The Hungerford Building

Where they filmed The Hungerford Games starring Jennifer "Rock" Hudson as the best Catnip Everseen. Pretty amazing little collection of boutiques which all offer something to Rochester's wonderful culture, especially hipster culture. I can see why people love this place so much and even though it's not really cheap there's a lot of different and unexpected things to find in here.

The Hungerford building t hard to review because it's a collection of older industrial building that house: A collection of artists on the 4th & 2nd floors of building 1, Some food and drink - Seed and Stone Cidery, Happy Gut Sanctuary, Eat Me Up Ice Cream (non-dairy) in walk in from the parking lot or first floor access, Plus Community Design Center of Rochester and Reconnect Rochester/Rochester Cycling Alliance. They also have some apartments and a few other shops and stores I'm not as familiar with. Eclectic. East Main Clay has a nice assortment of ceramic items, including garden gnomes (& other items) that you can build a pole of. Funky tea pots, mugs, plates, and more. Hodaka Pottery on the 4th floor has lovely Japanese themed ceramics. The Hungerford Bldg had First Friday (of the month after 5) and Second Saturday days events where most of the studios and ships are open for business. Chime check them out, particularly as the holiday gift giving season iof here. Support local in the best sense of the word. The Community Design Center and Reconnect Rochester/Rochester Cycling Alliance address both noon profits dedicated to making Rochester and it's infrastructure better for ALL of her residents, regardless of their income. Check out their websites. Get involved. Donate.

Embarrassed to say that my first visit to the Hungerford building was for First Friday this weekend. HOW have I never been here before?! With five floors of beautiful local art, ranging from sculpture to print to pottery and beyond, the Hungerford First Friday is a feast for the eyes. The artists in Rochester are unbelievably talented and there is nothing more inspiring than seeing it all come together in one place. I purchased some coasters and a sticker from PS Enjoy Your Life and can't wait to go back and buy more from them on my next visit. There is a TON of Rochester inspired art throughout this building, which always gives me the warm fuzzies. The building is very old, a bit rundown, and HOT. Honestly, it didn't bug me at all and added to the experience for me. It was like being a part of history unfolding. I would HIGHLY recommend stopping by for a first Friday. I guess January is a little less popping (understandably so as these makers just came off a busy time), so I am looking forward to experiencing a more buzzy atmosphere in Feb!

I have been here many times for cooking classes, events to help out non for profit agencies. Walked around to see local artists and oh yes they gave a tattoo place inside by door 1. This is a very large place that's been retrofitted for a new era so to speak. It's a hidden gem if your looking to visit artists when they do a first Friday's or something like that type of event. They have a parking lot a plus.

The Hungerford Building has come a long way since it's origins as the J. Hungerford Smith Company, who, according to RocWiki "made "True Fruit" flavored syrups, as well as the flavor syrup for A&W Root Beer." Interestingly enough, I know descendants of the Smith family and have seen prints of the glass negatives taken of the business during it's heyday. The Hungerford Building is better known today as the home for a vast array of businesses, artist studios and studio apartments. A true multi-purpose facility. Note: this is truly a place you must visit on First Fridays and Second Saturdays! Link: http://rocwiki.org/Hungerford_Building

There are so many different/amazing studios at The Hungerford. The best way to see a lot in one fell swoop is to go on First Friday. On First Friday when several of the studios are open, it's like a neighborhood boutique crawl all inside, which makes it perfect for the wintertime. A lot of the studios lay out snacks, drinks, and treats, which is a nice way to greet their guests. It's a great way to find fun, unique gifts if you need to mix things up. A few of my faves: - Even/Odd Creative (upcycled designs -- bags/purses/wallets are awesome!) - Airigami (they often have a fun balloon sculpture or balloon photobooth for 1st Fri) - Happy Earth Tea - Von Brake Spices - Francesca DeCaire - Cat Clay (super cute ROC flower earrings/magnets) You will get a workout too... I was sore the next day from walking up and down the stairs. So, I recommend you start on the 4th floor and make your way down. Also, there's a freight elevator that you can ride -- it's in entrance #2.

The Hungerford Building is where I got my first design job, had my first art opening, got my Rochester city crest tattoo, cut my hand open with an xacto knife, built my first piece of furniture and countless other things. I have definitely drank more boxed wine here than anywhere else. It used to be a fruit syrup factory, now it's a great spot for artists and other creative people to set up shop. Management will try and put the fear of god in you when you rent a space here but everyone is really cool. The spaces themselves are great, you can do anything in them. Just sweep 'em up when you're done!

I can't think of any experience in Rochester quite like this. I highly recommend the First Friday open house. It's such a kick, around every corner you enter or pass an intriguing studio that holds a person's passion, be it clay, metal, pipe cleaners, silk. Have an open mind, a sense of humor and your adventure pants on, the complimentary wine or snacks don't hurt either.

I've been involved with this building since 2001. Few cities can boast a building like this. Built in 1880 with a rich history the building mostly host local artist. I started my second business in the building, an urban Cidery. In fact, the first in the city limits. We look forward to our future with the Hungerford and hope many more interesting years.

