Brighton Neighborhoods
Top 12 Suburbs of Rochester
BRIGHTON is a beautiful East-side suburb that has proximity to Rochester.
Brighton is a top pick for anyone who wants quick access to the City of Rochester and museums, art galleries, shops, parks, bars and restaurants.
Brighton is a suburb in the Rochester area that allows walkability from many neighborhoods to the schools, shops, restaurants and businesses.
The geographical area consists of 15.6sq. miles.
It boarders: Rochester, Penfield, Henrietta, and Pittsford.
BRIGHTON NEIGHBORHOODS:
There are many beautiful neighborhoods that boast some of the prettiest architecture in the Rochester area and well-maintained homes in Brighton. Sidewalks allow for easy walkability and access to shopping, restaurants and businesses for the residents. Close proximity to the surrounding suburbs of Penfield, Henrietta and Pittsford allow for quick access to all that they have to offer as well.
I am including some detailed information in order to highlight some of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Brighton. You will find a diverse selection of homes in these neighborhood communities.
Ambassador/Sandringham:
Brighton has some of the most beautiful and prestigious addresses in the Rochester area.
East Avenue houses some of the best architecture around.
Many CEOs live in the Ambassador/Sandringham neighborhood.
These streets are a “can’t miss” when visiting Rochester.
Bel-Air Neighborhood:
The Bel-Air Neighborhood is shaped like a triangle, with one vertex at Twelve Corners.
The subdivision is located between the major arteries of Winton Road, Highland Avenue, and Monroe Avenue, which form a ‘triangle’, and allow easy commuting to Rochester and other parts of Monroe County.
The subdivision, developed in the 1920’s, has 437 homes.
The older homes (many in Tudor or colonial style), mature trees, street lights and sidewalks give the neighborhood a serene, settled ambiance.
Brighton-Browncroft:
Brighton-Browncroft, originally known as “Browncroft Extension,” is the suburban expansion of the prestigious early 20th-century Browncroft subdivision in Rochester, whose original western boundary was Newcastle Road.
It is an architecturally eclectic neighborhood located near Ellison Park. Its housing stock grew slowly, incorporating diverse styles and periods of domestic architecture.
Designed by the Landscape Architect Francis Hastings Gott, the neighborhood was opened for development to much fanfare in 1926. The magnificent 180’+ long double-arch Corwin Road Bridge was completed early the following year at immense cost.
By the advent of the Great Depression about 26 houses had been constructed, concentrated mainly on Windemere Road, Brookwood Road, and Browncroft Boulevard. The Brown Brother’s had speculated too brashly, developing the neighborhoods of Valley View, Humboldt Homes, and Orchard Park simultaneously with Browncroft Extension. The company went bankrupt by the early 1930s, with Charles Brown dying in 1933.
Between the depression and the end of WWII, only one home was built, until Theodore Jablonski bought the majority of the remaining lots in 1948 and built 75 modest sized ranch homes designed by the Buffalo architecture firm Highland and Highland. In addition to these more modest ranch homes, several mid-century modern homes were designed and built for wealthier clients by Rochester’s preeminent architects of the time.
Also located here is Grass Creek, a tributary of Irondequoit Creek.
Evans Farm:
The Evans Farm neighborhood is located in south-central Brighton.
The neighborhood is generally bounded on the north by Westfall Road, on the east by Edgewood Avenue, on the south by Danforth Crescent and Dartford Road, and on the west by Hunters Lane and Idlewood Road.
The Evans Farm neighborhood is sited on a tract of land that used to be a farmstead owned by the Evans family.
The housing tract was first developed in the late 1950’s and is comprised of just over 350 homes.
There is an active neighborhood association that sponsors several annual events and advocates for neighborhood interests.
The fine facilities of the Brighton Senior Center and Brighton Recreation are housed in the former Brookside School which is just off of Idlewood Rd.
Home Acres:
Home Acres is conveniently located. It is within easy walking and biking distance of the shops and amenities of Monroe Avenue, as well as the attractive Rochester neighborhoods of Upper Monroe and Cobbs Hill. Cobbs Hill Park itself is also nearby.
Home Acre consists of six streets:
Southern Pkway, Eastland Ave, Westland Ave, Edgemere Dr, Midland Dr, and Fonthill Park
Built primarily in the 1920s, Home Acres of Brighton was one of the original “streetcar suburbs” of Rochester.
The neighborhood is almost entirely residential, featuring a mix of architectural styles including colonial, Tudor, and Craftsman style homes, with sidewalks, distinctive lamp posts, and mature trees along the streets.
