Port of Rochester
Cruising and Travel

The Port of Rochester has a big-city feel and small-city charm. It is home to the world's only museum dedicated to play. Blessed with Lake Ontario, the Genesee River, and the Erie Canal, the Port of Rochester is more than its waterways. There are festivals almost every weekend, minor-league sports teams, a proud history of invention and innovation, and several cultural attractions. While the Port of Rochester is not really a tourist magnet, it has plenty to offer visitors.

The Port of Rochester has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons. Summers are comfortable, autumns are colorful, and winters are cold and snowy. Temperatures in the Port of Rochester range from an average high of 27°C (81°F) in July to an average low of -8°C (18°F) in January. Rainfall is heaviest at over 7 centimeters (three inches) from June through September. Snowfall comes to the Port of Rochester from November through April, with as much as 70 centimeters (almost 28 inches) falling in January and 57 centimeters (22.5 inches) in December.

The Port of Rochester is home to the only museum of play in the world. The Port of Rochester's Strong National Museum of Play is dedicated to the study of play through five programmatic areas: the National Museum of Play, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the National Toy Hall of Fame, the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, and the American Journal of Play. This popular Port of Rochester attraction has the world's biggest collection of games, electronic games, toys, dolls, photographs, books, documents, and historical materials. Open every day but Thanksgiving, Christmas, and September 21st (the Play Ball gala), the museum's hours are 10am until 5pm from Monday through Thursday, from 10am until 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and from noon until 5pm on Sunday. Admission to the museum is $13 for adults, $12 for seniors, and $11 for children from two to 15.

The National Museum of Play in the Port of Rochester offers a massive collection of play-related historical objects that include dolls, games, and toys. Visitors browse collections that include Berenstain Bears, Barbie and other dolls, dollhouses, paper dolls, Donald Duck artifacts, Raggedy Ann and Andy, a wide variety of board games, home crafts and hobbies, Santa Claus, stereographs, and toys ranging from building blocks and construction sets to teddy bears and yo-yos.

The Port of Rochester's International Center for the History of Electronic Games has one of the world's biggest collections of video and electronic games and historical materials. The Center highlights the range of arcade video games from 1971 to present, gaming systems, game software, and a library and archive that contains books, periodicals, catalogs, and specific game companies' collections.

The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play in the Port of Rochester is a 140-thousand volume repository of children's books, comic books, trade catalogs, professional journals, scholarly works, and collections of personal papers and business records related to play. This Port of Rochester museum also maintains an online collection of play-related artifacts that includes toys in the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The Port of Rochester is home to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. Preserving the home of the women's rights champion, the museum contains artifacts and materials about Anthony's life and her efforts in areas like suffrage, temperance, abolition, and education. This Port of Rochester museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $5 for students and children 12 and under.

The George Eastman House in the Port of Rochester houses the International Museum of Photography & Film. The museum contains a huge collection of 19th Century American and French photographs and a collection of motion pictures of all types. The Dryden Theatre in the museum is one of only three that can exhibit nitrate film. The museum also has the world's biggest collection of cinematographic and photographic equipment and the largest collection of photographic catalogs. The historic home and gardens illustrate how this great American inventor and entrepreneur lived. It contains a conservation lab that leads the world in educating post-graduate photography conservation professionals. The Port of Rochester's Eastman House is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10am until 5pm and on Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

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