Watcher Abbreviations!
There are many abbreviations the watchers use when posting tweets and reports. It can be confusing. So here is a list of those off the top of my head. I’m sure I’ll miss some and they will not be in alphabetical order, at least for now. We can work on a better list for reference purposes. Ok, here goes! Let’s start at home.
TSB = Times Square Bldg, home of the Rochester Falcons nest box. Topped by the “Wings of Progress”. First known as Genesee Valley Trust building.
OCSR = Old Changing Scenes Restaurant, the tall building with the disk on top. It used to be a revolving restaurant a long time ago. I was told not to set my purse on the window ledge, you might not see it again! Official name: First Federal Plaza Building
TR = Officially called the Aqueduct Building, but Thompson Reuters occupied it most recently. Home of the Mercury Statue. We have been calling it TR, but it should probably be AB for Aqueduct Bldg.
BCA= Blue Cross Arena aka Rochester War Memorial, home of the Rochester Amerks. Go Amerks!
KO = Kodak Office or KT = Kodak Tower
FCT = Frontier Communication Tower
JCT = Jail Communication Tower
WW = Widows Walk aka Old City Hall Building. Most recently called Irving Place.
Bridges
ASB = Andrews St Bridge.
BSB = Broad St Bridge, the city wants to close this bridge to traffic, making it a pedestrian only bridge.
CSB = Court St Bridge.
Directions
N, S, E, W = North, South, East, West and all the combinations, ie NE = Northeast, SW = Southwest, etc.
We may call some of the downtown buildings by their old names. Here are some that have new names.
Xerox Tower now called Innovation Square.
Midtown Plaza now called Tower 280.
Bausch & Lomb now called Legacy Tower.
The Chase Tower (the Lincoln First Tower before that) now called The Metropolitan.
I’m sure there are more. Post any others you would like to know in the comments.
ETA: Also check out the Glossary Page on the Forum.
July 25th, 2022 at 5:54 PM
Good list, except that you’ll NEVER hear me call that last bridge by the name you have listed here. Others may feel differently, of course, but I feel that nickname is disrespectful to two great Americans, and it grates on me every time I hear it. If the name must be shortened, I prefer to call it the Douglass Anthony Bridge. So anyway, two different nicknames, same bridge.
July 25th, 2022 at 5:56 PM
Also, the official name of OCSR is the First Federal Building, and you will occasionally see the watchers refer to it by that name.
July 25th, 2022 at 6:08 PM
I’ve added the glossary link to the article. An update to the glossary is coming soon.
July 25th, 2022 at 8:31 PM
I’ve revised the list and added some other information.
July 26th, 2022 at 9:25 AM
Thank-you. This is most useful and probably will have to be reposted each year as the cityscape changes;-) As an older citizen of a city I am completely in sympathy with calling a building by its old name, even though ownership and sponsorship change (often more than once) over the years.
July 26th, 2022 at 11:10 AM
The map you posted several years ago is also very helpful. By now, I can visualize where the juvies are going just from the abbrevs.
July 26th, 2022 at 11:24 AM
The Court-Exchange Building. Built in 1881 for Samual Stein, a local manufacturer of wooden caskets. When Stein retired in 1890, he sold his business to the National Casket Company. The building was used until 1984 to manufacture, display and warehouse caskets.
Just a few days ago, Nova prepped food on the corner of this building and both Kanfai Malachim and Blaze ate there.
I do love the rich history of my city. 🙂
July 29th, 2022 at 1:55 PM
HF = High Falls
B&L = Bausch and Lomb
August 12th, 2022 at 3:55 PM
5-Star keeps coming up this year. It seems like a new name to me. Was it much frequented in previous years? Or is it just that now we have an information source who lives/works there?
August 12th, 2022 at 8:28 PM
We used to call the Five Star Bank Bldg, HSBC. The new 5 Star sign on the bldg is very prominent, so easy to remember. Over the years, this has been a favorite bldg for our falcons.