One man's junk is another man's treasure.
That old adage easily could have been written about the Hojack Swing Bridge, which once bustled with rail traffic but today sits idle in the middle of the Genesee River in Charlotte.
The bridge, one of the last of its kind in the United States, is the subject of heated debate between preservationists and pragmatists: Is it a historic landmark that should be saved for generations or a dangerous eyesore impeding boat traffic, including the fast ferry?
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If you haven't yet reached a verdict, see the Hojack for yourself and then decide. Though the U.S. Coast Guard in March 2002 ordered the bridge's owner, CSX Transportation, to demolish it, red tape and community activism have kept the bridge in the same place it has been since being built by The King Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Co. of Cleveland in 1905.
Arguably, the best place to view the bridge in all its abandoned glory is the Pelican's Nest Restaurant at 566 River St. in Rochester, which offers an up-close and personal view of the bridge (and the fast ferry), particularly from the bar or the outdoor deck seating area.
Front-of-house manager Rey Lopez, 31, says a lot of folks — locals and tourists — come in for a glimpse of the Hojack Swing Bridge. "There are a lot of locals that want the bridge to stay," Lopez says. "They feel it's a historic landmark."
You can also see "the largest movable structure in Rochester" from the Harbor Town Belle, an 80-foot passenger paddle wheeler that cruises the Genesee River, Irondequoit Bay and the Lake Ontario shoreline of Rochester.
Captain Bill Porter, 72, offers a brief history of the Hojack during the cruise. "I talk about when it was built, what it was used for and the fact that it's not been operational in 10 years," Porter says.
The bridge was built for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad and was part of the Hojack line, which ran from Niagara Falls to Oswego. The bridge would swing open to allow boats through and then swing back into place to accommodate rail traffic.
While Porter says his personal feelings on the Hojack are not included in the cruise, he doesn't hesitate to offer them to me. "It should come out of there," he says. "It's a navigational hazard and contributes to the congestion of the river."
But where Porter sees junk, another man sees a jewel.
Rochester Trolley & Rail Corp. (www.rochestertrolley.com) wants to breathe life back into the Hojack by making it part of a trolley service that would link Charlotte with Sea Breeze and High Falls and ultimately the rest of Rochester. "The key things we need to fund to move forward are market and engineering feasibility studies," says 29-year-old CEO Christopher Burns.
Richard Margolis, a professional photographer, says, "It's the most interesting feature in the harbor." The 61-year-old Rochester resident is the driving force behind The Bridge Project (www.thebridgeproject.com), which seeks to keep the Hojack standing until a viable use for it can be found.
While Margolis says he doesn't endorse any one option, on his Web site he presents his visions of the Hojack serving as an observation deck or lighted up at night like the bridges in Cleveland's popular "Flats" nightlife district.
And though he is realistic about financial constraints of the city and county, he's hopeful that a way can be found to preserve the bridge. "If it was cleaned up it would be a terrific thing," Margolis says.
