The Rochester area had it's quantity of such places. I would suggest researching Rochester History. I can not include all in this web site which covers the whole USA. It would be a theme for a whole another website. 'Known old Hotels' ??? Known old 'Sports Fields' ? For major 'known' Amusement Parks look elsewhere on this site under 'Rochester, New York.
The first Forest House had 30 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Black walnut was used for the inside doors and trim. The large dining room, which could seat 200 guests at one time, was finished in King Edward style. The spacious sitting rooms and parlor were beautifully carpeted. The furniture was the best of its time. In the halls and dining room were beveled glass mirrors that extended from ceiling to floor. The hotel was noted for its beautiful paintings, all of which were the work of William Held, who for many years lived on Held Island in Irondequoit Bay. (This island was located in Held Cove on the east side opposite the Newport House.)
In the second floor wing, there was a ballroom large enough to accomodate 120 couples for dancing. This ballroom had a thirty-foot ceiling and the walls were decorated with angelic figures. It was the scene of many a gay ball to which the ladies came dressed in gowns with long trains, bustles and huge puffed sleeves, after the fashion of the day. Also in this ballroom great orations took place, especially at Presidential election time, and on such occasions as many as 800 people packed the room. This happened in 1880 when James A. Garfield was running for the highest office in the land.
Under the ballroom was a Court House where justice was meted out and Town Elections held. Another of the rooms in the Forest House was used as a Post Office for seven years. A Post Office had been established at Swayne's Corners when the town was incorporated in 1839. People from town who chose this as their mailing address, had to call there for their mail.
Pidgeon and Chicken Shoots were held opposite the Forest House where the Ridge-Culver Plaza is now located. Four or five shoots were held there each year and the crack shot of Irondequoit was Albert Evershed who won many a contest. These shoots were outlawed about 1890.
In the years when sleigh-ride parties were in vogue, Higgins Livery brought many a crowd to the Forest House. It was the pride of all Irondequoit and the most popular place, outside of Rochester, in all Monroe County. The building alone cost $80,000 and the furniture and equipment cost $25,000 more.
The Forest House changed hands many times between 1872, when Mr. Forest bought it, and 1885, when Daniel Forman became the owner. Mr. Forman, in 1903, sold it to Mr. Fisher. In 1904, the Forest House, with two other buildings on the premises, was destroyed by fire. Mr. Fisher replaced it with the present building in 1907.
In 1932, Mr. Oliver Costich came into possession. It passed through several hands between 1932 and 1956 and the present owner is Mr. Katsampes, who also owns the Avon Dairy. Recently, there has been talk of razing the old building and erecting a gas station on the premises.
The Forest House was just about midway between the Rochester Station and Sea Breeze. At this point, a rather long turnout was built so that trains could pass. A round trip took one hour and when two trains were running, it made the schedule at each end of the line at half hour intervals. The trains left at both ends of the line at the same time so that they reached the Forest House at the same time for passing. The proprietor of the Forest House had an arrangement with the company whereby the trains would halt in front of his restaurant for at least five minutes, or long enough for passengers to purchase refreshments. This the Company agreed to, and in exchange they were given right of way across a piece of property owned by the Forest House.
At first, the Company purchased eight first-class passenger cars and two locomotives which had originally been used in Philadelphia for transporting people around the 1876 Centennial grounds. The locomotives weighed eighteen tons each and were built for power and speed. Called Number 1 and Number 2, they were the "dummy" type first used in Philadelphia and on the elevated railroads of New York City: that is, the boiler was enclosed for its entire length so that the engineer and fireman could walk on either side of it while the train was in motion. About ten years later, two more passenger cars and another locomotive were purchased. The latter, named Number 31, weighed thirty-five tons and proved unsatisfactory because it was too heavy for the rails.
From Bay Street to Clifford Avenue, the train was allowed to travel ten miles an hour; from Clifford to Norton Street, not over twenty; from Norton Street on, the speed was not limited. The bell was rung continuously as a warning to people along the way. From the first year, the railroad was a success, financially and otherwise. It became a very popular way of reaching the Lake, and on Sundays and holidays it carried thousands of people to Sea Breeze.
From 1879 to 1895, the Dummy Line prospered. After 1895, when extensive improvements had to be made, such as new and heavier rails, repairing of cars and locomotives, building of hotels and pavilions at Sea Breeze, laying out of walks, erecting small bridges, and planting shrubbery to beautify the grounds, the road's financial status was set back for the next three years. On Sunday April 30, 1899 at 3 P.M. an accident occurred at the corner of Portland Ave. and the Ridge Road. When the engineer tried to slow down to make the turn on the Ridge, the brakes failed to work. The engine could not be reversed in time and though the locomotive made the curve, the first coach, packed with passengers, rolled over and slid some 60 ft. before stopping. The second car, an open coach, slammed against the rear of the first, and tumbled over, striking the porch of the Schooley home at the corner, and demolishing it. The remaining three coaches did not leave the track but the passengers were badly shaken up. One man was killed in the wreck and more than one hundred were injured, some seriously. The Rochester Herald of May 1, 1899 printed a full description of the disaster. It can be read to-day on microfilm at Rundel Library. Mr. George Hunt was an eye witness to the wreck, and he said that the ambulances could not take care of all the injured and his father took his team and market wagon and, laying blankets on the floor of the wagon, carried several to the hospital.
Many suits for damages were filed against the railroad and the Company petitioned for bankruptcy. In December 1899, the Company was sold and a new company, the Rochester and Suburban Railroad was formed. The new company changed the motive power from steam to electricity and constructed a large power house and car barns on the site of the steam terminal at Portland Avenue. Four enclosed trolley cars were purchased for winter use and ten open cars for mild weather. The old steam railroad equipment was disposed of and the three locomotives- No. 1, No. 2, No. 31-were sold and shipped to coal mines in Pennsylvania.
In August of 1900, the Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad Company merged with the Rochester and Suburban Company. From 1900 to 1905, many improvements were made on the Sea Breeze Line including double tracking of nearly all of its length. And finally in 1912 after the Ridge Road was widened, the company laid double tracks the entire distance from Bay Street to Sea Breeze. The Rochester and Suburban Company was taken over in 1909 by the New York State Railroad Trolley system. The trolley line was abandoned in 1936 when buses were installed and the Rochester Transit Corporation became the owners in August 1938.