Description
Vintage sign giving notice to docking vessels that was once posted at the Rochester, New York, port terminal on Lake Ontario, when it was still an industrial port. The sign is hand-lettered in red and dark blue letters on a yellow ground.
The Port of Rochester is a Great Lakes port at the mouth of the Genesee River that lies just across Lake Ontario from Toronto. The name was changed from Charlotte to Port of Rochester in 1917. During between 1917 and 1949, it was mainly used by large ships carrying coal, and ferries operated by Canada Steamship Lines carrying passengers and coal cars across the lake between Rochester and Cobourg, Ontario. In the 1950s and ’60s, the passenger service closed, but coal, cement and other freight, including exports of Ragu pasta sauce, continued to be shipped through there until 1974 when the port closed. The Port of Rochester reopened on a smaller scale in 2004, when a new facility was built to accommodate a ferry, cruise ships and marina for lake-going vessels. The port now serves a recreational purpose rather than a commercial one.
Inscription: NOTICE. VESSELS DOCKING AT THIS TERMINAL ARE SUBJECT TO DOCKAGE CHARGES AS PER SCHEDULE POSTED IN TERMINAL OFFICE. ROCHESTER — MONROE COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY.
Condition: Generally very good for a utilitarian well used sign. A bit weathered overall with associated rust to iron especially at bottom edge. Discoloration, fading, chipping and other losses to paint. Early restorations to paint.
References:
LaDue, Ronald A. “A History of the Port of Rochester.” The Scanner. Vol. 16, No. 9. Summer 1984. Online at Maritime History of the Great Lakes: http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/documents/scanner/16/09/default.asp?ID=s006 (26 July 2016).
“Port of Rochester — Terminal Building.” City of Rochester. http://www.cityofrochester.gov/article.aspx?id=8589937679 (26 July 2016).
