Art Deco rises at 45 Exchange Boulevard in the Four Corners district of downtown Rochester: the Times Square Building, originally the Genesee Valley Trust Building. Designed by Ralph Thomas Walker of the firm Voorhees, Gmelin, and Walker and completed in 1930, this Art Deco skyscraper rises 260 feet (79 m) with 14 above‑ground floors and a basement, containing approximately 110,000 square feet (10,000 m2) of space. It remains the eighth‑tallest building in Rochester and one of the most recognizable landmarks on the skyline.
Look up to the four monumental aluminum "Wings of Progress" that cap the tower. The building was commissioned as the headquarters of the Genesee Valley Trust Company and built by A. Friederich and Sons at a reported cost of $1.5 million. During construction they pioneered a trolley method to position the Indiana limestone slab facings.
The cornerstone was laid on October 29, 1929 — "Black Tuesday" of the stock market crash — and the building was completed the following year. The cornerstone was laid on October 29, 1929 — Black Tuesday of the stock market crash — and today four monumental aluminum Wings of Progress cap the tower for you.