Tower280 at Midtown, formerly known as Midtown Tower, is a high-rise building in downtown
Rochester, NY. It contains luxury apartments as well as a top floor penthouse with office space and retail space and a restaurant on the bottom three levels.
History
Midtown Tower was first constructed in 1962 as part of the now defunct
Midtown Plaza shopping center before the mall's closing and subsequent demolition.
While part of Midtown Plaza it was home to a seventy eight room hotel, offices and the ''Top of the Plaza'' restaurant and nightclub which was known early on for its
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
scene and notable performing acts such as
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time.
Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...
,
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but a ...
,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
and
Sarah Vaughn
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and " The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Award ...
. As the mall began its decline the hotel closed in 1980 with the restaurant after a few format changes closing for good in 2000.
As Midtown Plaza was torn down to make way for the later-cancelled
PAETEC Headquarters, the steel structure of Midtown Tower was saved and ultimately retrofitted with a more modern façade. The tower now houses residential units as well as retail and office space on the bottom three levels. By October 2016, the tower's residential spaces were nearly rented out with some retail space still available.
Notable Tenants
*Bergmann Associates
*Branca Italian Restaurant
*Brand Networks
Gallery
File:Midtown Tower, Rochester, cropped.JPG, View of the tower with its old façade in 2010
File:MidtownPlazaRemnants.JPG, Stripped-down skeleton in 2012
File:MidtownTowerConstruction.JPG, Tower under renovation in 2015
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Rochester, New York
This list of tallest buildings in Rochester ranks high-rise buildings in the U.S. city of Rochester, New York by height. The tallest building in the city is the Xerox Tower, which rises and was completed in 1968.
Tallest buildings
This lis ...
External links
Official Website
References
{{City of Rochester, NY
Skyscraper office buildings in Rochester, New York
Mixed-use developments in New York (state)
1962 establishments in New York (state)
Residential buildings completed in 1962
Residential skyscrapers in Rochester, New York