197-529: The Eastman Kodak Company , referred to simply as Kodak ( / ˈ k oʊ d æ k / ), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York , and is incorporated in New Jersey . It is best known for photographic film products, which it brought to a mass market for the first time. Kodak began as
394-624: A Fortune 500 company in its own right. A key component of the incremental strategy was Kodak's line of digital self-service kiosks installed in retail locations, where consumers could upload and edit photos, as a replacement for traditional photo developers. Kodak also began manufacturing digital cameras, such as the Apple QuickTake . Film sales continued to rise during the 1990s, delaying the digital transition from occurring faster. In 2001, film sales began to fall. Under Daniel Carp , Fisher's successor as CEO, Kodak made an aggressive move in
591-799: A Strong mayor-council form of government since the approval of its current charter in a referendum in 1984. Administrative officers are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. All city legislation is proposed and passed by the council, and subject to a veto by the mayor, unless a majority of two-thirds approved it. The current mayor is Malik Evans , serving since January 1, 2022. Nitrocellulose ( C 6 H 8 (NO 2 ) 2 O 5 ) n (dinitrocellulose) ( C 6 H 7 (NO 2 ) 3 O 5 ) n (trinitrocellulose, pictured in structures above) Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate , flash paper , flash cotton , guncotton , pyroxylin and flash string , depending on form)
788-406: A photographic film . This was used commercially as "celluloid", a highly flammable plastic that until the mid-20th century formed the basis for lacquers and photographic film. On May 2, 1887, Hannibal Goodwin filed a patent for "a photographic pellicle and process of producing same ... especially in connection with roller cameras", but the patent was not granted until September 13, 1898. In
985-638: A 100-acre (40- ha ) tract from the Pulteney Estate along the Genesee River: Major Charles Carroll, Colonel William Fitzhugh Jr, and Colonel Nathaniel Rochester , the namesake of the city. They chose the site because its three cataracts on the Genesee offered great potential for water power. Beginning in 1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817,
1182-405: A 2012 bankruptcy. By 2022, the city's population had declined to 209,352 (although the metropolitan area was considerably larger) with 45.1% recorded as White and 38.4% as Black or African American. Although the total population declined, new arrivals continued to move to the city and change its demographic profile. Thousands of Puerto Ricans moved to the city after World War II, and the city became
1379-648: A 7% stake, diluted to 4.5% by subsequent share issues, in prominent Unix systems vendor Sun Microsystems . Interactive's role in Kodak's strategy was to deliver Unix-based imaging products and to support Kodak's introduction of Photo CD . Interactive planned to release a distribution of Unix System V Release 4 featuring comprehensive support for imaging peripherals such as scanners and printers, along with facilities for colour management and colourspace conversion. Later in 1991, however, Kodak put Interactive up for sale, attracting interest from various technology companies including
1576-828: A 9.6% share, and by 2010, had dropped to a 7% share, in seventh place behind Canon , Sony , Nikon , and others, according to research firm IDC. An ever-smaller share of digital pictures were being taken on dedicated digital cameras, being gradually displaced by cameras on cellphones, smartphones , and tablets . Digital camera sales peaked in 2007 and declined afterwards. Kodak began another strategy shift after Antonio Pérez became CEO in 2005. While Kodak had previously done all development and manufacturing in-house, Pérez shut down factories and outsourced or eliminated manufacturing divisions. Kodak agreed to divest its digital camera manufacturing operations to Flextronics in August 2006, including assembly, production and testing. The company exited
1773-596: A broken heating pipe at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio . That tragedy claimed 123 lives during the fire and additional fatalities several days later, when hospitalized victims died due to inhaling excessive amounts of smoke from the burning film, which was laced with toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and hydrogen cyanide . Related fires in other medical facilities prompted the growing disuse of nitrocellulose stock for X-rays by 1933, nearly two decades before its use
1970-514: A complete shift to digital photography would occur by 2010. However, company executives were reluctant to make a strong pivot towards digital technology, since it would require heavy investment, make the core business of film unprofitable, and put the company into direct competition with established firms in the computer hardware industry. Under CEOs Colby Chandler and Kay Whitmore, Kodak instead attempted to diversify its chemical operations. Although these new operations were given large budgets, there
2167-458: A cotton apron, and wiped it up. He hung the apron on the stove door to dry, and as soon as it was dry, a flash occurred as the apron ignited. His preparation method was the first to be widely used. The method was to immerse one part of fine cotton in 15 parts of an equal blend of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. After two minutes, the cotton was removed and washed in cold water to set the esterification level and to remove all acid residue. The cotton
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#17327724798922364-533: A deadline of February 15, 2013, to produce a reorganization plan. In January 2013, the Court approved financing for Kodak to emerge from bankruptcy by mid 2013. During bankruptcy proceedings, Kodak sold many of its patents for approximately $ 525 million to a group of companies (including Apple , Google , Facebook , Amazon , Microsoft , Samsung , Adobe Systems , and HTC ) under the names Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation . Kodak announced that it would end
2561-468: A favorite of George Eastman 's; he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter ." He and his mother, Maria, devised the name Kodak using an Anagrams set. Eastman said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it should be short, easy to pronounce, and not resemble any other name or be associated with anything else. According to a 1920 ad, the name "was simply invented – made up from letters of
2758-469: A female householder with no partner present, and 29.0% had a male householder with no partner present. Of all households, 41.3% were made up of individuals, 25.3% had children under 18 living with them, and 9.2% had someone living alone 65 or older. 33.1% of housing units were owner-occupied, and 66.9% were rented. The age distribution was 18.8% under 18, 15.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 or older. The median age
2955-407: A flame. For this reason, immersing burning film in water may not extinguish it, and could actually increase the amount of smoke produced. Owing to public safety precautions, London Underground forbade transport of movies on its system until well past the introduction of safety film. Cinema fires caused by the ignition of nitrocellulose film stock commonly occurred as well. In Ireland in 1926, it
3152-542: A form of paper film he called "American film". Eastman would continue experimenting with cameras and hired chemist Henry Reichenbach to improve the film. These experiments would culminate in an 1889 patent for nitrocellulose film. As the company continued to grow, it was re-incorporated several more times. In November 1889, it was renamed the Eastman Company and 10,000 shares of stock were issued for $ 100. On May 23, 1892, another round of capitalization occurred and it
3349-417: A future digital shift. Kodak sought to establish a presence in the information systems market, acquiring Unix developer Interactive Systems Corporation in early 1988 to operate as a subsidiary of Kodak's newly established software systems division. Kodak's resources enabled Interactive to expand their business, but this raised issues with regard to Kodak's strategy, since the company had previously acquired
3546-422: A hard finish with a deep lustre. It is normally the first coat applied, then it is sanded and followed by other coatings that bond to it. Nail polish contains nitrocellulose, as it is inexpensive, dries quickly to a hard film, and does not damage skin. The explosive applications are diverse and nitrate content is typically higher for propellant applications than for coatings. For space flight, nitrocellulose
3743-470: A high poverty rate in the city. Between 2007 and 2018, real GDP losses from Kodak canceled out the growth in all other sectors in Rochester. On March 12, 2014, Kodak announced that Jeffrey J. Clarke had been named as chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors. At the end of 2016, Kodak reported its first annual profit since bankruptcy. In recent years, Kodak has licensed its brand to
3940-456: A high-margin printer ink business to replace falling film sales, a move which was widely criticized due to the amount of competition present in the printer market, which would make expansion difficult. Kodak's ink strategy rejected the razor and blades business model used by dominant market leader Hewlett-Packard by selling expensive printers with cheaper ink cartridges. In 2011, these new lines of inkjet printers were said to be on verge of turning
4137-476: A key part in US history as a hub for social and political movements, especially abolitionism , and the women's rights movement . Rochester is the birthplace and/or home of many notable companies including Eastman Kodak , Xerox , Bausch & Lomb , Wegmans , Gannett , Paychex , and Western Union , and the region became a global center for science, technology, and research and development. This has been aided by
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#17327724798924334-584: A large concentration of Polish Americans along with nearby Buffalo, New York. Rochester's Bhutanese and Nepalese communities are among the largest (top 3) in the United States, concentrated primarily in Jones Square and Edgerton with growth fueled by recently arrived migrants and refugees. In addition, Rochester was ranked number 9 in the nation for the largest Italian population in the United States in 2018. Rochester has been reported to have
4531-435: A large portion of his stock to company employees below market value. The expansion of benefits continued after Eastman; in 1928, the company began offering life insurance , disability benefits, and retirement annuity plans for employees, at the behest of company statistician Marion Folsom . Many other employers in the Rochester area took cues from Kodak and increased their own wages and benefits in order to remain competitive in
