ROCHESTER - The City of Rochester announced on Tuesday the opening of a permanent exhibit featuring historic portraits of the men and women who have served as mayor since Rochester became a city in the late 19th century.
The exhibit located in the Council Chambers at City Hall includes portraits spanning from Charles S. Whitehouse (1892) to current Mayor Chuck Grassie (2026–present).
Traditionally, after a mayor’s term ended, the mayor’s family would commission a portrait to be donated to City Hall in commemoration of their service. Because many of the portraits are more than 100 years old, several frames received light repairs and rewiring.
Each portrait is also identified by a numbered, brass-colored tag mounted on the wall to the right of each frame. The numbers correspond to nearby wall signs featuring illustrations of each frame, along with the mayor’s name and dates of service. The portraits are not necessarily arranged in chronological order, although a complete list organized by dates of service is available by scanning a QR code.
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