Rochester, New York, is the third largest city in the state and is called the cultural capital of Upstate New York for good reason. The National Center for Arts Research once named Rochester among the top 20 most arts-vibrant cities in the country.
This mid-size city is a fantastic place to visit museums that cover a variety of interests. In 2022, USA Today’s 10Best awards ranked three Rochester museums among New York’s top 10. They included the George Eastman Museum, The Strong National Museum of Play, and the Rochester Museum and Science Center.
On a recent trip, I visited two of the George Eastman Museum and The Strong National Museum of Play, plus two others you shouldn’t miss, the Memorial Art Gallery and the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House.
George Eastman Museum
Since I have had a lifelong interest in photography and have owned many cameras over the years, visiting the George Eastman Museum was at the top of my list.
The George Eastman Museum, which opened to the public in 1949, is the oldest photography museum in the world and one of the oldest film archives. Its exhibits include almost half a million photographs covering the history of the medium, 20,000 items of camera technology, 30,000 motion picture titles, and one of the world’s most comprehensive libraries of photographic books.
You Press the Button, We Do the Rest
“You press the button; we do the rest.” That slogan helped usher in the birth of snapshot photography in 1888, when George Eastman, considered the father of popular photography and motion picture film, introduced the Kodak camera. His goal was to make photography “as convenient as the pencil.
The camera, preloaded with enough film for 100 exposures, was priced at $25. (That’s about $840 in today’s dollars.) It was easy to carry and could be handheld during operation. The whole camera was returned to Rochester after exposure. The film was developed, prints were made, and a new film was inserted — all for $10.
The first commercial transparent roll film was introduced the following year, in 1889. This flexible film made the development of Thomas Edison’s motion picture camera possible in 1891. That same year, Kodak’s first daylight-loading camera became available. No longer was a darkroom needed to reload the camera with film.
Introducing the Brownie Camera in 1900
With the introduction of Kodak’s Brownie Camera in 1900, photography became financially affordable for the masses. Kodak sold the camera for just $1; the film was 15 cents a roll.
And the innovations kept coming, like the Kodak Instamatic Camera, introduced in 1963, which I remember from childhood. It featured easy-to-use cartridge-loading film., which brought amateur photography to new heights of popularity. More than 50 million Instamatic Cameras were produced by 1970.
Kodak in Space
One of the Lunar Orbiter Subsystem cameras is on display. “The photograph of the century,” a close-up of the crater Copernicus on the moon, was made by Lunar Orbiter II, using a dual-lens camera, film, processor, and readout device supplied by Kodak. ©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
To learn more about the company’s history, you can see Kodak’s milestones through the decades here.
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
The George Eastman Mansion
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Plan Your Visit – Hours: Tues.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Closed Monday
The Strong National Museum of Play
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
A museum dedicated to play. In whatever era you experienced your childhood, memories will come flooding back as you walk through the massive display of collections at The Strong National Museum of Play.
The downtown Rochester museum, which opened to the public in 1982, displays dolls, toys, board games, video games, pinball machines, and other play-related items.
The Museum’s Beginnings
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Margaret Woodbury Strong founded the museum in 1968. After growing up an only child in a wealthy family, her childhood collections of dolls (more than 27,000), toys, and other play-related items grew. She later added two gallery-like wings to her 30-room suburban Rochester residence and invited others to visit. The state of New York originally chartered the museum as the “Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum of Fascination” since guests often described her collections as “fascinating.”
The Woodbury family, including her grandfathers, were successful in their own business ventures and were contemporaries of George Eastman and early investors in the Eastman Kodak Company. Read more about The Strong Museum’s founder here.
Upon her death in 1972, funds she left to further develop the museum were used to move the collections to downtown Rochester at One Manhattan Square. The Strong National Museum of Play has continued to expand its collections in a distinctive facility spanning more than 285,000 square feet.
Beyond the thousands of items on display in both permanent and temporary exhibits, the museum offers several interactive play opportunities.
Ride an antique carousel, hop aboard the indoor passenger train, or try The Strong’s high ropes course—Ralph Wilson Skyline Climb, suspended above the atrium.