4728-571: A major destination for refugees in the 21st century. Rochester is located in Upstate New York , on the southern shore of Lake Ontario . The Genesee River bisects the city. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 37.1 square miles (96 km ), of which 35.8 square miles (93 km ) are land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km ) are covered by water (3.42%). Rochester borders
4925-419: A new roll of film. Additional rolls were also sold for $ 2 to professional photographers who wished to develop their own photographs. By unburdening the photographer from the complicated and expensive process of film development, photography became more accessible than ever before. The camera was an immediate success with the public and launched a fad of amateur photography. Eastman's advertising slogan, " You Press
5122-524: A nitrate base in the west, but rumors exist of 16 mm nitrate film having been produced in the former Soviet Union and China. Nitrate dominated the market for professional-use 35 mm motion picture film from the industry's origins to the early 1950s. While cellulose acetate-based safety film, notably cellulose diacetate and cellulose acetate propionate, was produced in the gauge for small-scale use in niche applications (such as printing advertisements and other short films to enable them to be sent through
5319-498: A number of other companies. The California-based company JK Imaging has manufactured Micro Four-Thirds cameras under the Kodak brand since 2013. The Kodak Ektra , a smartphone , was designed by the Bullitt Group and launched in 2016. Digital tablets were announced with Archos in 2017. In 2018, Kodak announced two failed cryptocurrency products; the cryptocurrency KodakCoin , which was developed by RYDE Holding, Inc., and
5516-653: A number of reasons including environmental regulation and the cost of application vs. "poly" finishes. However, Gibson still use nitrocellulose lacquers on all of their guitars, as well as Fender when reproducing historically accurate guitars. The nitrocellulose lacquer yellows and cracks over time, and custom shops will reproduce this aging to make instruments appear vintage. Guitars made by smaller shops (luthiers) also often use "nitro" as it has an almost mythical status among guitarists. Because of its explosive nature, not all applications of nitrocellulose were successful. In 1869, with elephants having been poached to near extinction,
5713-462: A particularly notable revival led by Charles Grandison Finney which inspired local social reform movements. During the mid-19th century, as the center of the wheat-processing industry moved west with population and agriculture, the city became home to an expanding nursery business, giving rise to the city's second nickname, the Flower City. Nurseries ringed the city, the most famous of which
5910-401: A partnership between George Eastman and Henry A. Strong to develop a film roll camera. After the release of the Kodak camera, Eastman Kodak was incorporated on May 23, 1892. Under Eastman's direction, the company became one of the world's largest film and camera manufacturers, and also developed a model of welfare capitalism and a close relationship with the city of Rochester. During most of
6107-530: A partnership program between the city government and Rochester Coalition for Neighborhood Living, defines 35 neighborhoods in Rochester. Among these are the 14621 Community, 19th Ward, Beechwood, Browncroft, Charlotte , Cobbs Hill, Corn Hill, downtown Rochester , Dutchtown, Edgerton , EMMA (East Main, Mustard & Atlantic Avenue), High Falls, Highland Park, Homestead Heights, JOSANA (Jay-Orchard Street Area), Lincoln Park, Lyell-Otis, Maplewood, Marketview Heights, Mayor's Heights, Monroe Village, NOTA (Neighborhood of
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6304-659: A partnership with Edwin Land to supply polarized lenses, after briefly considering an offer to purchase Land's patents. Land would later launch the Polaroid Corporation and invented the first instant camera using emulsions supplied by Kodak. Frank Lovejoy succeeded William Stuber as company president in 1934, and Thomas J. Hargrave became president in 1941. After the American entry into World War II , Kodak ceased its production of amateur film and began supplying
6501-784: A petition with the US Commerce Department under section 301 of the Commerce Act arguing that its poor performance in the Japanese market was a direct result of unfair practices adopted by Fuji. The complaint was lodged by the United States with the World Trade Organization . On January 30, 1998, the WTO announced a "sweeping rejection of Kodak's complaints" about the film market in Japan. A price war between
6698-409: A photograph, an inner rope was tightened and the exposure began. Once the photograph had been taken, the user had to rotate the upper key to change the selected frame within the celluloid tape. The $ 25 camera came pre-loaded with a film roll of 100 exposures, and could be mailed to Eastman's headquarters in Rochester with $ 10 for processing . The camera would be returned with prints, negatives , and
6895-496: A profit, although some analysts were skeptical as printouts had been replaced gradually by electronic copies on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Inkjet printers continued to be viewed as one of the company's anchors after it entered bankruptcy proceedings. However, in September 2012 declining sales forced Kodak to announce an exit from the consumer inkjet market. Kodak's finances and stock value continued to decline, and in 2009
7092-531: A projectile driver, it had around six times the gas generation of an equal volume of black powder and produced less smoke and less heating. Artillery shells filled with gun cotton were widely used during the American Civil War , and its use was one of the reasons the conflict was seen as the "first modern war." In combination with breech-loading artillery , such high explosive shells could cause greater damage than previous solid cannonballs. During
7289-516: A rare hybrid structure called " kame moraine ". The ice sheets also created Lake Ontario, the Genesee River with its waterfalls and gorges , Irondequoit Bay , Sodus Bay , Braddock Bay , Mendon Ponds , numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge , and the nearby Finger Lakes . Water to the city is sourced from Hemlock Lake , Canadice Lake , and Lake Ontario. Celebrate City Living,
7486-644: A reward for their loyalty to the British crown, the Iroquois were given a large land grant on the Grand River in Canada. Rochester was founded shortly after by a wave of English-Puritan-descended immigrants from New England , who were looking for new agricultural land. They were the dominant cultural group in Rochester for over a century. On November 8, 1803, three men from Hagerstown, Maryland , purchased
7683-596: A separate class from other workers in Rochester, and "From the cradle infants are impressed with the fact that 'daddy is a Kodak man'; inferentially this compares with 'our father is a 33rd degree mason '". A 1989 New York Times article compared Rochester to a company town . Kodak's business model changed little from the 1930s to the 1970s, as the company's dominant position made change unnecessary and it made no mergers or acquisitions which might bring new perspectives. Research and development remained focused on products related to film production and development, which caused
7880-835: A turnaround strategy in the 2000s, Kodak instead made an aggressive turn to digital photography and digital printing . These strategies failed to improve the company's finances, and in January 2012, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York . In September 2013, the company emerged from bankruptcy, having shed its large legacy liabilities, restructured, and exited several businesses. Since emerging from bankruptcy, Kodak has continued to provide commercial digital printing products and services, motion picture film , and still film,
8077-519: A variety of goods for the war effort, including fuel tanker ships, optical equipment, and radio proximity fuses, amounting to US$ 1,200,000,000 of military orders. Following the war, the city began engaging in urban renewal projects to revitalize downtown, including the construction of Midtown Plaza and freeways like the Inner Loop , and the demolition of the Front Street neighborhood. By
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8274-703: Is a National Historic Landmark known as the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House . Rochester saw an expansion of new industries in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Irish immigrant James Cunningham founded the carriagemaker James Cunningham, Son and Company . James Cunningham and Sons later founded the Cunningham Car Company , a pioneer automobile maker. German immigrants John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb launched Bausch & Lomb in 1861 and inventor and entrepreneur George Eastman founded Eastman Kodak in 1892. Xerox
8471-608: Is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Monroe County . It is the fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 census . The city forms the core of the larger Rochester metropolitan area in Western New York , with a population of just over 1 million residents. Throughout its history, Rochester has acquired several nicknames based on local industries; it has been known as "
8668-431: Is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid . One of its first major uses was as guncotton, a replacement for gunpowder as propellant in firearms. It was also used to replace gunpowder as a low-order explosive in mining and other applications. In the form of collodion it was also a critical component in an early photographic emulsion,
8865-534: Is a lakefront community in Rochester bordering Lake Ontario. It is home to Ontario Beach Park, commonly known as Charlotte Beach, which is a popular summer destination for Rochesterians. A new terminal was built in 2004 for the Rochester-to-Toronto ferry service and was later sold after the ferry ceased operations in 2005. The Port of Rochester terminal still exists, but multiple attempts by the city to make additions have failed since 2016. Corn Hill
9062-430: Is centered on the eponymous street southeast of downtown. It originally functioned as a service street with businesses that catered to wealthy residents who lived on nearby East Avenue. Between 1894 and 1975, it was also home to Park Avenue Hospital. Today, the neighborhood is one of the most desirable in the city, highly valued for its walkability and density of bars, clubs, and restaurants. The city's annual pride parade
9259-453: Is for the production of lacquers and coatings, explosives, and celluloid . In terms of lacquers and coatings, nitrocellulose dissolves readily in organic solvents, which upon evaporation leave a colorless, transparent, flexible film. Nitrocellulose lacquers have been used as a finish on furniture and musical instruments. Guncotton, dissolved at about 25% in acetone , forms a lacquer used in preliminary stages of wood finishing to develop
