Walking Tours & Bus Field Trips

East Avenue Mansions & Millionaires Walking Tour
(East Boulevard to Oxford)

Have you ever wondered about the history of the beautiful mansions around the East Avenue area? Who were the socially elite, rich and famous of Rochester who built and lived in these mansions and how did they come by their wealth? Learn the history of Rochester’s most illustrious street, see many impressive mansions, and hear the stories of the millionaires that developed the area around East Avenue. View the unique architecture of wonderful mansions and other historic buildings not only on East Avenue, but also on adjacent streets such as Oliver, and East Boulevard. Listen to colorful anecdotes that will delight anyone who was born in Rochester or has lived here for a short time. This nostalgic tour will evoke wonderful memories of the "good old days."

East Avenue Mansions & Millionaires Walking Tour
(Oxford to Alexander)

Have you ever wondered about the history of the beautiful mansions around the East Avenue area? Who were the socially elite, rich and famous of Rochester who built and lived in these mansions and how did they come by their wealth? Learn the history of Rochester’s most illustrious street, see many impressive mansions, and hear the stories of the millionaires that developed the area around East Avenue. View the unique architecture of wonderful mansions and other historic buildings not only on East Avenue, but also on adjacent streets such as Prince, University, and Arnold Park. Listen to colorful anecdotes that will delight anyone who was born in Rochester or has lived here for a short time. This nostalgic tour will evoke wonderful memories of the "good old days." As an added bonus this year we will show you the locations and photos of a number of beautiful mansions which were torn down before preservation efforts began.

Mansions & Millionaires Of Early Rochester Bus Tour

Have you ever wondered about the history of the beautiful mansions of Rochester, particularly those around the East Avenue area? Who were the socially elite, rich and famous of Rochester who built and lived in these mansions, and how did they come by their wealth? Now those and many other questions will be answered as you go back in time to the glory days when gracious hospitality and elegant dinners were commonplace in East Avenue mansions. See many beautiful, interesting slides of mansions, millionaires, and hear wonderful anecdotes that will delight anyone who was born in Rochester or has lived here for a short time. Relive the days when automobiles were a novelty that only the rich could afford and the daring could drive. This nostalgic journey will evoke memories of stories your parents or grandparents told you about the "good old days." There are images of the inside of many of the millionaires' mansions discussed during this presentation.

Note: East Avenue Mansions & Millionaires Bus Tour Covers Both Areas Of The Above Two Walking Tours

The Famous & Infamous Residents Of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
A Fall Foliage Walking Tour

Visit one of America’s Victorian cemeteries looking its best, bursting with fall colors everywhere. See some priceless Victorian monuments and learn about Victorian symbolism. Listen to delightful stories of famous residents like Rattlesnake Pete, silent movie star Louise Brooks, the Spaghetti Sauce Kings, Gettysburg hero Col. Patrick Henry O'Rorke, noted broadcaster and humanitarian Al Sigl, and infamous resident Jack the Ripper.

The Famous & Infamous Residents Of Holy Sepulchre & Rochester Riverside Cemeteries
A Fall Foliage Bus Field Trip

Visit two of America’s beautiful Victorian cemeteries looking their best, bursting with fall colors everywhere. See some spectacular monuments and mausoleums. Listen to delightful stories of famous residents like Rattlesnake Pete, Martha Matilda Harper, silent movie star Louise Brooks, Gettysburg hero Col. Patrick Henry O'Rorke, noted broadcaster and humanitarian Al Sigl, the Gleasons, infamous residents like Jack the Ripper and one of Chicago’s notorious mob bosses in the days of Al Capone, and many more.

Tales & Treasures Bus Field Trip of Historic Rochester

Do you remember when downtown Rochester was a wonderful place to shop with great department stores like Sibley’s, Edward’s, McCurdy’s & Forman’s? Do you know where the wealthy flour millers, businessmen, and politicians of early Rochester lived before the East Avenue area developed? Hear tales of Rochester’s past and see historic buildings which still exist in the downtown area. Visit the famous "Ruffled Shirt & Silk Stocking" district and Grove Place, in Rochester’s vibrant cultural district, where the famous Gibbs, Ward, and Selden families lived for over 100 years.

View ArtWalk, a fascinating outdoor art trail in Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts. See architectural landmarks in Rochester dating back to 1816 such as Brown’s Race in the High Falls area, where flour mills and industry once flourished making Rochester famous. Admire the beauty of Rochester’s first church, St. Luke’s Episcopal, where the early pioneers and elite worshiped together. Listen to stories that will amuse native Rochesterians or short time residents, and bring back wonderful memories of bygone days. Anyone who has taken Warren’s tours before will not want to miss another opportunity to be with Rochester’s most knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide.

Best of Mt. Hope Cemetery Fall Foliage Bus Field Trip

Don’t miss an opportunity to take a bus trip through Mt. Hope Cemetery with Warren Kling, noted Rochester historian who will take you on a memorable journey into Rochester’s illustrious past. You will see the very best Mt. Hope Cemetery has to offer with one of its most knowledgeable guides. Warren has entertained thousands of people on guided walking tours of Mt. Hope Cemetery and offers a number of Rochester history classes at the Rochester Museum & Science Center.

