St. Paul-North Water Streets Historic District

Seventeen brick commercial and industrial buildings make up this small district on the east bank of the Genesee River in Rochester. Most date from 1884 to the late 1920s and rise two to six stories. Those on St. Paul Street served as showrooms and offices for the garment trade and carry pressed brick, terra cotta, stamped metal and cast-iron details, often in Romanesque style. Buildings on North Water Street housed light manufacturing and are plainer, with corbelled brick and segmental arch windows. Other notable structures include a former fire station with a limestone facade and Egyptian-influenced details, and a Spanish Renaissance-style taxi company building. The district grew after the 1882 construction of the New York Central station, when garment firms moved across the river. Rochester's clothing industry declined between the world wars, and later demolition and urban renewal removed most of the garment center. This cluster is the sole survivor of that area and retains a high degree of integrity, with no non-contributing buildings.