9456-673: Is hosted in the neighborhood. The Park Avenue Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. The South Wedge is a wedge-shaped neighborhood centered on South Avenue between the Genesee River and Interstate 490. It began as the home of several families involved in trades on the Erie Canal. In the 1840s, the Ellwanger and Barry nursery was built on South Avenue, introducing greenery to
9653-431: Is less prone to stretching than other available plastics. By the late 1990s, polyester had almost entirely superseded triacetate for the production of intermediate elements and release prints. Triacetate remains in use for most camera negative stocks because it can be "invisibly" spliced using solvents during negative assembly, while polyester film is usually spliced using adhesive tape patches, which leave visible marks in
9850-528: Is located in the city's old Third Ward, and best known today for the annual Corn Hill arts festival. Many of the city's wealthiest residents lived in the neighborhood during the 19th century, but they relocated to the East End and suburbs after the turn of the century. The neighborhood experienced decline, and much of the Third Ward was demolished for the construction of I-490 in the 1960s. Revival began in
10047-435: Is much more resistant to polymer degradation than either nitrate or triacetate. Although triacetate does not decompose in as dangerous a way as nitrate does, it is still subject to a process known as deacetylation, often nicknamed "vinegar syndrome" (due to the acetic acid smell of decomposing film) by archivists, which causes the film to shrink, deform, become brittle and eventually unusable. PET, like cellulose mononitrate,
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#173277247989210244-434: Is not a nitro compound , but a nitrate ester . The glucose repeat unit (anhydroglucose) within the cellulose chain has three OH groups, each of which can form a nitrate ester. Thus, nitrocellulose can denote mononitrocellulose , dinitrocellulose , and trinitrocellulose , or a mixture thereof. With fewer OH groups than the parent cellulose, nitrocelluloses do not aggregate by hydrogen bonding . The overarching consequence
10441-592: Is on imaging and optical science among the industry and universities. The Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology have popular imaging programs, and a research hub for photonics has operated in the city since 2015 following federal and state investment. Rochester is also home to the Fortune 500 beverage company Constellation Brands and
10638-439: Is set apart from most of the continental US by comparatively cool, comfortable summers (ranking among the top five coolest summers among large metros alongside San Francisco , Seattle , Portland, Oregon , and neighboring Buffalo ). Autumn features brilliant foliage colors, cooling temperatures and occasionally an excess of rain depending on the year, though precipitation is generally plentiful and dispersed fairly evenly throughout
10835-494: Is soluble in a mixture of ethanol and ether until nitrogen concentration exceeds 12%. Soluble nitrocellulose, or a solution thereof, is sometimes called collodion . Guncotton containing more than 13% nitrogen (sometimes called insoluble nitrocellulose) was prepared by prolonged exposure to hot, concentrated acids for limited use as a blasting explosive or for warheads of underwater weapons such as naval mines and torpedoes . Safe and sustained production of guncotton began at
11032-459: Is that the nitrocellulose is soluble in organic solvents such as acetone and esters; e.g., ethyl acetate , methyl acetate , ethyl carbonate . Most lacquers are prepared from the dinitrate, whereas explosives are mainly the trinitrate. The chemical equation for the formation of the trinitrate is The yields are about 85%, with losses attributed to complete oxidation of the cellulose to oxalic acid . The principal uses of cellulose nitrate
11229-482: Is the " white hot ", a variant of the hot dog or smoked bratwurst made by the local Zweigle's company and other companies. Another local specialty is the Garbage Plate , a trademark of Nick Tahou Hots that traditionally includes macaroni salad, home fries, and two hot dogs or cheeseburgers topped with mustard, onions, and their famous meat hot sauce. Many area restaurants feature copies or variations with
11426-571: Is the third-largest regional economy in New York, after New York City and Buffalo-Niagara Falls . Rochester is also known for its culture; in particular, the Eastman School of Music , one of the most prestigious conservatories in the world, and the Rochester International Jazz Festival anchor a vibrant music industry. It is the site of several museums such as The Strong National Museum of Play and
11623-713: The Fortune 1000 company Paychex (Fortune #681) and the supermarket chain Wegmans . The median single-family house price was $ 247,000 in the third quarter of 2023 in greater Rochester, an increase of 10.3% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors . The city of Rochester is home to numerous cultural institutions. These include the Garth Fagan Dance, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra ,
11820-486: The Eastman Chemical Company . Henry Strong died in 1919, after which Eastman became the company president. Eastman began to wind down his involvement in the daily management of the company in the mid-1920s, and formally retired in 1925, although he remained on the board of directors. William Stuber succeeded him as president, and managed the company along with Frank Lovejoy. In 1912, Kodak established
12017-731: The Edison Company at another location on December 9, at its film-processing complex in West Orange, New Jersey . That catastrophic fire started inside a film-inspection building and caused over $ 7,000,000 in property damages ($ 213,000,000 today). Even after film technology changed, archives of older films remained vulnerable; the 1965 MGM vault fire burned many films that were decades old. The use of volatile nitrocellulose film for motion pictures led many cinemas to fireproof their projection rooms with wall coverings made of asbestos . Those additions intended to prevent or at least delay
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#173277247989212214-613: The First Unitarian Church of Rochester , which was designed by Louis Kahn and described by Paul Goldberger as one of "the most significant works of religious architecture of the century". Significant Art Deco buildings include the Cinema Theater and Times Square Building , noted for its 42' tall "Wings of Progress" sculpture. The Midtown Plaza , the nation's first downtown shopping mall, first opened in 1962, and remains partially standing today. Museums in
12411-761: The George Eastman Museum , which houses the oldest photography collection in the world. The Seneca tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy lived around Rochester prior to the American Revolution , and used the area as a hunting ground. Allied with the British, the Seneca were forced to cede or sell most of their land in New York after the war. The area now occupied by Rochester was ceded in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of 1788. As
12608-481: The Kodak Kashminer , a Bitcoin -mining computer which was developed by Spotlite. In 2016, the Kodak spinoff company eApeiron was founded with assets acquired from Kodak and an investment by Alibaba . The company's mission is to eliminate “knock offs” and promote authenticity. Despite the pivot to digital technology, film remains a major component of Kodak's business. The company continues to supply film to
12805-565: The Maplewood Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The Marketview Heights neighborhood is northeast of downtown Rochester, running east from Union Street just north of Atlantic Ave. It is best known as the location of the Public Market, which first opened in 1905 and offers a variety of groceries and other goods from farms and shops from surrounding areas, primarily on
13002-675: The National Reconnaissance Office to produce cameras for surveillance satellites such as the KH-7 Gambit and KH-9 Hexagon . Between 1963 and 1970, Kodak engineers worked on the cancelled Manned Orbiting Laboratory program, designing optical sensors for a crewed reconnaissance satellite. The company later performed a study for NASA on the astronomical uses of the equipment developed for MOL. Kodak doubled its number of employees worldwide between 1936 and 1966. The majority remained employed in Rochester, where it
13199-598: The Paris Exhibition of 1889 . Commercial production started in 1891, but the result was flammable and more expensive than cellulose acetate or cuprammonium rayon. Because of this predicament, production ceased early in the 1900s. Nitrocellulose was briefly known as "mother-in-law silk". Frank Hastings Griffin invented the double-godet, a special stretch-spinning process that changed artificial silk to rayon, rendering it usable in many industrial products such as tire cords and clothing. Nathan Rosenstein invented
13396-660: The RIT men's and women's ice hockey teams, and the University of Rochester men's squash team, which has ranked top 5 in Division I. Notable cemeteries include the Victorian-era Mount Hope Cemetery , Holy Sepulchre and Riverside Cemetery . Mount Hope became a popular picnicking destination during the late nineteenth century, and the city began to develop public parks. Rochester's park system
13593-744: The Rochester City Ballet , Rochester Contemporary Art Center , the Rochester Broadway Theater League , Hochstein School of Music & Dance , the Auditorium Theater, and numerous arts organizations. Geva Theatre Center is the city's largest professional theater. The East End Theater is on East Main Street in the theater district. The Eastman School of Music , one of the top musical institutes in
13790-618: The Sacramento Kings ) were a professional basketball team in Rochester from 1945 to 1957 with roots as an amateur team dating back to 1923. They won the NBA title in 1951 , defeating the New York Knicks in 7 games. Rochester and its surrounding area also has a rich golf history and has hosted numerous professional tournaments on its local golf courses, most recently the 2023 PGA Championship . NCAA Division I teams include
13987-549: The Trinity test site. After this discovery, Kodak officials became concerned that fallout would contaminate more of their film, and began monitoring atmospheric radiation levels with rainwater collection at Kodak Park. In 1951, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) began providing Kodak with a schedule of nuclear tests in exchange for its silence after the company threatened to sue
14184-415: The University of Rochester to become the city's top employer in 2005, a title it holds today. Bausch & Lomb moved to Bridgewater, New Jersey, in 2014. The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were founded in Rochester by Frank Gannett and Hiram Sibley , respectively, but have since moved to other cities. Today, the city's top employers are its educational and medical institutions. After
