Turning old into new

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The Bevier Memorial Building, built for the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute, is currently undergoing a rehabilitation into housing and office space.

The Bevier Memorial Building, located on the corner of South Washington and Spring streets in downtown Rochester, was erected in 1910 on the site of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester’s house. It opened one year later and housed the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute’s School of Applied Art. The university was renamed as Rochester Institute of Technology in 1944.

Built with funds from benefactor Susan Bevier, the Bevier Memorial Building is one of the few from RIT’s original downtown campus that still stands today. RIT vacated the building when it relocated its campus to Henrietta in 1968. However, an art gallery in the James E. Booth building of the new campus was named in honor of Bevier.

The building was designed by renowned architect Claude Bragdon, who also designed several other Rochester landmarks such as the Central Railroad terminal and the Chamber of Commerce.

Today, the Bevier Memorial Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is undergoing a $4 million certified rehabilitation. The building is expected to reopen this year featuring 15 loft-style apartments and 5,000 square feet of ground floor office space.

The Bevier Memorial Building, built for the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute, is currently undergoing a rehabilitation into housing and office space.