Unless a power failure happens, modern Rochester residents tend to take their electric service for granted. However, at the end of the nineteenth century, electric lights were a novelty enjoyed by few and coveted by many—until an interurban line came to town with the power to change everything. Clerks at work in the Rochester Edison building, September 1923. Rochester in the 1890s was a bustling place during the day, but the setting of the sun had a natural dampening effect on the level of … [Read more...]