14381-574: The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills in the 1860s, and the material rapidly became the dominant explosive, becoming the standard for military warheads, although it remained too potent to be used as a propellant. More-stable and slower-burning collodion mixtures were eventually prepared using less concentrated acids at lower temperatures for smokeless powder in firearms . The first practical smokeless powder made from nitrocellulose, for firearms and artillery ammunition,
14578-482: The billiards industry offered a US$ 10,000 prize to whoever came up with the best replacement for ivory billiard balls . John Wesley Hyatt created the winning replacement, which he created with a new material he invented, called camphored nitrocellulose—the first thermoplastic , better known as celluloid . The invention enjoyed a brief popularity, but the Hyatt balls were extremely flammable, and sometimes portions of
14775-513: The "Brooks Landing" development along the Genesee River. Gentrification has occurred in the 19th Ward and adjacent Plymouth-Exchange area from the conversion of housing stock to student housing for the University of Rochester. Located in the 19th Ward are the Arvine Heights Historic District , Chili–West Historic District , Inglewood and Thurston Historic District , and Sibley–Elmdorf Historic District , listed on
14972-461: The "spunize process" by which he turned rayon from a hard fiber to a fabric. This allowed rayon to become a popular raw material in textiles. Nitrocellulose lacquer manufactured by (among others) DuPont , was the primary material for painting automobiles for many years. Durability of finish, complexities of "multiple stage" modern finishes, and other factors including environmental regulation led manufacturers to choose newer technologies. It remained
15169-641: The 1890s, as Rochester expanded, the area rapidly urbanized. By 1930, it was a booming residential area for doctors, lawyers, and other skilled workers. Homes in the originally upper-class neighborhood typically have gumwood trim, leaded glass, fireplaces, hardwood floors, and open porches. In the 1960s, property values fell as the population of Rochester did, the area experienced white flight accelerated by school busing, blockbusting , and race riots downtown, and crime increased, with violence, drug use , and neglected property further diminishing property values. In recent years, neighborhood revitalization has come from
15366-695: The 1970s, Kodak published important research in dye lasers , and patented the Bayer Filter method of RGB arrangement on photosensors. During the Cold War , Kodak participated in a number of clandestine government projects. Beginning in 1955 they were contracted by the CIA to design cameras and develop film for the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft under the Bridgehead Program. Kodak was also contracted by
15563-528: The 1970s, the city experienced highway revolts against new projects, and in the 2010s, the city began filling in the Inner Loop to restore older neighborhoods. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Rochester's population as 97.6% White and 2.3% Black. Rochester's black population tripled to more than 25,000 during the 1950s. Casually employed by the city's major industries, most African Americans in
15760-453: The 20th century, Kodak held a dominant position in photographic film, and produced a number of technological innovations through heavy investment in research and development at Kodak Research Laboratories. Kodak produced some of the most popular camera models of the 20th century, including the Brownie and Instamatic . The company's ubiquity was such that its " Kodak moment " tagline entered
15957-590: The American war effort at the direction of the War Production Board . The company produced film, cameras, microfilm , pontoons , synthetic fibers , RDX , variable-time fuses , and hand grenades for the government. Kodak's European subsidiaries continued to operate during the war. Kodak AG, the German subsidiary, was transferred to two trustees in 1941 to allow the company to continue operating in
16154-491: The Arts), North Winton Village, Northland-Lyceum, Park Avenue, Plymouth-Exchange, South Wedge, Susan B. Anthony, Swillburg, Upper Falls, Upper Monroe, and Upper Mount Hope. The 19th Ward is a southwest neighborhood bordered by Genesee Street, West Avenue, and the Erie Canal, and is across the river from the University of Rochester. The neighborhood is one of the largest in Rochester. Now known by its slogan "Urban by Choice", in
16351-664: The Bronx. On May 13, a fire at Universal Pictures ' Colonial Hall "film factory" in Manhattan consumed another extensive collection. Yet again, on June 13 in Philadelphia, a fire and a series of explosions ignited inside the 186-square-meter (2,000-square-foot) film vault of the Lubin Manufacturing Company and quickly wiped out virtually all of that studio's pre-1914 catalogue. Then a second fire hit
16548-641: The Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville. This name was unpopular, and in 1822 it was shortened to Rochester. By 1821, Rochesterville became the seat of Monroe County. In 1823, the Erie Canal aqueduct over the Genesee River was completed, connecting the city to the Hudson River to the east. New commerce from
16745-552: The Button, We Do the Rest ", soon entered the public lexicon, and was referenced by Chauncey Depew in a speech and Gilbert and Sullivan in their opera Utopia, Limited . In the 1890s and early 1900s, Kodak grew rapidly and outmaneuvered competitors through a combination of innovation, acquisitions, and exclusive contracts. Eastman recognized that film would return more profit than the cameras that used them, and focused on control of
16942-633: The Caribbean. Douglass lived in Rochester until his home was destroyed in a fire in 1872, and a historical marker was erected at the site on South Avenue. Many other prominent abolitionists operated in the area and operated on the Underground Railroad , such as Thomas James and Austin Steward . Around the same time, the nearby Finger Lakes region was the birthplace of the women's suffrage movement . A critical suffragettes' convention
17139-570: The Flour City " and " the Flower City " for its dual role in flour production and floriculture, and as the "Imaging Capital of the World" for its association with film, optics, and photography. The city was one of the United States' first boomtowns , initially due to the fertile Genesee River valley which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing center, which spurred further rapid population growth. Rochester has also played
17336-555: The Genesee Riverway Trail, which runs for the river's entire length through the city. Current city facilities include 12 full-time recreation centers, 48 playgrounds, two artificial ice rinks, 74 softball/baseball fields, 42 tennis courts, four soccer fields, and 45 outdoor basketball courts. Rochester is governed by a mayor serving as chief executive of city government and a city council consisting of four district members and five at-large members. Rochester has had
17533-558: The Kodak Research Laboratories at Building 3 in Kodak Park, with Kenneth Mees as director. Research primarily focused on film emulsions for color photography and radiography . In 1915, Kodak began selling Kodachrome, a two-color film developed by John Capstaff at the research lab. Another two-color film duplitized film was marketed for photography of X-rays as it had a short exposure time and could reduce
17730-577: The National Register of Historic Places. The Browncroft neighborhood is built on the former nursery grounds of the Brown Brothers nursery, between the town of Brighton and Winton Road. Many Tudor and Colonial houses are contained within, and the business district situated on Winton Road has a mix of restaurants and shops. The Browncroft Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Charlotte
17927-504: The Rochester area include the Genesee Country Village and Museum , George Eastman Museum , Memorial Art Gallery , Rochester Museum and Science Center , Strasenburgh Planetarium , Susan B. Anthony House , New York Museum of Transportation , Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum , and The Strong National Museum of Play . In 2023, plans were announced for a museum dedicated to the life of Frederick Douglass in
18124-668: The SunSoft subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, on whose Solaris operating system Interactive had undertaken development work. SunSoft eventually acquired the systems products division of Interactive in early 1992, leaving the services and technologies division with Kodak, until its eventual sale to SHL Systemhouse in 1993. Kodak would continue its relationship with Sun as a notable customer, integrating various Sun technologies in its document management products. Kodak would later sue Sun for infringing three software patents acquired by Kodak in 1997 from Wang Laboratories . In 1993, Whitmore announced
18321-616: The University of Rochester, major employers in these fields include Rochester Regional Health , the Rochester Institute of Technology , and Carestream Health . In recent years, a high technology industry has grown in Rochester, fostered in part by collaborations between private startup enterprises and the local higher learning institutions. Other organizations such as High Tech Rochester provide local startups with mentorship, office space, and other resources. Like its legacy manufacturers, Rochester's modern technological focus
18518-538: The alphabet to meet our trade-mark requirements. It was short and euphonious and likely to stick in the public mind." The Kodak name was trademarked by Eastman in 1888. There was also a rumor that the name Kodak came from the sound made by the Kodak camera's shutter. Eastman entered a partnership with Henry Strong in 1880 and the Eastman Dry Plate Company was founded on January 1, 1881, with Strong as president and Eastman as treasurer. Initially,
18715-420: The area around Lyell Avenue has been a target for the formation of a designated Little Italy neighborhood, although few Italian Americans live there today. The neighborhood is known for struggling with a high crime rate. Residents have pursued a number of strategies to improve the neighborhood in recent years, including the construction of housing for the homeless. The neighborhood features Edgerton Park, which
18912-415: The budgets of many smaller theaters. In practice, though, this has not proved to be as much of a problem as was feared. Rather, with the increased use of automated long-play systems in cinemas, the greater strength of polyester has been a significant advantage in lessening the risk of a film performance being interrupted by a film break. Despite its self-oxidizing hazards, nitrate is still regarded highly as
19109-602: The canal turned the village into America's first boomtown . By 1830, Rochester's population had grown to 9,200, and in 1834, it was rechartered as a city. Rochester was first known as "the Young Lion of the West", and then as the "Flour City". By 1838, it was the largest flour-producing city in the United States. A series of religious revivals occurred in the as part of the Second Great Awakening , including
