The building shown above left is Wilson Hardware located on 812 Monroe Avenue in Rochester. (You'll enjoy watching all the activity Monday thru Saturday.)
The building above right is the Monroe Family YMCA located at 797 Monroe Avenue. The facility includes a pool, gym, locker rooms, multi-purpose rooms, a group exercise studio and a state-of-the-art fitness area. They also have an indoor running track and a Kids Adventure Gym complete with a climbing wall. Programs range from day camp, preschool, school age and teen programs to youth sports leagues, aquatics and health and fitness.
Monroe Ave is one of the artsiest and most avant-garde streets in Rochester, New York. Let's say, for example, you desperately needed something pierced or you suddenly had the impulse to get a tattoo-- if you happened to be on Monroe at the time, you'd have no problem finding a highly skilled tattoo artist ready to quench your burning desire to express yourself through skin or body art. Then when you're done, you could visit the various art shops, psychics, lingerie boutiques, used bookstores, or antique shops in the neighborhood. There are also plenty of friendly bars and restaurants on Monroe Ave, and it's just a short walk to the trendy Park Ave neighborhood, which is noted for its bistros and quaint sidewalk cafés. As you can see, Monroe Ave has a great deal to offer. (Unfortunately the places that REMOVE body art are mostly located on the other side of town.) Not to worry!
I hope you regularly view the webcam our camera crew has set up at this busy intersection for your viewing pleasure. Personally, I think it's most entertaining after midnight on weekends when colorfully tattooed individuals can be seen returning home after a fun night of partying at the local bars. You don't need to have a borderline personality disorder to enjoy the show!
Please wait. Clear images will emerge in 5-60 seconds. Click here for ENLARGED webcam views.
FUN FACTS ABOUT WHAT'S-HIS-NAME
You can only imagine how many different ways people type the name Barack Obama. Here is a sampling for his first name: Barac, Barach, Baracks, Barak, Baraka, Barrack, Barrak, Berack, Borack, Borak, Brack, Brach, Brock even, Rocco. There are just as many for his last name: Abama, Bama, Bamma, Obma, Obamas, Obamma, Obana, Obamo, Obbama, Oboma, Obomba, Obombma, Obomha, Oblama, Omaba, Oblamma and (ready for this?) Ohama. And of course there's Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein. Here are some of the ways it comes out: Hissein, Hussain, Husein, Hussin, Hussane and Hussien.
First of all, there isn't any "our" at BORDERLINE Madness. It's just me. I am a retired teacher living in Rochester, New York who is attempting to make a few dollars by marketing products online. In addition to operating this web site, I teach ESOL (English as a second language) online at WorldENGLISHLive.com. Certainly, you are welcome to visit my other site any time you like, and you are strongly encouraged to return to this site often. I hope you do. The more you visit me at BORDERLINE Madness.com, the more you will be helping me improve my ranking and visibility on Internet search engines. So please bookmark this site, share it with your friends, and visit me everyday.
I won't hide the fact that I want you to buy from this site so I can earn a commission. By starting here when purchasing anything from Amazon.com or any of the other advertisers on this site, you are in no way increasing your cost. Instead of directing the commission to a much larger business or corporation, you are simply sending the commission to a smalltime "mom and pop" operation -- I'm Pop! By the way, I personally have no way of knowing WHO buys WHAT on my site, so please don't let privacy concerns stop you from coming here to make your purchases.
Go to our store here
or
Search for your item here
So why am I operating a web site that focuses on life near the US - Canada border? I think we need this site. As an American who has lived near the border all his life (and who has also lived and studied in Canada), I think we need a web site where Canadians and Americans can go to share and to celebrate all that is positive about our countries, our states and provinces, and our peoples and cultures -- about our corner of the world. Our longstanding friendly relationship is something that I would personally like to see strengthened and preserved. I believe the vast majority of people who live near the border share this sentiment, but like any relationship between close friends, the Canada - United States relationship has not surprisingly had its ups and downs. I am just grateful for our friendship and don't ever want to see it slip away.
Why call this siteBORDERLINE Madness? The name is meant to be provocative and to entice people to visit and find out what the "madness" is all about. Although the site is billed as being "For those of us MAD-ly in love with life near the US - Canada border", there may very well be a bit of madness on my part for attempting to build a site that some might perceive as Polyannism. There are real issues out there, and some might think I only see the world through rose-colored/coloured glasses. Is it madness to hope we will always be good neighbors?
