It all started back in 1932 when Richard Hollingshead Jr., the son of an automotive chemical manufacturer in Camden, NJ, applied for a patent for the very first “Park-In Theater.” Hollingshead had spent a great deal of time calculating the spacing of cars and the angle of each car row required to provide unobstructed views of the screen. What Hollingshead didn’t calculate was the cost of the films he hoped to play at his theater and the willingness of others to pay him royalties for use of his concept. His patent was granted in 1933, but despite good crowds, he closed the business 14 months later because he wasn’t making any money.

Very few drive-in theaters were built until 1949 when Hollingshead’s patent was voided by the courts. Between 1948 and 1958 over 4,000 drive-in theaters opened in the United States, The Empire Drive-In being one of them.

The theaters became popular, inexpensive entertainment for families and teens, offering movies, food, playgrounds, in some cases miniature golf and other outdoor games.

In the evening hours driving along Empire Blvd., it was difficult not to crane your head and see what was showing on the big screen.

By the 1970s things began to change. Indoor theaters could show movies all day long and weren’t hampered by the weather. Like most drive-in theaters in the north, the Empire Drive-In Theatre was closed throughout the winter. Movie studios began sending their best films to the indoor theaters and second run and lower quality movies to the drive-ins.

In the Empire Drive-In’s last year they showed Animal House (R), Raging Bull (PG), and The Sword and the Sorcerer (R), but they also showed Demonoids (R), Funeral Home (R), X-Rated movies, and finished with Hog Wild (PG).

By 1981, 25% of US homes subscribed to cable television which added financial pressures to the entire theater industry. Believe it or not, HBO began its broadcasts in 1972, Showtime in 1976, and ESPN joined the cable line-up in 1979.

In October of 1982, Loews Theaters (now AMC Theaters) announced plans to buy the Empire Drive-In and replace it with eight indoor theaters (an 8-plex). A short time later, the Empire Drive-In was demolished and construction began on the new theater complex. On December 9th of 1983, The Lowes Webster Theater opened to the public. Scarface, Sudden Impact, Terms of Endearment, and The Right Stuff were all part of the opening night’s fare.

Help support the Webster Museum and look cool doing it!

The Rochester made Bernz-O-Matic Drive-In Car Heater once used by the Empire Drive-In during colder months.

These beautiful first weeks of fall are a great time to go out for a bike ride. If you’re up for a 14-mile ride along some of Webster’s most beautiful roadways, you might want to explore the James W. Carnevale Bike Route.

The route was named in honor of James Carnevale, who lived on Old Farm Circle. He served in Korea as an Army Intelligence Officer, and was awarded a bronze star for photography. He served as Webster’s Recreation Commissioner for many years, and was an active member of the town’s Democratic Party. He passed away suddenly in 1977 at age 47 and is buried at Webster Union Cemetery. 

The bike route which was named after him was originally established in 1968. The 14.5-mile route took riders (in general) west from Holt Rd. to Klem, then along Bay, Volk and Dewitt roads, ending at Inspiration Point. There, the riders would turn around and wind their way back.

In 1986, the route was officially renamed the “James W. Carnevale Bike Route” in honor of his service as Recreation Commissioner. At a ceremony held in November, the Town of Webster presented Carnevale’s widow with one of the signs.   

Most of the original signs seem to be gone, but apparently there’s still one standing at the corner of Drumm and Herman roads, and there might be one at Klem and Five Mile Line. The one pictured in the photo with Nancy Carnevale is still hanging just inside the Webster Museum entrance, next to the antique bicycle. 

Discover more interesting bits of local history at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website at webstermuseum.org to learn more.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

In today’s History Bit, we shine a spotlight on the Webster Arboretum, and a beautiful little tree with the peevish name, the crabapple. 

Most people probably don’t realize that the flowering crabapple is the Town of Webster’s official tree. According to the Webster Arboretum website, that designation can be traced back to Elizabeth Sykes, a member of the Webster Country Gardeners Garden Club. Back around 1970, she urged the Town to adopt the tree as the Town Tree. (No one seems to know why she chose the crabapple).

Sykes then asked Jean Thompson and Carole Huther to approach the Town about establishing a crabapple arboretum. The perfect location seemed to be a parcel of land the Town had purchased several years earlier, two family farms on Schlegel Rd. owned by Herman Rieflin and Walter Wright. On June 21, 1971 the Town accepted the proposal and set aside 20 of the 80 acres for the arboretum. 

Of course the first plantings were crabapple trees.

In the years since it was established, the Webster Arboretum, now about 40 acres,  has seen many improvements and expansions, especially in anticipation of the Town’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1990. The beautiful results of those efforts and continuing support from the Town of Webster, Webster community members and a dedicated team of volunteers can be seen today in its bountiful gardens and along its peaceful, flower-filled paths.  

The Webster Arboretum is located at 1700 Schlegel Rd. To read more about this beautiful park, visit the Arboretum website at websterarboretum.org. 

Discover more interesting bits of local history at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website at webstermuseum.org to learn more.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

You never know what fascinating nugget of Webster history you’ll discover when you visit the Webster Museum. 

For example, just inside the front door hangs one of Webster’s very first “telephones,” which was used from 1887 to 1901. It hung in what was most recently the Music Store on West Main St. in the village, when the old post office was located there. A second one was installed in the railroad station on North Ave. 

The two instruments were connected by two wires strung across poles and roofs of houses along North Ave. They operated in much the same way as the old tin-can telephones we used to use when we were kids. Remember them? Stretch a string between two tin cans and you could talk back and forth just by keeping the string taut.

When the postmaster wanted to know when to expect the mail trains, he would knock vigorously on the center of the disc. This would cause the wires to vibrate and ring the bell on the telephone at the other end. To communicate, you would talk and listen through the center of the disc.  