19306-406: The chambering of the feed and takeup reels in thick metal covers with small slits to allow the film to run through them. The projector is additionally modified to accommodate several fire extinguishers with nozzles aimed at the film gate. The extinguishers automatically trigger if a piece of film near the gate starts to burn. While this triggering would likely damage or destroy a significant portion of
19503-568: The city held low-pay and low-skill jobs, and lived in substandard housing. Discontent exploded in the three-day 1964 Rochester race riot , which resulted in five deaths, 350 injuries, nearly a thousand arrests, and 204 stores looted or damaged. In the wake of the riot, the Rochester Area Churches, together with black civil rights leaders, invited Saul Alinsky of the Industrial Areas Foundation to help
19700-469: The city. Rochester hosts a number of cultural festivals every year. The Lilac Festival at Highland Park is attended by hundreds of thousands annually. Established after an 1898 gathering, it features the largest collection of lilac varieties in North America, a parade, and dozens of musical acts and food vendors. The Rochester International Jazz Festival was established in 2002 and is one of
19897-418: The common lexicon to describe a personal event that deserved to be recorded for posterity. Kodak began to struggle financially in the late 1990s as a result of increasing competition from Fujifilm . The company also struggled with the transition from film to digital photography , although Kodak had developed the first self-contained digital camera . Attempts to diversify its chemical operations failed, and as
20094-499: The community organize. With the Reverend Franklin Florence , they established FIGHT (Freedom, Integration, God, Honor, Today), which successfully brought pressure to bear on Eastman Kodak to help open up employment and city governance. With industrial restructuring in the later 20th century, Rochester's manufacturing workforce shrank. Kodak, long the city's largest employer, conducted massive layoffs prior to
20291-400: The company began cutting benefits and making large layoffs to save money. Despite the competition, Kodak's revenues and profits continued to increase during the 1990s, due to the strategy changes and an overall expansion of the global market. Under CEO George M. C. Fisher , Kodak's annual revenue peaked at $ 16 billion in 1996 and profits peaked at $ 2.5 billion in 1999. In May 1995, Kodak filed
20488-438: The company could enter bankruptcy followed by an auction of its patents, as it was reported to be in talks with Citigroup to provide debtor-in-possession financing . This was confirmed on January 19, 2012, when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and obtained a $ 950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to enable it to continue operations. Under the terms of its bankruptcy protection, Kodak had
20685-472: The company negotiated a $ 300 million loan from KKR . A number of divisions were sold off to repay debts from previous investments, most notably the Kodak Health Group, one of the company's profitable units. Kodak used the $ 2.35 billion from the sale to fully repay its approximately $ 1.15 billion of secured term debt. Around 8,100 employees from the Kodak Health Group transferred to Onex, which
20882-513: The company sold dry plates for cameras, but Eastman's interest turned to replacing glass plates altogether with a new roll film process. On October 1, 1884, the company was re-incorporated as the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. In 1885, Eastman patented the first practical film roll holder with William Walker, which would allow dry plate cameras to store multiple exposures in a camera simultaneously. That same year, Eastman patented
21079-407: The company to fall behind rivals Polaroid and Xerox in the development of instant cameras and photocopiers . Kodak would begin selling its own versions of each in the mid-1970s, but neither became popular. Both product lines would be abandoned in the 1990s. Japanese competitor Fujifilm entered the U.S. market with lower-priced film and supplies in the 1980s. Fuji defeated Kodak in a bid to become
21276-411: The company would restructure, and he was succeeded by George M. C. Fisher, a former Motorola CEO, later that year. Under Fisher, the company abandoned diversification in chemicals and focused on an incremental shift to digital technology. Tennessee Eastman was spun off as Eastman Chemical on January 1, 1994, and Sterling Drug's remaining operations were sold in August 1994. Eastman Chemical later became
21473-439: The concentration of unreacted acid. In 1855, the first human-made plastic , nitrocellulose (branded Parkesine , patented in 1862), was created by Alexander Parkes from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent. In 1868, American inventor John Wesley Hyatt developed a plastic material he named Celluloid , improving on Parkes' invention by plasticizing the nitrocellulose with camphor so that it could be processed into
21670-505: The concept of an industrial community that Eastman sought to create. These practices were not seriously challenged until after World War II . As a consequence of this shared background and the robust company benefits, Kodak employees formed a close community that viewed unions as outsiders, and no attempt to organize workers at Kodak succeeded during the 20th century. Kodak was hard-hit by the Great Depression , although Rochester
21867-492: The course of the past 70 years Rochester has become a major center for immigration, particularly for arrivals from Eastern and Southeastern Europe , sub-Saharan Africa , and the Caribbean . Rochester had the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any major city in the United States in 2013, one of the four largest Turkish American communities, one of the largest Jamaican American communities in any major U.S. city and
22064-501: The digital camera market with its EasyShare family of digital cameras. By 2005, Kodak ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in digital camera sales, which surged 40% to $ 5.7 billion. The company also began selling digital medical image systems after acquiring the Israel-based companies Algotec Systems and OREX Computed Radiography. Despite the initial high growth in sales, digital cameras had low profit margins due to strong competition, and
22261-399: The dosage of radiation needed to take a photo. Kodak became closely tied to Rochester, where most of its employees resided, and was at the vanguard of welfare capitalism during the 1910s and 1920s. Eastman implemented a number of worker benefit programs, including a welfare fund to provide workmen's compensation in 1910 and a profit-sharing program for all employees in 1912. In 1919, he sold
22458-491: The early 1920s. The Park Commission also constructed new facilities in all parks, filling them with playgrounds, pavilions, and sports facilities. Modern additions to the park system include Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, Turning Point Park, and Tryon Park, which are located on former industrial and urban sites, in contrast to the early parks. Most of the city's parks lie on the Genesee River and can be accessed by
22655-439: The early 19th century, the area was known as Castle Town, after Castle Inn, a tavern run by Colonel Isaac Castle. By the early 1820s, however, the area was overshadowed by developments in the north that would become downtown Rochester. Due to a tumultuous bend in the Genesee, the area was home to skilled boatsmen who assisted boats traveling north to Rochester and the area was consequently known during this time as "The Rapids". In
22852-428: The early 20th century were lost through this accelerating, self-catalyzed disintegration or through studio warehouse fires, and many others were deliberately destroyed specifically to avoid the fire risk. Salvaging old films is a major problem for film archivists (see film preservation ). Nitrocellulose film base manufactured by Kodak can be identified by the presence of the word "nitrate" in dark letters along one edge;
23049-523: The early to mid 20th century for destroying or heavily damaging cinemas, inflicting many serious injuries and deaths, and for reducing to ashes the master negatives and original prints of tens of thousands of screen titles, turning many of them into lost films . Even when nitrate stock did not start the blaze, flames from other sources spread to large nearby film collections, producing intense and highly destructive fires. In 1914—the same year that Goodwin Film
23246-511: The emerging motion picture industry . When Thomas Edison and other film producers formed the Motion Picture Patents Company in 1908, Eastman negotiated for Kodak to be sole supplier of film to the industry. In 1914, Kodak built its current headquarters on State Street. By 1922, the company was the second-largest purchaser of silver in the United States, behind the U.S. Treasury . Beginning on July 18, 1930, Kodak
23443-544: The event of war between Germany and the United States. The company produced film, fuses, triggers , detonators , and other material. Slave labor was employed at Kodak AG's Stuttgart and Berlin-Kopenick plants. During the German occupation of France, Kodak-Pathé facilities in Severan and Vincennes were also used to support the German war effort. Kodak continued to import goods to the United States purchased from Nazi Germany through neutral nations such as Switzerland. This practice
23640-433: The favorite of hobbyists for both historical reasons and for the ease with which a professional finish can be obtained. Most automobile "touch up" paints are still made from lacquer because of its fast drying, easy application, and superior adhesion properties – regardless of the material used for the original finish. Guitars sometimes shared color codes with current automobiles. It fell out of favor for mass production use for
23837-421: The federal government for damage caused to film products. Kodak was later contracted to create emulsions for radiation tests of fallout from nuclear tests. Kodak reached its zenith in the post-war era , as the usage of film for amateur, commercial, and government purposes all increased. In 1948, Tennessee Eastman created a working acetate film , which quickly replaced nitrate film in the movie industry because it
24034-549: The film camera market altogether, and began to end the production of film products. In total, 13 film plants and 130 photo finishing facilities were closed, and 50,000 employees laid off between 2004 and 2007. In 2009, Kodak announced that it would cease selling Kodachrome color film, ending 74 years of production, after a dramatic decline in sales. Pérez invested heavily in digital technologies and new services that capitalized on its technology innovation to boost profit margins. He also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build up
24231-652: The film market. This razor and blades model of sales would change little for several decades. Larger facilities were soon needed in Rochester, and the construction of Kodak Park began in 1890. Kodak purchased and opened several shops and factories in Europe , particularly in the United Kingdom . The British holdings were initially organized under the Eastman Photographic Materials Company. Beginning in 1898, they were placed under
