The New York Museum of Transportation will commemorate the start of Riverton with a day of trolley rides on Sunday, July 17.
A half century ago, local work began on a revolutionary approach to suburban development and land use. “Riverton” was to include housing, commerce, and green space, all in a planned, self-governing community. The concept was based on the success of Reston, Virginia, and was one of several proposals around the country supported by loans from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The economy of the 1970s impeded Riverton development and eventually forced it into bankruptcy, although many homes were built and today comprise a prosperous residential part of the town of Henrietta.
The Riverton plan included antique trolley cars circulating through the town, but finding authentic cars proved difficult. In June 1972, Hurricane Agnes forced a Pennsylvania museum to close, and several Rochester related trolley cars became available there. Those cars were brought to this area and became the nucleus of the collection at the New York Museum of Transportation.
Growing from that small initial collection, the museum now contains trolley cars, a steam locomotive, highway and horse drawn vehicles, model railroads and the Midtown Plaza Monorail.
The museum’s two-mile round-trip trolley ride is a unique recreation of the interurban trolley era of a century ago. Rides depart at 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 p.m., and no reservations are needed.
The family-friendly admission, including the trolley ride, is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors age 65+, and $6 for youth age three to 12.
The New York Museum of Transportation is open Sundays only, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 6393 East River Road, just 20 minutes from downtown Rochester and easily reached from Exit 11 off I-390. For information, visit www.nymtmuseum.org or call 533-1113.
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