I grew up in Rome in the fifties and early 60's. The biggest tragedy was the huge, massive failure of the URBAN RENEWAL project where the city let most of its historical buildings be bull-dozed. Rebuilding the fort was one thing but many of those historic buildings would have complimented the fort. The massive Arlington Hotel could have been converted to condos. I was very surprised they did not tear down the Capitol theater too! The heart and soul of the city was stripped away leaving a Dominick Street that is soul-less and no character I left town in 1964 when I was 10. My Air Force father moved us to Arizona. I will never return, sadly the town of my youth does not exist anymore. .
My husband is from Rome, and we lived there for 10 years. We were there when Griffin's AFB closed. We were there on 9/11. My husband was in the Air Guard and was with NEADS, watching the skies. We moved away, and when we went back a few years later, the city had changed. It had cleaned up, and looked a lot better.
Thanks for the great history lesson. We just took a walking tour through the town and it was clear that a lot was here and a lot has been lost. Hope it sees better days ahead
I just returned from the Rome area to visit family. I’ve been coming back every year since I left in 1981. It is always amazing (and disheartening) to see how much smaller Rome is in population. When I was younger, the city had a population of around 52,000. I doubt it has 30,000 now. On a good note the area seems to be turning the corner finally after the closure of Griffis AFB and the loss of Revere and the numerous Wire Mills. The RFA yearbook used to be called Deo-Wain-Sta; not sure if it still is.
I was born and raised in Rome. I wasn't aware of all the history. I was born in the 80s. When I was a kid Rome was a great place to live. I graduated high school in 2000 and moved away. Not much going on there now. When I go back I'm amazed at how empty and quiet Rome is now. The recent tornado was tragic to see, Rome didn't need to lose any more.
@@LocalNYhistory i live in Buffalo NY now ,but lived played jazz and went to Marist college and Ductchess community college in Poughkeepsie back in the 70s a wonderful learning experience for me,I met a lot of famous people and famous jazz musicians while there , there's a lot of history there in Hudson valley, like the Hudson River is the deepest river in the United States,i went to a Army, Navy game at West Point, etc,
@@LocalNYhistory ill b back next week. And the black river ale house under the good year. 👍🏻👍🏻 I just need a time aroud my work skedual to get to the fort. Anywhere that you would personally recommend ?
My understanding about rome new york is that it was not Originally named rome new york it's name was lynchville It was incorporated as a village. In 1870 was when it was changed to rome ny
its kinda sad how far down rome went. i mean we dont have anything here besides walmart and lake delta yes you can walk the trails see the history but you can only see it and do it so much in my opinion rome is a great retirement plan lol, as theres no jobs other than fast food or retail
