Web Design in Rochester, MI

Rochester, Oakland County

Well-Known Places in Rochester

Rochester Municipal Park, Paint Creek Trail, Rochester Opera House block (Home Bakery building).

Rochester Business Districts

• Downtown Rochester (Main Street)
• Rochester Road Corridor
• University Drive Corridor

Major Employers in Rochester

Rochester Community Schools, Crittenton Hospital Medical Center (Ascension Providence Rochester), City of Rochester, Rochester University.

About Rochester, Oakland County

Rochester is an affluent city about 20 miles north of Detroit in Oakland County, celebrated for one of Michigan's most vibrant and walkable historic downtowns along Main Street and Paint Creek. Its identity blends 19th-century mill-town roots with a modern reputation for festivals, from the state's largest Christmas parade to the dazzling Big, Bright Light Show.

History of Rochester

• Rochester was first settled in 1817 by the Graham family, who built a log cabin on present-day Third Street, making it the first European settlement in Oakland County.
• Early industry ran on water power from the Clinton River and Paint Creek.

Landmarks and Places in Rochester

• Rollin Sprague Building (1849), the oldest commercial structure downtown, home to The Home Bakery since 1930.
• Western Knitting Mills, the restored 1896 brick mill now housing Rochester Mills Beer Company.
• Royal Park Hotel (2004), a $43 million four-diamond luxury hotel.

The Rochester Economy

• Historic industries included sugar-beet refineries, paper-products manufacturing, and the Western Knitting Mills (built 1896).
• At its peak the Western Knitting Mills produced about 100,000 dozen pairs of gloves a year, among the largest glove producers in the world, and made khaki gloves for World War I soldiers.
• Today the economy centers on a thriving retail and dining downtown, a seasonal farmers market (May to October), and hospitality anchored by the four-diamond Royal Park Hotel.

Community Life in Rochester

• The Big, Bright Light Show has draped downtown buildings in lights every holiday season since 2006, growing from about half a million bulbs to roughly 1.5 million.
• The Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade has run since 1951 and is billed as Michigan's largest Christmas parade, held the first Sunday in December.
• The Art & Apples Festival, Heritage Festival, and summer concert series are downtown staples.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, www.rrc-mi.com, www.ci.rochester.mi.us