The Home Acres neighborhood association organizes several family-oriented events each year, publishes a newsletter and directory, and serves as a point of contact between local government and neighborhood members.
“Brighton’s first subdivision is known as “Home Acres”. The Southern Parkway/Eastland/Westland neighborhood has its origin in one of the town’s earliest families, the Cobbs (i.e. Cobb’s Hill). Gideon Cobb arrived from Vermont shortly before the war of 1812. He prospered as a farmer and a brick maker. In 1871, his son William sold almost 129 acres of land to George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry. The land become part of the cultivated “Ellwanger and Barry” Mount Hope Nursery and was for many years the largest horticultural establishment in the world.”
Source – Home Acres, Brighton NY (archive.org)
Houston Barnard Tract:
Located just north of Twelve Corners, bordering the city.
Encircled by East, Clover, Elmwood, South Winton, Highland and I-590
Houston Barnard was a local developer who built in Rochester, Brighton, and Pittsford in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
He favored the Tudor Revival style of architecture, focusing especially on the Cotswolds Cottage subset of Tudor.
A tour of the area will show you a plethora of mansions designed in this spectacular style. Some of the most expensive homes in the Rochester area are located here, particularly on Esplanade Drive.
The neighborhood is conveniently located as well, allowing for quick and easy access to both the city and the shopping mecca of Monroe Avenue by either bike or car.
The Northern most portion is known as the Houston Barnard Subdivision.
Houston Barnard Subdivision:
The Houston Barnard Subdivision is a sub-section of the Houston Barnard Tract that juts out in a semi-triangle.
It shares many characteristics with the larger neighborhood, consisting of many grand eclectic homes, including some mansions, built in the 1920s and ’30s and exhibiting diverse architectural styles.
It is practically within walking distance of city limits, in particular the East Avenue Historic District, Culver University East, and North Winton Village.
This Brighton neighborhood was established by real estate developer Houston Barnard, who began purchasing and subdividing the area into fine residential neighborhoods, starting around 1918.
Barnard enforced the same restrictions here as he did in the main tract, to ensure high quality. He set a high minimum for house prices, laid out large lots, did not allow more than one outbuilding per site, and forbade apartment construction.
“This Brighton neighborhood was established by real estate developer Houston Barnard, who began purchasing and subdividing the area into fine residential neighborhoods, starting around 1918. A past Landmark Society tour visited the Houston Barnard Tract (Ambassador Drive, Sandringham, etc.) The current tour is in the “Houston Barnard Subdivision.” Barnard enforced the same restrictions here as he did in the main tract, to ensure high quality. He set a high minimum for house prices, laid out large lots, did not allow more than one outbuilding per site, and forbade apartment construction.”
MacFarlan Farms:
MacFarlan Farms is a residential neighborhood in suburban Brighton.
It was named for Daniel MacFarlan, who owned land on the north side of what is today Elmwood Avenue in the nineteenth century.
Most of the homes there today are Colonial styles built in the 1930s and ’40s, while Ashbourne has some interesting mid-century modern architecture.
The name is sometimes spelled “MacFarlane” but we went with what was written on the sign.
Historic Brighton News (Winter 2010) – Article on Caple’s Tavern talks a bit about MacFarlan Farms.
Source – MacFarlan Farms – Rochester Wiki (rocwiki.org)
Meadowbrook:
Meadowbrook is a neighborhood in Brighton just southwest of the Twelve Corners.
It was developed in the 1920s and ’30s on what was then Buckland Farm, owned by the Kodak Employees Realty Corporation.
Formed in 1931, the neighborhood association was one of the first of its kind in the country. It is still active, promoting the neighborhood, hosting several annual events, running a contractor referral service, and publishing a newsletter.
The neighborhood has grown over the decades to include both contemporary and mid-century housing stock.
This neighborhood became somewhat infamous in 1951 when 15 of its homes were destroyed in the “Brighton Blast”, killing two Meadowbrook children.
The Brighton Memorial Library is within walking distance, right outside Meadowbrook’s borders.
Other Brighton Neighborhoods to explore are:
- Barclay Square
- Brighton Meadows
- Brookside Neighborhood
- Currewood Tract
- Ellison Park Heights
- Ferndale Manor Tract
- Highland View Neighborhood
- Lac de Ville Village
- Monroe Meadows
- Queen’s Colony
- Roselawn
- Viennawoods Neighborhood
- Virginia Colony
- West Brighton
- Willowbend Neighborhood
