacturing Company and was converted in 2006 to affordable housing.

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Hervey Tire Company, Inc, 22 Union Street, was established in 1912 by Charles Hervey and has expanded several times since 1912, but remains in the same location. The original wood building was surrounded by brick in the 1940’s and the dealership now has 11 bays and a warehouse. Interestingly, the oldest customer of Hervey’s is Studley’s Flower Gardens.
Stone Arch Bridge on North Main Street at the Cocheco River was built by local stone mason, Silas Hussey in 1881-83 and is a 133 foot long bridge built of granite blocks and has three parabolic arches, each with a span of 36 feet, 8 inches.
Wyandotte Falls Apartment Complex, 316 Wyandotte Falls. In the 1700’s there were grist mills, saw mills, and fulling (a form of dying cloth) here. Norway Plains Woolen Company, chartered in 1846, made woolen blankets for the government during the Civil War in wooden buildings which were replaced by brick buildings within 20 years. In 1926, Wyandotte Worsted Company bought the business and kept the mills running until 1970. In 1986, the abandoned buildings were renovated and opened as housing for the elderly and named Wyandotte Falls Apartment Complex.
Lower Dam in the Cocheco River was built in 1926 by the Wyandotte Worsted Company utilizing a dam sight first developed in the late 18th century. The dam is constructed of Parabolic-faced poured concrete. A few pieces of the boardwalk and headgate machinery (from the Holyoke Machinery Company) can be seen at the eastern end.
The Hartigan Block, 73 North Main Street, and the adjacent Elm Block and Grange Block, 69 North Main Street, built during the late 1800/early 1900 expansion of the North Main Street commercial area and designed in late Victorian/Mercantile style. In 1887, local Grange members had meeting rooms on the third floor, which was removed during remodeling in 1967; city offices were on the second floor (moved to the McDuffee House ...

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… in 1896). Long time stores, Lothrop and Famums and JC Penny were also housed here. This section of the building is known locally as the Grange Block.
Hanlon and Zubkus, 27 North Main Street, a 2 ½ story building block, built in 1825, is one of the oldest buildings in the downtown area. Legend has it once owned by Sophie Tucker.
Scenic Theater, 28 North Main Street, built in 1912 was one of the area’s earliest movie theaters, showing Rochester’s importance as a cultural center and sign of the city’s economic vitality in the early 1900’s.
Michael’s Block, 10 North Main Street, also known as the Salinger, is a late 19th century Neoclassical commercial block notable for its glazed white brick and terra cotta ornamentation.
The P of H, Hayes Block, 6 North Main Street, was built around 1878 as a Victorian Commercial building. The Hayes Opera House originally occupied the third and fourth floors of the building.
Dodge Block, 1 North Main Street, was originally built as the Dodge Hotel, a three story building in 1902. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt as a 2 story panel brick commercial structure in 1908. The tall chimney on the northeast corner indicates the original height of the building.
Central Square is where the Parson Main Monument stands accompanied by park benches. Beginning in 1825, stage coach lines stopped in Central Square. In 1834, The Dodge Hotel located here was a major regional hostelry for travelers. The bronze statue in honor of Reverend Amos Main was dedicated on July 3, 1896 at a ceremony attended by most of the 8000 residents of Rochester along with visitors from neighboring communities.
First Church Congregational, 63 South Main Street was originally built as Rochester’s first meeting house on top of Rochester Hill in 1731. In 1780, it was taken down and rebuilt on the Rochester Commons. That building was moved in 1842 to the present location on the corner of South Main ...

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… and Liberty Streets. Over the years, it has been enlarged and remodeled several times; the octagonal spire was added in 1867. The building still contains materials from the first meeting house.
Rochester Public Library, 65 South Main Street was established in 1893 (Georgian Revival style) as one of the first three public libraries in New Hampshire. In 1905, it was reopened as a Carnegie Library financed in part by a $20,000 grant from the Carnegie Institute. An addition was built on the back in 1996.
The Odd Fellows Building, 95 South Main Street, was built in 1874-75 as a late Victorian commercial building with three floors, utilizing the space with the upper floor containing a lodge room, the second floor housed offices and a spacious banquet hall while the first floor held stores.
Site of Strafford County Court House, 104 South Main Street, was built in 1797. At that time, there were only five counties in New Hampshire and three county courthouses in Strafford County located in Dover, Gilmanton, and Rochester. In 1840, the state was divided into 10 counties; Belknap and Carroll Counties were subdivided from Strafford County. Beginning in 1798, the second floor was used by the town, who continued to use the court house building until it burned in 1849. There is a plaque here on the corner of South Main and Columbus Avenue commemorating the original court house.
The Foss & Came Insurance Building, 7 Hanson Street, built in 1855 designed by famous Boston Architect, Henry Hobson Richardson in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
The Farrington Block, 19 Hanson Street, built in the late 19th century, is an Italianate Style, 3-story, 6-bay wide wooden commercial block.
The Masonic Temple, 31 Hanson Street, was built in 1911 as a Neoclassical Style building on land donated to the Masons by Charles A. C. Hanson. Historically, the Masons used the top two floors and rented commercial space at street level.

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41 and 53 Hanson Street, built in 1871 in the Italianate Style, may be the earliest buildings still surviving on this street. These small wooden buildings were used originally as saloons for train passengers. During the prohibition era, some became ice cream parlors.
The Balomenas Block, 63 Hanson Street, built in 1925, is a three story Georgian Revival style at the end of the street built by Greek immigrant to Rochester, Costas Balomenos. Stores were on the first floor and apartments above.
More information on these buildings and other historical buildings in the Rochester downtown area can be found through the Rochester Historical Society located at 58 Hanson Street or by reading the books, "The Architectural Jewels of Rochester, New Hampshire" by Michael Behrendt and “Rochester, New Hampshire, 1890-2010: A Compact Little Industrial City” by Kathryn Grover.
The Rochester Historical Society Museum is open on Thursdays from 1:00 to 4:00pm for research and viewing our displays. On the second Thursday of each month the Historical Society features a special program at 7:00pm with informative speakers. These programs are free and open to the public.

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Rochester Fair ~ 1910

Walking Tour
Map

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Union St.

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Columbus Ave. AAAAveAve.

N. Main St.

Bridge St.

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Wakefield St.

Hanson St.

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Columbus Ave.

N. Main St.

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S. Main St.

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S. Main St.

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Map Key:

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Rochester City Hall / Rochester Opera House
Spaulding Houses
Studley’s Florist & Garden Center
Gafney Home
Linscotte Court
Hervey Tire
Stone Arch Bridge
Wyandotte Falls Apartment Complex
Lower Dam
The Hartigan Block & Elm/Grange Block
Hanlon and Zubkus
Scenic Theater
Michael’s Block
The P of H, Hayes Block
Dodge Block
Central Square
First Church Congregational
Rochester Public Library
The Odd Fellows Building
Strafford County Court House
Foss & Came Insurance Building
The Farrington Block
The Masonic Temple
41 & 53 Hanson Street
The Balomenas Block
The Historical Society Museum