Times Square Building

A. Friederich and Sons was very proud to have built one of Rochester's most distinctive early skyscrapers, the Times Square building. Originally known as the Genesee Valley Trust building, the building's beautiful Art Deco architecture, Indiana limestone facade, and distinctive "Wings of Progress" make it an icon of Rochester's city skyline. During the construction process, A. Friederich & Sons pioneered an innovative trolly method to convey the limestone slab facings to their settings. The first cornerstone was laid on October 29, 1929 which was coincidentally the same day the stock market crashed, known as "Black Tuesday".

The interior walls of the main level are marble from Valencia, Spain and Lombardy, Italy. The building originally included an immense main banking room with beautiful Art Deco features, red marble and Australian lacewood wall panels, and a large mural by Carl W. Peters entitled "Rochester, Past, Present and Future" (see photos). Sadly, both the main banking room and the mural were destroyed by a previous owner's "rennovations" which split the room vertically into two separate floors. Fortunately, the current owner has done a beautiful job of restoring the historical features that still remain.

The 4-story James Field Company building was originally attached to the North side of the Times Square building. When that building was demolished, an unfinished concrete wall was exposed which lacks the limestone facade of the other walls. In 2020, local artist Sarah C. Rutherford painted a beautiful mural on the unfinished wall as part of the Stories of Strength project for domestic violence survivors.