This particular telephone has been in the Webster Museum’s collection since the museum opened in 1976. It was donated by Peter and Jay Smith, whose father was the postmaster (although the bell is not original).

Learn more about this and other interesting bits of local history at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website at webstermuseum.org to learn more.    

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

The Town of Webster has several beautiful cemeteries, most very familiar to us. But the smallest of our town’s cemeteries is often forgotten, even though many of us pass by it almost every day.  

Robb Cemetery is an 8700-square foot parcel of land on East Main Street in the village of Webster, just west of Phillips Road. It is a true pioneer burial ground, with at least eight known burial sites dating back to 1823. 

The land was originally set aside from the farm of Andrew Rodd as a family burial ground – the only one in Webster – but other friends and relatives were also buried there.  

For many years there was no indication the land held a cemetery – no signage, not even any gravestones. In 2013, the Village of Webster officially took possession of the property, cleaned it up, and erected a handsome sign naming all of the pioneers known to have been buried there.  

A fascinating little piece of that cemetery’s history now resides at the Webster Museum. It’s the headstone for Nelly Wood, who died in 1838 at age 84. It was found many years ago in the basement of the house just west of the cemetery. No one really knows how long it was there, or Nelly’s connection with the Robb Family. But it is a nice reminder of the significance of Webster’s very own pioneer cemetery. 

Stop by the museum to see it for yourself any Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. The Webster Museum is located at 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Last month’s Bit of Webster History feature really struck a chord with many current and former Webster residents. Titled “What’s in a Name?”, it told the history behind several well-known Webster street names: Salt Rd., Basket Rd., Five Mile Line Rd., Shoecraft Rd. and Whiting Rd. 

Dozens of readers reached out, many wondering about other well-known road names. So here, drawing liberally once again from Webster History Through the Years, are answers for some of those wonders. 

Klem Rd., now known in part for its spacious shoulders, was only 49 feet wide when it was surveyed in 1816. Several families of Klems lived on or near the road, so it was named for them. It was originally built with logs because the bed was low and swampy. 

Woodhull Rd. was surveyed in 1816 across the original Robert Woodhull Farm and was named after him. 

It’s commonly believed that Vosburg Rd. was named after the forebears of George Vosburgh, who lived many years in the old brick house near the corner of Lake Rd. It was actually named after Freeman Vosburgh, a German blacksmith, who built that house.

Drumm Rd. was named after a colorful character called “Captain Drumms.” He was reputed to be a former canal boat captain who bought land on the west side of the road. 

Herman Rd. was named after Gustav Herman, who owned a farm on the south side of the road opposite Pellett Rd. The road had apparently been nameless for several years.

More information about these roads and many others can be found in Webster Through the Years, by Esther Dunn, published in 1971. You can check out a copy at the Webster Public Library, or page through one at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. The museum is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

The names are all very familiar to us: Plank Rd., Salt Rd., Basket Rd., Five Mile Line Rd., Shoecraft Rd., Whiting Rd. But what might not be so familiar is exactly how these well-known roadways got their names. 

Plank Rd. is pretty self-explanatory; it was originally constructed with planks. But how about the others? Their stories, recounted in Webster Through the Years by Esther Dunn, offer a glimpse into Webster’s history:

• Salt Rd. was named after salt springs located nearby
• Basket Rd. was originally known as Basket Street because many of the early settlers in the area made baskets out of branches from the willow trees that grew nearby.    
• Five Mile Line Rd. referred to the distance from Penfield Village to Ridge Rd. 
• Shoecraft Rd. bears the name of John Shoecraft, an early settler of Penfield who served in both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812.
• Whiting Rd. was named for John Whiting, a pioneer who settled on the lakeshore near the junction of Lake and Holt roads. You can still see the grand home he built near that intersection, in Webster Park, which we now know as the White House Lodge.

Webster history is all around us, even hidden in the streets on which we drive. Uncover more historical surprises at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Now here’s something you might not have known: the first woman to run for President of the United States actually did so way back in 1872. Her name was Victoria Woodhull, the daughter-in-law of Byron Woodhull, the Town of Webster’s first supervisor.

Woodhull was a woman 100 years ahead of her time. She not only ran for president, but was also deeply involved in the suffrage movement, and advocated for social improvements like an eight-hour work day, a graduated income tax and social welfare programs. She and her sister Tennnessee published a weekly newspaper – among the first women ever to do so – and were the first women stockbrokers. By the late 1800s, Woodhull was one of the most famous women in the country.

When Woodhull ran for the presidency in 1872, she was a candidate of the Equal Rights Party. She didn’t garner even one electoral vote, but it’s interesting to note that she spent election day in jail. The U.S government had arrested her for sending “obscene” literature through the mail. Her offense was publishing articles in her newspaper about an adulterous affair between Elizabeth Tilton and Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, a prominent Protestant minister. 

Victoria Woodhull, portrayed by Gwen Hoffman, was one of several notable Webster women, past and present, who “visited” the Webster Public Library on Thursday March 30 for a Women’s History Month program. Also on hand to tell their historical stories were Monroe County politician Erva Wright (portrayed by Eileen Brookins), former Webster Historian Esther Dunn (Lisa McNamara), farm wife Agnes Semmler (Sharon Pratt) and present-day Town of Webster Councilwoman Ginny Nguyen. Learn more about lots of interesting historical Webster women (and men) at the Webster Museum, 18 Lapham Park in the Village of Webster. It’s open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Visit the website at webstermuseum.org to learn more.

Missy Rosenberry
Webster Community Blogger

See my blog at: websterontheweb.com.
Check out my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter and Instagram.