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Gates Open at St. Joseph's Park Downtown

Facade at the former church at St. Joseph's Park in Rochester
Alex Crichton
Facade at the former church at St. Joseph's Park in Rochester

The Landmark Society has reopened the gates at a downtown park in Rochester.

St. Joseph's Park at North Clinton Avenue and Pleasant Street was originally a church.

But it burned down in 1974 and the Landmark Society stepped in and  and saved the facade, and the site was made into a public park.

Executive Director Wayne Goodman says to date, the Landmark Society has spent $50,000 to $60,000 on this project.

He says the next step for the site is to do some restoration work on the clock tower and relight the tower once again.

Interior of the former church
Interior of the former church

He says that's another $30,000 to $40,000 dollar investment.

"We feel like this is a major icon for downtown Rochester.  We feel like it serves to represent a lot of revitalization efforts that are taking place in the urban core of Rochester," he said.

President of the Rochester Downtown Development Corportation, Heidi Zimmer-Meyer, says this is an amazing project.

"It's places like this that is kind of part green space, part history, part something really unbelievable. That's the sort of quality and character and personality that makes a city a great place to be in," she said.

A concert is planned for this summer at the park
Credit Landmark Society
A concert is planned for this summer at the park

The Landmark Society is renting out the urban park for weddings and other events.

A free concert is planned for July 13th.