24428-417: The first World War , British authorities were slow to introduce grenades, with soldiers at the front improvising by filling ration tin cans with gun cotton , scrap and a basic fuse. Further research indicated the importance of washing the acidified cotton. Unwashed nitrocellulose (sometimes called pyrocellulose) may spontaneously ignite and explode at room temperature , as the evaporation of water results in
24625-420: The first time since the 1950 Census . As of the 2020 Census, 38.0% of Rochester residents were non-Hispanic Black, 33.0% were non-Hispanic White, 19.8% were Hispanic/Latino, 3.9% were Asian, 0.2% were Native American or Pacific Islander, and 5.1% were mixed or other. In 2020, there were 91,500 households, of which 18.8% were married couples living together, 9.9% were unmarried co-habitating couples, 42.3% had
24822-441: The former Lehigh Valley Railroad station on the Genesee River. The Ragú brand of pasta sauce used to be produced in Rochester. Some of the original facility still exists and produces products for other labels (including Newman's Own) as Private Label Foods. Rochester was also the original home of French's Mustard, whose address was 1 Mustard Street. Rochester has several professional sports teams: The Rochester Royals (now
25019-462: The frame area. However, ultrasonic splicing in the frame line area can be invisible. Also, polyester film is so strong, it will not break under tension and may cause serious damage to expensive camera or projector mechanisms in the event of a film jam, whereas triacetate film breaks easily, reducing the risk of damage. Many were opposed to the use of polyester for release prints for this reason, and because ultrasonic splicers are very expensive, beyond
25216-510: The holding company Kodak Limited. An Australian subsidiary, Australia Kodak Limited, was established in 1908. In 1931, Kodak-Pathé was established in France and Kodak AG was formed in Germany following the acquisition of Nagel . The Brownie camera, marketed to children, was first released in 1900, and further expanded the amateur photography market. One of the largest markets for film became
25413-452: The labor market. Eastman believed that offering these benefits served the interests of the company. He feared labor unions and believed that offering better compensation than that received by union workers would deter union organizing and avoid the potential costs of a company strike . Selling his stock to employees would simultaneously make it more appealing to investors, who were wary to purchase shares because of his large stake, and lower
25610-625: The landing. Collodion, a solution of nitrocellulose, is used today in topical skin applications, such as liquid skin and in the application of salicylic acid , the active ingredient in Compound W wart remover. In 1832 Henri Braconnot discovered that nitric acid, when combined with starch or wood fibers, would produce a lightweight combustible explosive material, which he named xyloïdine . A few years later in 1838, another French chemist, Théophile-Jules Pelouze (teacher of Ascanio Sobrero and Alfred Nobel ), treated paper and cardboard in
25807-799: The largest jazz festivals in the United States. It takes place in late June at dozens of clubs, concert halls and free outdoor stages throughout Downtown Rochester , regularly drawing over 200,000 visitors. Other notable annual festivals in Rochester include the Rochester International Film Festival in June, the Corn Hill Arts Festival in July, and the Rochester Fringe Festival in September. One food product Rochester calls its own
26004-684: The largest per capita deaf population in the United States by the New York Times because it is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf . A 2012 report by the NTID concluded 3.7% of the Rochester metropolitan area is deaf or hard-of-hearing, compared to a national rate of 3.5%. Rochester has the largest deaf and hard-of-hearing population per capita when analyzing the working-age population, but may not have
26201-407: The largest per capita deaf population among all cities, due to deafness being much more prevalent in the elderly. Like many Rust Belt cities, Rochester was traditionally a manufacturing center, home to companies such as Bausch & Lomb , Kodak , and Xerox . In the 21st century, deindustrialization has occurred. Xerox and Kodak each laid off thousands of workers in the 1990s and 2000s, causing
26398-509: The last of which is distributed through the spinoff company Kodak Alaris . The company has licensed the Kodak brand to several products produced by other companies, such as the PIXPRO line of digital cameras manufactured by JK Imaging. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Kodak announced in late July that year it would begin production of pharmaceutical materials. The letter k was
26595-627: The late 1960s, as several of the Victorian homes in the neighborhood were restored by the Genesee Landmarks Foundation. In 1969 the Corn Hill arts festival was held and became an annual feature. The Third Ward Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The Edgerton neighborhood is in the city's northwest quadrant, along Lake Avenue. Historically an Italian-American neighborhood,
26792-419: The launch of cellulose triacetate base film by Eastman Kodak in 1948. Cellulose triacetate superseded nitrate as the film industry's mainstay base very quickly. While Kodak had discontinued some nitrate film stocks earlier, it stopped producing various nitrate roll films in 1950 and ceased production of nitrate 35 mm motion picture film in 1951. The crucial advantage cellulose triacetate had over nitrate
26989-454: The mails without the need for fire safety precautions), the early generations of safety film base had two major disadvantages relative to nitrate: it was much more expensive to manufacture, and considerably less durable in repeated projection. The cost of the safety precautions associated with the use of nitrate was significantly lower than the cost of using any of the safety bases available before 1948. These drawbacks were eventually overcome with
27186-460: The manufacture of guncotton were obtained by John Hall & Son in 1846, and industrial manufacture of the explosive began at a purpose-built factory at Marsh Works in Faversham, Kent , a year later. The manufacturing process was not properly understood and few safety measures were put in place. A serious explosion in July that killed almost two dozen workers resulted in the immediate closure of
27383-407: The market rapidly matured. Its digital cameras soon were undercut by Asian competitors that could produce and sell cheaper products. Many digital cameras were sold at a loss as a result. The film business, where Kodak enjoyed high profit margins, also continued to fall. The combination of these two factors caused a decline in profits. By 2007, Kodak had dropped to No. 4 in U.S. digital camera sales with
27580-399: The meantime, George Eastman had already started production of roll-film using his own process. Nitrocellulose was used as the first flexible film base , beginning with Eastman Kodak products in August 1889. Camphor is used as a plasticizer for nitrocellulose film, often called nitrate film. Goodwin's patent was sold to Ansco , which successfully sued Eastman Kodak for infringement of
27777-455: The migration of flames beyond the projection areas. A training film for projectionists included footage of a controlled ignition of a reel of nitrate film, which continued to burn even when fully submerged in water. Once burning, it is extremely difficult to extinguish. Unlike most other flammable materials, nitrocellulose does not need a source of air to continue burning, since it contains sufficient oxygen within its molecular structure to sustain
27974-580: The motion picture industry after signing new agreements with major studios in 2015 and 2020. In 2022, Kodak announced it would hire new film technicians after film photography experienced a revival among hobbyists. Kodak is currently arranged in four business reporting segments: Traditional Print, Digital Print, Advanced Material & Chemicals (including Motion Picture) and Brand (Brand licensing of consumer products produced by third parties). Rochester, New York Rochester ( / ˈ r ɒ tʃ ɛ s t ər , - ɪ s -/ ROTCH -ess-tər, -iss- )
28171-464: The nation, and its auditorium are also within the East End neighborhood. The Eastman Theatre is host to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and other musical/drama events.The Rochester Association of Performing Arts is a non-profit organization that provides educational theater classes to the community. Several churches are among Rochester's architectural features, including Asbury First United Methodist Church , St. Joseph's Church and Rectory , and
28368-410: The neighborhood and drawing tourists. Frederick Douglass lived in a house in the neighborhood. The area fell on hard times after World War II, when residents moved to the suburbs and several homes and businesses were abandoned. The South Wedge Planning Committee was established in 1973 to revitalize the neighborhood. Today, the neighborhood is a hub of small businesses. The South Wedge Historic District
28565-505: The official film of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics , which gave it a permanent foothold in the market. Fuji opened a film plant in the U.S. and its aggressive marketing and price cutting began taking market share from Kodak, rising from a 10% share in the early 1990s to 17% in 1997. Fuji also made headway into the professional market with specialty transparency films such as Velvia and Provia , which competed with Kodak's signature professional product, Kodachrome . Encouraged by shareholders,
28762-470: The outer shell would explode upon impact. An owner of a billiard saloon in Colorado wrote to Hyatt about the explosive tendencies, saying that he did not mind very much personally but for the fact that every man in his saloon immediately pulled a gun at the sound. The process used by Hyatt to manufacture the billiard balls, patented in 1881, involved placing the mass of nitrocellulose in a rubber bag, which
28959-399: The patent and was awarded $ 5,000,000 in 1914 to Goodwin Film. Disastrous fires related to celluloid or "nitrate film" became regular occurrences in the motion picture industry throughout the silent era and for many years after the arrival of sound film . Projector fires and spontaneous combustion of nitrate footage stored in studio vaults and in other structures were often blamed during
29156-530: The plant. Guncotton manufacture ceased for over 15 years until a safer procedure could be developed. The British chemist Frederick Augustus Abel developed the first safe process for guncotton manufacture, which he patented in 1865. The washing and drying times of the nitrocellulose were both extended to 48 hours and repeated eight times over. The acid mixture was changed to two parts sulfuric acid to one part nitric. Nitration can be controlled by adjusting acid concentrations and reaction temperature. Nitrocellulose
