You may be asking: Why? Let us bring you along on our advocacy journey to ensure Cobb’s Hill Park is protected in its entirety through a City of Rochester Landmark designation.

In January 2024, a project went before the Rochester Preservation Board (RPB) for review: a new pavilion in the park. This caught the attention of several residents in the surrounding neighborhoods, who wondered why only one of the two proposed pavilions was under review by the RPB. Looking for answers, they contacted The Landmark Society of Western New York.

After investigating what appeared on the city’s website as a landmark designation for Cobb’s Hill Park and Eastern Widewaters, we learned that in 1972, portions of Cobb’s Hill Park were removed from the original landmark designation on technicalities. These areas included the Lake Riley area north of Norris Drive and Washington Grove. As it currently stands, only the area of the park south of Norris Drive to Highland Avenue, inclusive of the reservoir, basketball courts, tennis courts, and a baseball field, is protected by Landmark status. This original designation likely came about due to the portion of the park that was designed by renowned landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted and the Olmsted firm. However, the entirety of Cobb’s Hill Park is historically significant in its own right for the historic landscape and buildings that relate to the early-twentieth century parks and recreation movement, as well as Washington Grove being the only old growth forest in the City of Rochester, one listed in the National Old Growth Forest registry.

In March 2024, representatives from the Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association, Cobbs Hill Historic District, Nunda Blvd. Association, and ABC Streets Neighborhood Association met to discuss a collaborative plan to advocate for the remainder of the park to become a landmark. The result of that meeting led to contact with the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD/Zoning), Department of Recreation and Human Services (DRHS), and eventually the Department of Environmental Services (DES), as well as outreach to other neighborhoods and community organizations to garner interest and support.

Eventually, the advocacy group expanded to include The Landmark Society of Western New York, Rochester Olmsted Parks Alliance, Friends of Washington Grove, and Indigenous Peoples Day Committee. Through meetings over the next year, the group worked to research the history of Cobbs Hill Park, particularly the areas to be designed, and write the landmark designation application. Throughout this process, members of the group also contacted different city departments to help better understand the process of an application for city-owned property, as well as try to work through any concerns relevant departments might have about the designation and provide clarification on what the designation means.

Finally, after nearly a year of research and discussion, the group officially submitted the Landmark designation application in February 2025 and the application was initially reviewed by the RPB at their March meeting. After lengthy discussion, members decided to place the application on hold for additional information that specifically called out the historically significant landscapes, features, structures, and materials that were pertinent to the landmark designation for special protection. Once this was completed and resubmitted, the application went back before the RPB in May which voted unanimously to both sponsor and approve the application for landmark designation of these two areas of Cobb’s Hill Park.

However, that’s not the end of the process.

The final step for a building or site to be listed as a City of Rochester Landmark is approval by the City Planning Commission (CPC). The application was reviewed by the CPC at their June hearing. Although DES and DRHS requested the application be held for further review by each department, the CPC felt there had been sufficient time for review and voted 5-2 to move forward with their decision. During deliberations, the conversation seemed to be headed in a positive direction but unexpectedly turned after staff to the CPC convinced the Commission the application should be held for additional information. To our dismay, the Commission voted 2-5 to hold the application pending additional information on any scheduled improvement or renewal projects in or adjacent to the park. Specifically:

“Evidence shall be provided on how the proposed application meets the landmark designation standards in accordance with Zoning Code Section 120-193A(3)(b), specifically, standard #3 which states that, “the proposed designation will not adversely impact any scheduled public improvement or renewal project.” This information could include, but is not limited to, a list of all currently scheduled projects, or lack thereof, on or adjacent to 80 Culver Road and 105 Hillside Avenue that could be adversely impacted by the proposed designation as a city landmark.”

Having ascertained that there are no current capital projects the status would interfere with, the advocacy group is currently working with DES, DRHS, and NBD/Zoning to explore a way in which the city can work with us towards a satisfactory outcome. “We still face significant hurdles securing Landmark site status for those areas of Cobbs Hill Park not already designated. If the designation is finalized it would be hard to imagine managing the park without some sort of overarching, long term plan. Ideally, the public would be engaged in a Cobbs Hill Park masterplan. A masterplan effort may result in a "Friends of Cobbs Hill Park" effort that would not only support the City's efforts but also help activate the park and engage the public in new ways that take full advantage of Landmark site status,” says Rome Celli, Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association president.

We hope to be sharing news of a positive outcome - soon!

Preserving Cobbs Hill Park: A Community Effort Toward Landmark Status

The Underground Railroad at Maplewood Rose Garden