Tower280 at Midtown, formerly known as Midtown Tower, is a high-rise building in downtown
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, United States. 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
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 improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
,
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. 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.
In 2025, the Clock of Nations, designed by
Gere Kavanaugh and a focal point of Midtown Plaza before the mall's demolition, was moved into the building's lobby from storage.
Notable tenants
*Colliers Engineering & Design - formerly 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 United States, U.S. city of Rochester, New York, Rochester, New York (state), New York by height. The tallest building in the city is Innovation Square, formerly known ...
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