29353-645: The population had reached a high of 332,488. The surge in new arrivals, along with increased industrialization , resulted in the city becoming a hotbed of labor activism. From the 1920s and continuing into the post-war era Rochester grew into a power center for newly formed industrial unions. It was one of the very few American cities where the labor movement was powerful enough to mount a successful general strike when in 1946 an estimated 50,000 workers across multiple sectors walked off in support of hundreds of city employees who had been fired for attempting to unionize. During World War II , Rochester factories produced
29550-471: The presence of several internationally renowned universities, notably the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology , and their research programs; these schools, along with many other smaller colleges, have played an increasingly large role in its economy. The city experienced significant population decline due to deindustrialization in the late 20th century, although less severely than its Rust Belt peers. The Rochester metropolitan area
29747-654: The price of the stock, which would keep anti-trust lawyers from investigating the company. Because Kodak was a capital-intensive industry with a low labor-cost ratio , employee benefits contributed less to the company's expenses than they would in other industries. Employment opportunities were not extended to all Rochesterians. The company almost exclusively hired workers of an Anglo-Saxon background under Eastman, and excluded Catholic immigrants, African-Americans , and Jews . Approximately one-third of employees were female. A system of family hiring, where children of employees would be hired to follow their parents, reinforced
29944-481: The production of several products, including digital cameras, pocket video cameras, digital picture frames, and inkjet printers. As part of a settlement with the UK-based Kodak Pension Plan, Kodak agreed to sell its photographic film , commercial scanners, and photo kiosk operations, which were reorganized as a spinoff company, Kodak Alaris . The Image Sensor Solutions (ISS) division of Kodak
30141-455: The program. Research projects led to a number of new Kodak products in the 1930s. At Kodak Research Laboratories, Leopold Godowsky Jr. and Leopold Mannes invented a three-color film which would be commercially viable. In 1935, the product was launched as Kodachrome . The company also produced industrial high-speed cameras and began to diversify its chemical operations by producing vitamin concentrates and plastics . In 1934, Kodak entered
30338-472: The projector's components, it would contain a fire and prevent far greater damage. Projection rooms may also be required to have automatic metal covers for the projection windows, preventing the spread of fire to the auditorium . Today, the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum is one of a few theaters in the world that is capable of safely projecting nitrate films and regularly screens them to
30535-608: The public. The BFI Southbank in London is the only cinema in the United Kingdom licensed to show Nitrate Film. The use of nitrate film and its fiery potential were certainly not issues limited to the realm of motion pictures or to commercial still photography. The film was also used for many years in medicine, where its hazardous nature was most acute, especially in its application to X-ray photography. In 1929, several tons of stored X-ray film were ignited by steam from
30732-459: The same way. Jean-Baptiste Dumas obtained a similar material, which he called nitramidine . Around 1846 Christian Friedrich Schönbein , a German-Swiss chemist, discovered a more practical formulation. As he was working in the kitchen of his home in Basel , he spilled a mixture of nitric acid (HNO 3 ) and sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) on the kitchen table. He reached for the nearest cloth,
30929-404: The southern edge of the ice mass. This created a line of hills, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope, the hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill, and Cobb's Hill. Because the sediment of these hills was deposited into a proglacial lake, they are stratified and classified as a " kame delta ". A brief retreat and readvance of the ice sheet onto the delta deposited unstratified material there, creating
31126-468: The southern shores of Lake Ontario), ranking among the snowiest large cities on earth and occasionally setting records for annual snowfall among large US metros. The 30-year annual average snowfall is just above 100 in (2.5 m). Spring sees plentiful rain with the rising temperatures, and occasional late snowstorms depending on the year. Summers are warm and sunny; there are occasional short periods of high heat and humidity but in general, Rochester
31323-446: The stock is more transparent than replacement stocks, and older films used denser silver in the emulsion. The combination results in a notably more luminous image with a high contrast ratio. The solubility of nitrocellulose was the basis for the first " artificial silk " by Georges Audemars in 1855, which he called " Rayon ". . However, Hilaire de Chardonnet was the first to patent a nitrocellulose fiber marketed as "artificial silk" at
31520-487: The towns of Irondequoit to the north and northeast, Brighton to the southeast and south, Chili to the southwest, Gates to the west, and Greece to the northwest. Rochester's landscape was formed by the ice sheets during the Pleistocene epoch. The retreating ice sheets reached a standstill at what is now the southern border of the city, melting at the same rate as they were advancing, depositing sediment along
31717-463: The two companies began in 1997, eating into Kodak's profits. Kodak's financial results for 1997 showed that the company's revenues dropped from $ 15.97 billion in 1996 to $ 14.36 billion in 1997, a fall of more than 10%; its net earnings went from $ 1.29 billion to just $ 5 million for the same period. Kodak's market share declined from 80.1% to 74.7% in the United States, a one-year drop of five percentage points. Fuji and Kodak recognized
31914-404: The upcoming threat of digital photography, and although both sought to diversify as a mitigation strategy, Fuji was more successful at diversification. Fuji stopped production of motion picture film in 2013, leaving Kodak as the last major producer. Kodak employee Steven Sasson developed the first handheld digital camera in 1975. Larry Matteson, another employee, wrote a report in 1979 predicting
32111-416: The use of which revolutionized photography in the 1860s. In the 20th century it was adapted to automobile lacquer and adhesives . The process uses a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid to convert cellulose into nitrocellulose. The quality of the cellulose is important. Hemicellulose , lignin , pentosans , and mineral salts give inferior nitrocelluloses. In precise chemical terms, nitrocellulose
32308-414: The war. In 1945, a batch of X-ray film that the company processed mysteriously became fogged. Julian Webb, who had worked at Oak Ridge, proposed that the film had been exposed to radiation released by nuclear weapons tests . The source of the radiation was eventually traced to strawboard packaging from Vincennes, Indiana, which had been irradiated by fallout that had traveled thousands of miles northeast from
32505-420: The weekends. In the late twentieth century, the neighborhood experienced a severe decline, and roughly half of residents lived below the poverty line in 2000. Public investment was made in the neighborhood after 2008 to implement a number of community proposals. A second round of proposals are being explored currently for the planned removal of the Inner Loop in the southern end of the neighborhood. Park Avenue
32702-571: The word "plate" commonly used as a general term. Chicken Francese was first popularized by Rochester's Italian American community. The Genesee Brewing Company is headquartered in Rochester, where it holds an annual December tradition of assembling a tower of beer kegs in the shape of a Christmas tree. Other local franchises include Abbott's Frozen Custard , Bill Gray's , DiBella's , and Tom Wahl's . Dinosaur Bar-B-Que , which originated in Syracuse, also operates its second franchise downtown in
32899-489: The word only in clear letters on a dark background indicates derivation from a nitrate base original negative or projection print, but the film in hand itself may be a later print or copy negative, made on safety film. Acetate film manufactured during the era when nitrate films were still in use was marked "Safety" or "Safety Film" along one edge in dark letters. 8 , 9.5 , and 16 mm film stocks, intended for amateur and other nontheatrical use, were never manufactured with
33096-399: The year. As of the 2020 United States census , the population of Rochester was 211,328. Like most Rust Belt cities, the city has experienced a sustained population decline over the last 60 years. In 2020, for the first time in 200 years, Rochester dropped to the fourth most populous city in the state behind Yonkers . However, in 2020, an increase in the city's population was reported for
33293-516: Was 32.9. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. According to 2020 American Community Survey estimates, The median income for a city household was $ 37,395, and for a family was $ 43,873. Males had a median income of $ 30,379, versus $ 28,260 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 24,916. About 25.5% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.2% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over. Although losing population since 1950, over
33490-416: Was a box camera with a fixed-focus lens on the front and no viewfinder ; two V shape silhouettes at the top aided in aiming in the direction of the subject. At the top it had a rotating key to advance the film, a pull-string to set the shutter , and a button on the side to release it, exposing the celluloid film. Inside, it had a rotating bar to operate the shutter. When the user pressed the button to take
33687-708: Was awarded $ 5,000,000 from Kodak for patent infringement—nitrate film fires incinerated a significant portion of the United States' early cinematic history. In that year alone, five very destructive fires occurred at four major studios and a film-processing plant. Millions of feet of film burned on March 19 at the Eclair Moving Picture Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey . Later that same month, many more reels and film cans of negatives and prints also burned at Edison Studios in New York City, in
33884-683: Was blamed for the Dromcolliher cinema tragedy in County Limerick in which 48 people died. Then in 1929 at the Glen Cinema in Paisley, Scotland , a film-related fire killed 69 children. Today, nitrate film projection is rare and normally highly regulated and requires extensive precautions, including extra health-and-safety training for projectionists. A special projector certified to run nitrate films has many modifications, among them