The National Toy Hall of Fame and World Video Hall of Fame
The National Toy Hall of Fame was established there in 1998. My Little Pony, Phase 10 (card game), and Transformers were the 2024 inductees. You can check out past winners here: Toy Hall of Fame
Visitors can view inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame in the Digital Worlds: High Score Exhibit. Spend a few minutes playing some of the most classic video games, beginning with Pong, introduced in 1972.
Hasbro Game Park
Walk outdoors to the Hasbro Game Park. Next, you can follow a colorful path to find giant Scrabble tiles that spell PLAY and other larger-than-life games and game pieces.
Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden
The Strong Museum is home to the only indoor butterfly garden in upstate New York. ©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Plan Your Visit – Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday–Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Memorial Art Gallery
Lovers of art, sculpture, and decorative arts will enjoy spending time in the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG). The community museum has been affiliated with the University of Rochester since its founding in 1913.
Its permanent collection of more than 13,000 works of art represents cultures worldwide and includes masterpieces by Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, and Henri Matisse.
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Admission includes a one-hour public tour of the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibits. The galleries are open Wednesday through Sunday (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Thursday (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.), and Monday and Tuesday. Go to this page for more information to plan your visit.
Centennial Sculpture Park Opened in 2013
The Centennial Sculpture Park was created on 10 acres of the Gallery’s grounds in celebration of the museum’s 100th anniversary. It has become “an artistic urban oasis” for the city — always open, always free.
Phase II of the Sculpture Park, which expanded to an entrance near the School of the Arts (SOTA), opened in 2023. Learn more about the Park’s works of art in this online guide.
Our visit during the first weekend in September coincided with the Clothesline Art Festival. The annual juried fine arts fest held within the Park showcases more than 300 artists.
Plan Your Visit – Hours: 11 am-5 pm Wednesday–Sunday; 11 am-9 pm Thursday, Closed on Monday & Tuesday.
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House
On our last day in Rochester, we visited the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House at 17 Madison Street, a lovely, tree-filled street of 19th-century brick homes.
The home of legendary civil rights leader Susan B. Anthony, which later became the headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, is now a National Historic Landmark.
Our hour-long tour of the three-story home also refreshed our knowledge of Susan B. Anthony’s efforts to fight for women’s right to vote in elections. The tour ended in the front parlor. It is the site of Anthony’s arrest by a US Marshal for voting in the 1872 presidential election. As our docent explained, “She felt women had the legal right to vote under the provisions of the 14th and 15th amendments, which had recently been passed. Following a trial, a federal judge later found her guilty and fined her $100, which she refused to pay.”
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
Plan Your Visit – Hours: 11 am to 5 pm Tuesday-Sunday; Closed on Monday (Visitors are asked to reserve a tour in advance, although walk-ins are welcome.)
Susan B. Anthony Square Park
©Debbra Dunning Brouillette
After leaving the house, plan a brief stop at the Susan B. Anthony Square Park, located nearby at 39 King Street. A bronze sculpture called “Let’s Have Tea” is the focal point of the Park. It portrays Susan B. Anthony having a discussion over tea with Frederick Douglass. The two early local champions of civil rights became friends due to their shared goals surrounding social justice and civil rights.
If You Go
Rochester, the third-largest metropolitan area in the state, is in the northwest corner of the Finger Lakes Region on the southern shores of Lake Ontario.
Getting There:
Fly into the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC), in the Top 10 of Best Small Airports for 2024 (USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards).
Where to Stay:
We were guests of the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa in Fairport, a 15-minute drive from downtown. In 2024, American Spa Magazine voted its Spa “Best New or Newly Renovated Spa in the U.S.” The Links at Woodcliff, a 9-hole golf course, is also available.
Visit Rochester hosted the author’s visit.
Read more from Debbra on her website, Tropical Travel Girl.
You May Also Enjoy Reading:
- Casa Larga: Gateway to the Finger Lakes Wine Region
- Four Ways To Drink in The ROC
- Finger Lakes Wineries: European Flavors Meet New World Innovation
Other Articles on Museums:
- ESSE Purse Museum in Little Rock: The Stories Women Have Carried
- The Nun Doll Museum at Michigan’s Cross in the Woods
