Mechanics Institute

Category: Labor Education

Bevier Memorial Hall, designed by local architect Claude Bragdon, was built in 1910 on the site of Nathaniel Rochester's home as the School of Art at the Mechanics Institute. Founded in 1885 by Captain Henry Lomb and other industrial leaders, the Mechanics Institute provided technical and craft training to Rochester youth. By 1908 25,000 students had enrolled in one or more courses. Bevier housed the art school after the Mechanics Institute became the Rochester Institute of Technology, which in 1968 moved to its Henrietta campus.