16 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD/PITTSFORD (EAST ROCHESTER) NY 14445 / (585) 586-8664 1-888-987-7798 /YOUR HOSTS, REVEIRA & MARCY WILCOVE / wilcove@frontiernet.net
Marigold Gardens/Concrest Home Page Our History Area Attractions Directions, Guidelines & Reservations Guest Comments		Our History At the turn of the century, it was estimated that one-third of Americans were poorly housed, many living in tenements. Enlightened Progressive Era industrialists sought to provide workmen with more space, light and fresh air. Many toured Europe and especially English mill villages for inspiration in designing healthful and attractive company towns. In the countryside near Rochester, housing was needed for artisans of the large Piano Works factory, as well as other workers. A very unusual woman thought she could design good affordable housing. Kate Gleason decided as a young girl to prove a woman could succeed in business as well as a man. Susan B. Anthony said Kate was "the ideal businesswoman of whom I dreamed," and Kate did secure her family's fortune. Kate traveled alone to Europe as early as 1893 and she liked the little stone farmhouses dotting the English and French countryside. Newspaper columnist, the late Curt Gerling, wrote: "In Rochester, long before the National Organization of Women saw the light of day, there was a lady who ignored the male world and proceeded to shatter tradition. With a flock of concrete mixers, freight cars by the dozen, and acres of land, Gleason set about building her own town." Residents and visitors alike are charmed by the seventy-five ivy-covered stucco cottages Kate built. They take inspiration from England, Holland and the village of Septmonts, France. Today there is renewed interest in Kate's planned community. Peter Siegrist, Director of Preservation Services with The Landmark Society of Western New York, notes: "Eighty years after Kate Gleason's attraction to French village design became manifest in Concrest/Marigold Gardens, urban planners are rediscovering the elements that make this place so comfortable. These ironically-labeled New Urbanists are simply reapplying Concrest/Marigold's composition of streets, houses, gardens and open spaces to create livable, pedestrian-friendly enclaves across the country." Marigold Gardens/Concrest is eligible for listing on the National Register, and the neighborhood not-for-profit corporation is working to secure funding for the area's full restoration.