Why visit this site? It may not look like it, but this site has well over one hundred pages, and you really should take the time to look around. Personally, I think you will find it very entertaining. Most visitors to this site are interested in:
My 24/7 Live Streaming Webam - You would be amazed how many people from all over the world enjoy watching what happens (or what doesn't happen) on Monroe Avenue in Rochester, New York.
My Mad Cool Video Page - To date, I have created over 100 videos of places I have visited in New York, Ontario and Quebec and more are being added every day. Please check it out.
My News, Weather and Sports Page featuring RSS feeds to American and Canadian professional sports teams from our area, live doplar radar, and links to local TV and radio stations. I like to watch THE NATIONAL almost every day. Have a look!
The BORDERLINE Madness BOUTIQUE which I have already discussed up above.
But there's much more, so join in on the madness and
812 Monroe Avenue, but the entrance is actually around the corner on Canterbury Rd.
Swillburg Murals by Maria Friske
Iwonder how many Rochesterians have seen the five murals by artist Maria Friske that depict the history of the Rochester neighborhood known as Swillburg? Not many, I would imagine. The murals are on located along the I-490 noise barrier on Pembroke Street which, by my estimation, receives very little traffic. Don't let me give you the impression that I am complaining about its location, however. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing wrong with dressing up an blank wall on a little-traveled route. It not only enhances the lives of the people who live there, but it also draws people from busy feeder streets into very livable city neighborhoods they might never otherwise find a reason to explore.
Here are each of the Swillburg murals the way they look on a beautiful sunny day. The notes are copied from placards displayed above each of the murals:
Pembroke Street
Swillburg Neighborhood
Rochester, NY
I-490, as seen from Monroe Ave near the Monroe Ave Library
Rochester, NY
Maria Friske Murals on Pembroke Street
Swillburg Neighborhood
Rochester, NY
Swillburg Murals
on Pembroke Street
The Creator's Garden
The Creator's Garden pays homage to the Iroquois creation myth that recounts Sky Woman's fall from the heavens. According to legend, after she landed upon a turtle's back, she and her descendants created earth and all its creatures. Her image takes over the panel to reflect the matriarchal nature of Iroquois society. The Seneca tribe was known as the "keepers of the western door" and dominated our area. Sky Woman's face appears as sun and moon from her body. In the panel, one of her hands extends to become the Finger Lakes;, the other holds a Seneca Warrior, an image that illustrates the fact that Iroquois women were the ones to nominate the tribal chiefs.
Always Know Your Neighbor
The Erie Canal followed the course now occupied by the 490 Expressway. It formed the northern and eastern borders of the neighborhood. At one time homes bordered the Erie Canal, where you are standing now. Most of Swillburh was a pig farm at this time. Garbage or "swill" was transported on the canal and used to feed the pigs; this is how Swillburg got its name. The panel portrays the area's growing importance as a gateway, a link in historic passages and progress, not only for the rapidly growing commercial traffic that ushered in wide scale agricultural development across New York State, but also the neighborhood's role as a key stop on the famous Underground Railway that helped escaped slaves reach freedom in Canada.
Always Know Your Pal
The panel illustrates the last days of the canal, and serves as a salute to the neighborhood's children, signifying a transitional period from the first boom days of growth to the early years as a thriving neighborhood. Images span a range of notable persons who were born, lived and worked in the neighborhood, from a famous performer to a trail blazing woman and the storied characters who worked on the canal boats. Canal Lock 66 is depicted in this panel.
In Transit
This panel honors the neighborhood's working class past and the boom of housing in Swilburg. It features vivid images of the Rochester subway that ran along the old canal bed from the 1920's to through the 1950's, including commuters, pedestrians and neighbors. The historic Cinema Theater and Highland Park Diner are depicted in this panel.
Swillburg's present day character comes to life in this panel. In the 12st century a vital neighborhood is a diverse neighborhood, on that embraces its ties to its past and looks out with a welcoming eye to its future. A jewel in Swillburg, Otta Henderberg Square Park, is in the center of the panel, a reminder of the struggle to stop the expressway expansion that would have split Swillburg in half. The panel also depicts a profusion of daily activities throughout Swillburg from street life, commerce, and community gardens to the high energy frenzy of commuter traffic -- all occurring under the shadow of the city's current skyline.