Visit America’s oldest municipal Victorian cemetery looking its best, bursting with beautiful fall colors everywhere. Discover Rochester Hill, the burial site of our city’s founder and many other pioneers. See some spectacular and unusual monuments and mausoleums like those on Millionaires Row where you will meet some of Rochester’s wealthiest. Listen to delightful stories of how these millionaires made their fortunes and how Rochester benefited. You will be amazed at the prolific, significant contributions of families like Bausch, Gannett, Hylan, Ritter, Sibley, Strong, and Vick to name a few.

See impressive geological eskers and kettles formed over 12,000 years ago near one of the oldest Indian trails in the area. Gaze at breathtaking specimen trees like copper and weeping beech, planted over 150 years ago in all their fall beauty. Catch a glimpse of the wildlife and see wonderful outdoor sculpture and architecture, dating from the mid 1800's.

Parks, Pleasures & Pastimes of Early Rochester

Hear the fascinating history of Rochester’s early parks in the good old days when this area was the Coney Island of Western New York. Life was much simpler then and the thrill of the beach and picnics at the park were the highlight of family outings. Revisit Rochester’s historic parks and rekindle fond memories of your childhood. See famous Hot Dog Row, Sea Breeze, and Ontario Beach Park and learn about their history. View some of Rochester’s hidden gems like the historic Charlotte Lighthouse, the Dentzel Carousel and the legendary home of the ghost of Durand Eastman Park. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience this new and exciting historic bus tour of Rochester’s early amusement parks with local historian and author Warren Kling and his wife Pat.

Rochester's 175th Birthday Event

We want to express our appreciation to all of you who attended this special event. With the support of the Mayor's staff, we were able to celebrate Rochester's 175th birthday in style.

I received many emails and comments from the attendees of how much they enjoyed the day, how much of the local area we covered, how much they learned about the Victorian era when we were the Coney Island of the West and how much they enjoyed the surprise areas we visited. We hope to see you at one our 2010 April lectures, Mansions & Millionaires of Early Rochester, as well as on our next bus tour in the fall, TBA.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Warren & Pat Kling

For those of you who missed this event, here is the original announcement:

To all my friends of Rochester history:

Mystical Touring has asked me to put together a tour as a fitting way to celebrate Rochester's 175th birthday. This is a rare opportunity to celebrate our city's birthday in style, with an all day event which includes a full size comfortable motor coach tour of Rochester's historic past. Please join us for this special day. It will be a great to see many of our friends again, meet new ones and share laughs, stories, and wonderful memories of early Rochester. Pat & I hope to see you there!

Here are the details:
Date: Wednesday October 14, 2009
Duration: 9:30AM - 4:30PM

Rochester's 175th Birthday Celebration With Warren & Pat Kling
Presented by Mystical Touring

"Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate Rochester's 175th birthday as a city with noted local historian Warren Kling and his wife Pat. Warren is a Rochester native and best selling local author of the new book America's First Boomtown - Rochester, NY. The book has been one of the fastest selling local history books to date, selling out 4 printings this year.

	We will start the day with a slide presentation on the early pioneer history of Rochester. In this presentation you will meet the early pioneers who first settled the area and find out how the roads we travel on every day got their names. Learn why the Erie Canal was so important to Rochester and hear the amazing life stories of some of the prominent pioneer families who were instrumental in Rochester's development.
	This will be followed with a delicious buffet lunch at Mario's restaurant on Monroe Avenue.
	After lunch we will go to one of the highest elevations in the city of Rochester and get a panoramic view of downtown and all the beautiful fall colors. This will be a great place to get out and take a picture, so don't forget your camera.
	We will then embark on a new bus tour with Warren & Pat entitled the Parks, Pleasures & Pastimes of Early Rochester. Hear the fascinating history of Rochester’s early parks in the good old days when this area was actually the Coney Island of Western New York. Life was much simpler in the Victorian era and the thrill of the beach and picnics at the park were the highlight of family outings. See famous Hot Dog Row, Sea Breeze, Durand Eastman Beach, Ontario Beach Park. Learn about their history and see many old photographs Warren has put together for this special tour.

Warren will take us on a wonderful history filled motor coach tour you will not forget. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the past with one of Rochester’s most knowledgeable tour guides. You can learn more about Warren, as well as watch a 6 minute NBC interview regarding his book, at www.Rochesterhistoryalive.com "

To Arrange For Trips

You can phone (585-442-0099) or click on the link to send an email to RochesterHistory, and arrange for a very enjoyable and memorable time for your group. Don’t delay in making your reservation as the tours book up very quickly after they are announced.

Walking Tours & Bus Field Trips

East Avenue Mansions & Millionaires Walking Tour (East Boulevard to Oxford)

East Avenue Mansions & Millionaires Walking Tour (Oxford to Alexander)