34081-429: Was constructed in the abandoned canal bed and operated from 1927 to 1956. The dawn of the 20th century in Rochester saw rapid growth, driven by waves of immigrants arriving from Germany, Italy, Poland, and elsewhere. The city also grew in area, annexing suburban neighborhoods from the surrounding towns to arrive at its present borders. The population reached 62,386 in 1870, 162,608 in 1900, and 295,750 in 1920. By 1950,
34278-404: Was created by Marion Folsom, who gained national recognition for his work and would later serve as a company director and cabinet secretary for Dwight D. Eisenhower . Payments were made between 1933 and 1936, when layoffs ended at Kodak. The program led to many statistical improvements at Kodak, but overall had an insignificant effect on the Rochester community, as few companies were willing to join
34475-489: Was criticized by many American diplomats, but defended by others as more beneficial to the American war effort than detrimental. Kodak received no penalties during or after the war for collaboration. After a 1943 meeting between Kenneth Mees and Leslie Groves , a team of Kodak scientists joined the Manhattan Project and enriched Uranium-235 at Oak Ridge . Kodak's experiments with radiation would continue after
34672-408: Was discontinued for motion-picture films in favour of cellulose acetate film , more commonly known as "safety film". Nitrocellulose was found to gradually decompose, releasing nitric acid and further catalyzing the decomposition (eventually into a flammable powder). Decades later, storage at low temperatures was discovered as a means of delaying these reactions indefinitely. Many films produced during
34869-549: Was founded in Rochester in 1906 as the Haloid Company. In the early 20th century, Rochester became a center of the garment industry, particularly men's fashions. It was the base of Bond Clothing Stores , Fashion Park Clothes , Hickey Freeman , and Stein-Bloch and Co. The Erie Canal was rerouted south of Rochester by 1918 to allow widening as part of the Barge Canal 's construction. The short-lived Rochester subway
35066-692: Was held in 1848 in nearby Seneca Falls, and Rochester was the home of Susan B. Anthony along with other notable Suffragettes such as Abigail Bush and Amy Post . The city itself played host to the Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848 . The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , in 1920, which guaranteed the right of women to vote, was known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment because of her work toward its passage, which she did not live to see. Anthony's home
35263-600: Was included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . During World War I , Kodak established a photographic school in Rochester to train pilots for aerial reconnaissance . The war strained supply chains, and Eastman sought out new chemical sources the company could have direct control over. At the war's end in 1920, Kodak purchased a hardwood distillation plant in Tennessee from the federal government and established Eastman Tennessee, which later became
35460-566: Was initially designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Olmsted intended to preserve natural landscapes for the city residents to enjoy. The system included four major parks: Genesee Valley Park , Highland Park , Maplewood Park, and Seneca Park, the last of which is today home to the Seneca Park Zoo . The park system was expanded in the early twentieth century with Cobb's Hill Park and Durand Eastman Park in 1908, Edgerton Park in 1911, and Ontario Beach Park in
35657-512: Was invented by French chemist Paul Vieille in 1884. Jules Verne viewed the development of guncotton with optimism. He referred to the substance several times in his novels. His adventurers carried firearms employing this substance. In his From the Earth to the Moon , guncotton was used to launch a projectile into space. Because of their fluffy and nearly white appearance, nitrocellulose products are often referred to as cottons, e.g. lacquer cotton, celluloid cotton, and gun cotton. Guncotton
35854-518: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013, and the Gregory Tract Historic District was listed in 2022. Rochester lies in the humid continental climate zone ( Köppen : Dfa ) and has four distinct seasons. Winters are cold (temperatures drop to 0 °F (−18 °C) on 4.2 nights annually). Like much of the eastern Great Lakes, Rochester is very cloudy and overcast in winter. Rochester normally receives heavy snow in winter (primarily lake effect snow resulting from its location on
36051-405: Was little long-term planning or assistance from outside experts, and most of them resulted in large losses. Another effort to diversify failed when Kodak purchased Sterling Drug in 1988 at a cost of $ 5.1 billion. The drug company was overvalued and soon lost money. Research and development at Kodak Research Laboratories was directed into digital technology during the 1980s, laying the groundwork for
36248-500: Was non-flammable. In 1958, Kodak began marketing a line of super glue, Eastman 910 . Its cameras were used by NASA for space exploration. In 1963, the first Instamatic cameras were sold, which were the company's lowest-cost cameras to date. Annual sales passed $ 1 billion in 1962 and $ 2 billion in 1966. Albert K. Chapman succeeded Thomas Hargrave as president in 1952, and was succeeded by William S. Vaughn in 1960. Louis K. Eilers would serve as president and CEO between 1969 and 1972. In
36445-462: Was once home to most of the city's professional sports teams. Maplewood is located in the northwest quadrant, centered around Lake Avenue and Maplewood Park. Eastman Business Park is located on its north edge. The neighborhood once contained both mansions for the wealthy and worker housing for nearby factories like Kodak's. Many of the neighborhood's old mansions have been converted to multi-family housing. Due to its diverse architectural heritage,
36642-441: Was originally made from cotton (as the source of cellulose) but contemporary methods use highly processed cellulose from wood pulp . While guncotton is dangerous to store, the hazards it presents can be minimized by storing it dampened with various liquids, such as alcohol. For this reason, accounts of guncotton usage dating from the early 20th century refer to "wet guncotton." The power of guncotton made it suitable for blasting. As
36839-400: Was rapidly using up its cash reserves, stoking fears of bankruptcy; it had $ 957 million in cash in June 2011, down from $ 1.6 billion in January 2001. Later that year, Kodak reportedly explored selling off or licensing its vast portfolio of patents to stave off bankruptcy. In December 2011, two board members who had been appointed by KKR resigned. By January 2012, analysts suggested that
37036-411: Was renamed Carestream Health . In 2010, Kodak was removed from the S&P 500 . In the face of growing debts and falling revenues, Kodak also turned to patent litigation to generate revenue. In 2010, it received $ 838 million from patent licensing that included a settlement with LG . Between 2010 and 2012, Kodak and Apple sued each other in multiple patent infringement lawsuits. By 2011, Kodak
37233-409: Was renamed Eastman Kodak. An Eastman Kodak of New Jersey was established in 1901 and existed simultaneously with the Eastman Kodak of New York until 1936, when the New York corporation was dissolved and its assets were transferred to the New Jersey corporation. Kodak remains incorporated in New Jersey today, although its headquarters is in Rochester. In 1888, the Kodak camera was patented by Eastman. It
37430-426: Was sold to Truesense Imaging Inc. On September 3, 2013, Kodak announced that it emerged from bankruptcy as a technology company focused on imaging for business. Its main business segments would be Digital Printing & Enterprise and Graphics, Entertainment & Commercial Films. Kodak's decline and bankruptcy were damaging to the Rochester area. Its jobs were largely replaced with lower-paying ones, contributing to
37627-438: Was spared from its worst effects as banks were able to remain solvent. Seventeen percent of the company's employees were laid off between 1929 and 1933. Company founder George Eastman committed suicide at his home on March 14, 1932, due to his declining health. From 1931 to 1936, Kodak participated in the Rochester Plan, a privately funded unemployment insurance program to assist the jobless and boost consumer spending. The program
37824-422: Was started in 1840 by immigrants George Ellwanger from Germany and Patrick Barry from Ireland. Shoemaking also became a major local industry as the city began to industrialize. In 1847, Frederick Douglass founded The North Star , an abolitionist newspaper, in Rochester. A former slave and an antislavery speaker and writer, he gained a circulation of over 4,000 readers in the United States, Europe, and
38021-425: Was that it was no more of a fire risk than paper (the stock is often referred to as "non-flam": this is true—but it is combustible, just not in as volatile or as dangerous a way as nitrate), while it almost matched the cost and durability of nitrate. It remained in almost exclusive use in all film gauges until the 1980s, when polyester / PET film began to supersede it for intermediate and release printing. Polyester
38218-457: Was the employer of choice for most. The company continued offering higher wages and more benefits than labor market competitors, including the annual wage dividend, a bonus for all employees which typically amounted to 15% of base salary. Employee loyalty was strong, and the company experienced a turnover rate of only 13% in the 1950s, compared to 50% for American manufacturers as a whole. Journalist Curt Gerling noted that Kodak employees behaved like
38415-438: Was then placed in a cylinder of liquid and heated. Pressure was applied to the liquid in the cylinder, which resulted in a uniform compression on the nitrocellulose mass, compressing it into a uniform sphere as the heat vaporized the solvents. The ball was then cooled and turned to make a uniform sphere. In light of the explosive results, this process was called the "Hyatt gun method". An overheated container of dry nitrocellulose
38612-442: Was then slowly dried at a temperature below 40 °C (104 °F). Schönbein collaborated with the Frankfurt professor Rudolf Christian Böttger , who had discovered the process independently in the same year. By coincidence, a third chemist, the Brunswick professor F. J. Otto had also produced guncotton in 1846 and was the first to publish the process, much to the disappointment of Schönbein and Böttger. The patent rights for
38809-432: Was used by Copenhagen Suborbitals on several missions as a means of jettisoning components of the rocket/space capsule and deploying recovery systems. However, after several missions and flights, it proved not to have the desired explosive properties in a near vacuum environment. In 2014, the Philae comet lander failed to deploy its harpoons because its 0.3 grams of nitrocellulose propulsion charges failed to fire during
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