It was nice... but most of it was not for me. I went for Haunted Hungerford with a small group of people. The volunteers running the show didn't seem to have a great handle on what was going on, who was going to be there, where things were or... well, just about anything. As someone who has spent a lot of time working with artists I was not super surprised. They had mentioned having food trucks (plural) to provide eats, but only had food truck (singular). Not a huge deal but a bummer. The building was large and interested. We had something similar where I used to live... another old factory converted into artists spaces. It is a little confusing though so don't be surprised if you get lost. Good luck with parking on event evenings. They have a small lot people fight for. The credit union across the street is a better bet. Just be careful jaywalking the street! Unfortunately not many studios were open. Not sure if this is typical for their First Fridays? Maybe 1/4 to 1/3 were open. Of those that were open, as an individual of a lower income bracket, most were not even close to affordable for me. I like getting art items for $50 or under and most of the studios were well above that. There were a few affordable and fun places though... gotta love Cat Clay with the geeky and oddball pottery, there was a shop with a bunch of pinbacks, a cool print press, and a couple others. The ice cream place looked kinda neat. All the open studios had candy and refreshments to entice people in which was nice of them. It seems to be pet friendly, as there were at least two dogs and one cat running around the studios. They also had an exceptionally loud band in the basement. I'm sure I sound super old now (turn down that music you damn kids!) but that just isn't my scene. It did bring an eclectic mix of people together. Everything from little old ladies looking for silk scarves and art work, to young adults looking to dress up scary and listen to punk rock, to some scary homeless guy who wanted free wine. Would I go again? Maybe. I might stop in for one or two specific shops, but I doubt I would go for another night event. It was a bit too hectic and disorganized for my taste. Too many shops were not open, too many open shops were out of my league or not of interest, and the social aspect didn't appeal to me.

Stopped here a few weeks back for first Friday. Always meant to stop here to see what the scene was.... wow there are a lot more studios here than I imagined (though maybe only 1/2 at best were open on FF, which was enough). Some very interesting art and artists. Seems like a typical artist building but I'm not sure I'd want to work here since the place felt like a potential fire trap... Parking was a bit tight esp. since the mountains of snow were still present and the big FF crowds.

I love this place, especially in winter. During the First Fridays this place is the perfect location to enjoy art on a Friday evening. With ample parking, either around the building or in front, and four floors of artists' studios, it is a great location to spend time on a cold and wintry evening. It feels like going to the mall, but with handmade objects and art. The offerings run the gamut from kitschy handmade stuff, to more esoteric art pieces, but the great thing is that it's all on one building! If you don't like the work of one artist, there's always the studio next to it. There is usually live music on the premises too. My complaint is that it can be difficult to find some places since it is an old and a bit run down building, and that parking in the stores up front can get your car towed, so be careful where you park. But I do feel that for a First Friday outing the Hungerford offers the best variety of artists and music in Rochester. Which is great when you don't feel like driving around going from gallery to gallery.

For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to showcase my photos here at the Grass Roots Gallery...so naturally I go to explore the entire Hungerford Building in one night....which just happened to be the First Friday. The building is divided into several different galleries in two seperate buildings, even though they are attached, they have seperate entrances so make sure you know where you are going unless you want to get lost. The building itself is very old and shows it's age well since it used to be an old company way back in the day. What makes this inetersting is that most of the cool features from the past are still operating. The service elevator can still be rod for free but be nice and give the guy running it a tip, he does his job well. The galleries are mostly on the fourth, third, and second floors which are wonderfully full of life on the First Friday. With so many galleries open, I viewed many without paying attention to what they were called...poor choice but because they had free refreshments and music, it was hard to resist. It is wonderful to see that with every gallery comes with different features. I can say that they range from exotic artwork and photography too porcelain cups and bizaare sculptures. As a gallery is, you are able to purchase art here even though I didn't. It's not because the prices were bad...they were actually good, but because I had no need for it. The owners who operate these galleries are friendly in their own ways but sometimes it's easy to tell when they want to persuade you to buy thier art. Why is this not highly rated? Well it's because of two reasons. The major one is that on every other Friday that isn't the first, it can get quite empty which for being a warehouse, makes it feel eerie. Secondly, this IS a warehouse. I don't have a problem with that but I can see why this would turn some people off. There is no modern touches whatsoever outside of the galleries and in most locations, claustrophibics might start to get uneasy wandering the cold narrow hallways of the upper floors. Bad as it might be, my first experience here was more than positive. There is no doubt in my mind that I would return...with a bigger wallet.

Another great spot in Rochester to spend an evening (or afternoon) when all of the studios are open. Hungerford has really become a great place over the last few years - it used to be a little sparse but has really filled up with so many different spots. I have some favorite studios, but they are all great. I tend to alternate first Fridays between Hungerford and Anderson Alley, there is always new stuff in both buildings. Parking here can be a little tricky if you aren't used to the area, but I always just park in the street across from the area and take a short walk.