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From the Feb. 26, 2008 Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle
Freedom rang out from Talman Building
Among its many incarnations, it housed Frederick Douglass' newspaper 'North Star'
Larry Seil
Staff writer
(February 26, 2008) — In 1847, Frederick Douglass, recently freed from slavery and now one of its most fervent and tireless opponents, came to Rochester to start a newspaper dedicated to the cause of the abolitionist movement.
The Rochester City Directory for 1849, the most recently published after his arrival when he was about age 30, lists his office as 25 Buffalo St., the present-day site of the Talman Building.
Standing on what is now 25 E. Main St., — on the west side of the Genesee River — the building looks quite different from when Douglass worked there. But the current home of a Key Bank branch still bears the traces of a long and varied past.
Kevin Cooman, partner in the law firm McConville Considine Cooman & Morin that occupies the fourth and fifth floors, has done extensive research about the building. He says this plot of land was part of the original 100-acre tract that Nathaniel Rochester, Charles Carroll and William Fitzhugh settled in 1803. The property was deeded to Fitzhugh in 1817. He in turn bequeathed the property in 1839 to his daughter, Mary, who was married to John T. Talman, a local banker and broker.
Even before this time, the plot of land that would eventually be referred to as Talman's Block was seeing extensive use. The Rochester Public Library has a map dated 1832 that shows several structures in the area bounded on the north, west and east by Buffalo (now East Main), Exchange and Aqueduct streets. To the south, in what now is a parking lot, was a turning basin for the Erie Canal. One of these structures is probably the original foundation for the current building.
The earliest known photograph is from July 1865 and shows a four-story building, constructed in a fairly standard utilitarian style, with nine windows of identical size on each of the three upper floors, and rainwater downspouts running down the front facade, from a sloping roof. The building has undergone several facelifts.
The back of the building in particular, where it faced the canal's turning basin, exhibits a progression of styles and building materials. Rough-cut stone on the first floor gives way to laid blocks on the next floor and to a smaller brick on the next again. The fifth floor, added after 1866, looks like an afterthought, grafted on to the building like another layer on a cake.
By the time Frederick Douglass moved in, this area of downtown Rochester, already known as the Four Corners, was the hub of government and commerce and represented the absolute prime in commercial real estate. Several banks, the courthouse and city hall, as well as Reynolds Arcade — the pedestrian mall and post office directly across the street — attracted virtually everyone.
Upon establishing himself in Rochester, Douglass made the Talman Building, as well as his home on Alexander Street, a base for other abolitionist organizations and activities. He had chosen Rochester in part because of its reputation as a center for reform movements. Besides the anti-slavery organizations, residents were known for efforts for women's rights, temperance and peace.
Rochester was a natural link in the Underground Railroad, the vast network of people who helped slaves escape their owners, and if necessary, get safe passage to Canada. Douglass used his home on several occasions to harbor "freedom-seekers," and it is believed the basement of the Talman Building also served as a hideout. The building's immediate proximity to the Erie Canal would have made it a ready shelter for escapees traveling by that route. Also, the nearby Genesee River (past the falls) provided access to Lake Ontario and to boats bound for its opposite shores.
Douglass remained in Rochester until 1872 and continued to publish his newspaper, The North Star (later called Frederick Douglass' Paper), out of the Talman Building. In the meantime, the building underwent a number of changes. It was sold to A. Carter Wilder in 1866, and perhaps to compete with Reynolds across the street, the new owner added a fifth floor under an arcade, with a mansard roof and elaborately arched and ornamented dormer windows. By 1900, the building was referred to on the Rochester city map as the Wilder Arcade.
This fifth-floor design, despite looking quaint and picturesque today, apparently wasn't what stood for modern by the time the new century dawned. After a succession of different owners, the building was transferred to Ranson F. Taylor in 1912, and the facade was completely revamped in 1915.
The new design incorporated ideas put forth by the so-called Chicago school, whose major proponent was architect Louis Sullivan. The style tended to emphasize structure over ornamentation. It was an aesthetic encouraged by the advent of new building techniques, most notably reinforcement of the walls with steel, which allowed for the modular, strongly vertical approach to windows. In the case of the Talman, the strength of the walls also allowed the incorporation of a light court into the eastern facade.
With the new design for the Talman came a new name; it was now referred to in the city directories as the Arlington Building. Who or what Arlington was is unknown.
In 1921, Central Bank of Rochester bought the property, and it began to be called the Central Bank Building. It also underwent more renovations. The classical style masonry on the first- and second-floor facades was added then — similar to the stonework on the Eastman Theatre, which was also under construction at that time.
Starting in about the mid-1970s, renewed interest in the life and times of Douglass led to renewed interest in the building where he worked, believed to be the only tangible landmark of Douglass' presence in Rochester. In 1981, new owners decided to call themselves the Talman Building Associates. By reviving the Talman name, as well as returning the exterior of the building to its period color scheme, they are preserving and promoting the building's historic significance.
