Stutson Street Bridge

Stutson Street Bridge. Twin brothers James and Joseph Stutson came to Rochester in 1822 and operated hotels in downtown Rochesterville and at Hanford Landing. In 1850, they bought the Commercial Hotel in Charlotte and renamed it "Stutson House." It was located at the northwest corner of River and Stutson Streets. Although the hotel burned down in 1895, the street and the new bridge across the Genesee would bear the Stutson name. , Plans to erect a bridge began in 1897, but the argument was over WHERE it should be built. City residents wanted to locate it where the Memorial Bridge now stands, while the Town of Greece wanted it built at Charlotte. Although a bill was introduced in 1899, the fight lasted until 1914, when Frank Dobson of Greece and Louis Dubelbeiss of Irondequoit ended the debate. , The double-leaf bascule bridge was started in the spring of 1915. The contract was awarded to the Penn Bridge Company. An accident delayed construction for a year when the east coffer dam was crushed. The bridge was completed in Decemeber of 1917 and cost about $300,000. , Although the bridge took two years to complete, it took just two months to demolish. The Colonel Patrick O'Rorke Memorial Bridge opened for traffic on Friday, October 1, 2004 and was dedicated the next day. , Demolition of the Stutson Street Bridge commenced the following Monday and was completed by the end of November 2004. , As you stand on this overlook, you are on the part of Stutson Street that was the western approach road that led onto the Stutson Street Bridge. , The control tower has been located on both the Irondequoit and Charlotte sides of the Bridge.