In its more than two centuries of existence, Rochester’s Main Street has hosted its fair share of public entertainment venues. As the village grew from a pioneer outpost to a thriving town, Main Street’s business owners stepped up to provide social outlets for the community. Rochester Opera House block as it looked about 1910. Curtain Up A minstrel show and brass band concert was advertised at Newberry Hall in 1876. The first public gathering place capable of seating a crowd—aside … [Read more...]
Lytle Pharmacy is Rochester’s Oldest Drug Store
September 15, 2016 by 5 Comments
No living person in the Rochester area remembers when there wasn’t a pharmacy located in the Opera House block at the corner of Fourth & Main streets. Ever since the building first opened its doors in 1890, a pharmacy sign has been hanging in its front window. Robert A. Lytle is the current - and longest tenured - proprietor of the drug store business that was operated by John T. Norton when the Opera House block welcomed its first tenants 126 years ago. When Charles A. Burr built the … [Read more...]