LSEIL@DemocratandChronicle.com
Interactive portion:
Freedom rang out from Talman Building
Among its many incarnations, it housed Frederick Douglass' newspaper 'North Star'
Larry Seil
Staff writer
(February 26, 2008) — In 1847, Frederick Douglass, recently freed from slavery and now one of its most fervent and tireless opponents, came to Rochester to start a newspaper dedicated to the cause of the abolitionist movement.
The Rochester City Directory for 1849, the most recently published after his arrival when he was about age 30, lists his office as 25 Buffalo St., the present-day site of the Talman Building.
Standing on what is now 25 E. Main St., — on the west side of the Genesee River — the building looks quite different from when Douglass worked there. But the current home of a Key Bank branch still bears the traces of a long and varied past.
Kevin Cooman, partner in the law firm McConville Considine Cooman & Morin that occupies the fourth and fifth floors, has done extensive research about the building. He says this plot of land was part of the original 100-acre tract that Nathaniel Rochester, Charles Carroll and William Fitzhugh settled in 1803. The property was deeded to Fitzhugh in 1817. He in turn bequeathed the property in 1839 to his daughter, Mary, who was married to John T. Talman, a local banker and broker.
Even before this time, the plot of land that would eventually be referred to as Talman's Block was seeing extensive use. The Rochester Public Library has a map dated 1832 that shows several structures in the area bounded on the north, west and east by Buffalo (now East Main), Exchange and Aqueduct streets. To the south, in what now is a parking lot, was a turning basin for the Erie Canal. One of these structures is probably the original foundation for the current building.
The earliest known photograph is from July 1865 and shows a four-story building, constructed in a fairly standard utilitarian style, with nine windows of identical size on each of the three upper floors, and rainwater downspouts running down the front facade, from a sloping roof. The building has undergone several facelifts.
The back of the building in particular, where it faced the canal's turning basin, exhibits a progression of styles and building materials. Rough-cut stone on the first floor gives way to laid blocks on the next floor and to a smaller brick on the next again. The fifth floor, added after 1866, looks like an afterthought, grafted on to the building like another layer on a cake.
By the time Frederick Douglass moved in, this area of downtown Rochester, already known as the Four Corners, was the hub of government and commerce and represented the absolute prime in commercial real estate. Several banks, the courthouse and city hall, as well as Reynolds Arcade — the pedestrian mall and post office directly across the street — attracted virtually everyone.
Upon establishing himself in Rochester, Douglass made the Talman Building, as well as his home on Alexander Street, a base for other abolitionist organizations and activities. He had chosen Rochester in part because of its reputation as a center for reform movements. Besides the anti-slavery organizations, residents were known for efforts for women's rights, temperance and peace.
Rochester was a natural link in the Underground Railroad, the vast network of people who helped slaves escape their owners, and if necessary, get safe passage to Canada. Douglass used his home on several occasions to harbor "freedom-seekers," and it is believed the basement of the Talman Building also served as a hideout. The building's immediate proximity to the Erie Canal would have made it a ready shelter for escapees traveling by that route. Also, the nearby Genesee River (past the falls) provided access to Lake Ontario and to boats bound for its opposite shores.
Douglass remained in Rochester until 1872 and continued to publish his newspaper, The North Star (later called Frederick Douglass' Paper), out of the Talman Building. In the meantime, the building underwent a number of changes. It was sold to A. Carter Wilder in 1866, and perhaps to compete with Reynolds across the street, the new owner added a fifth floor under an arcade, with a mansard roof and elaborately arched and ornamented dormer windows. By 1900, the building was referred to on the Rochester city map as the Wilder Arcade.
This fifth-floor design, despite looking quaint and picturesque today, apparently wasn't what stood for modern by the time the new century dawned. After a succession of different owners, the building was transferred to Ranson F. Taylor in 1912, and the facade was completely revamped in 1915.
The new design incorporated ideas put forth by the so-called Chicago school, whose major proponent was architect Louis Sullivan. The style tended to emphasize structure over ornamentation. It was an aesthetic encouraged by the advent of new building techniques, most notably reinforcement of the walls with steel, which allowed for the modular, strongly vertical approach to windows. In the case of the Talman, the strength of the walls also allowed the incorporation of a light court into the eastern facade.
With the new design for the Talman came a new name; it was now referred to in the city directories as the Arlington Building. Who or what Arlington was is unknown.
In 1921, Central Bank of Rochester bought the property, and it began to be called the Central Bank Building. It also underwent more renovations. The classical style masonry on the first- and second-floor facades was added then — similar to the stonework on the Eastman Theatre, which was also under construction at that time.
Starting in about the mid-1970s, renewed interest in the life and times of Douglass led to renewed interest in the building where he worked, believed to be the only tangible landmark of Douglass' presence in Rochester. In 1981, new owners decided to call themselves the Talman Building Associates. By reviving the Talman name, as well as returning the exterior of the building to its period color scheme, they are preserving and promoting the building's historic significance.
LSEIL@DemocratandChronicle.com
Interactive portion: