Over the years, our ER Department of Local History has received many donated materials. This spring we received a major donation – a completely organized history of Forest Hills. The collection of 13 binders and 2 large folio cases contained hundreds of photographs of homes and special seasonal events, advertising brochures, copies of property deeds, blueprints, maps, news articles, Association By-Laws, descriptions of preservation landscaping upgrades, and historical summaries. The collection was the idea of former resident, Ken Dodgson. Ken and his wife, Sally, fell in love with the area and the home at 13 Regency Drive (the only Art Deco home in Forest Hills) the moment they saw it. After living in India for 24 years, the Dodgson’s resided at 13 Regency Drive for over 30 years.
While the Forest Hills Development is actually in the Town of Perinton, it is in East Rochester’s school district, fire district, and postal zip code. The area was created by East Rochester resident, Harold Dygert, whose home was located at 101 Park Drive. Harold Dygert was born in May 1889, in a small town in northern New York. He was a young child when his family moved to East Rochester. Harold graduated from our high school, and studied architecture through a correspondence course with Columbia University. Evidence of his work can be found throughout East Rochester and in Pittsford, Brighton, and Rochester. His efforts in our community began when he encouraged Harry Eyer to build a movie theater, the Rialto, in 1919. Later, called the Capri, it was converted into an apartment building by Mr. Dygert in 1966. While Harold designed several homes throughout East Rochester, the Forest Hills Development was his favorite. The 75 homes he designed there were built from 1932-1942.
According to Ken Dodgson’s research, “the earliest known plans for the development of the area known as Forest Hills are penciled overlays superimposed on a site survey by John Abner Stuart done for Harold Dygert and completed on December 17, 1927.” Probably because of the Depression, construction of actual homes did not begin for several years. Plots began to be sold in 1932, with the earliest homes in the development being built on Lake Crescent Drive, with the home at 6 Lake Crescent Drive being the first. Homes on Westwood, Ridgeview, Fair Oaks, and Regency Drives came afterwards. Harold personally collaborated with each homeowner, thus making each home unique. A variety of styles were used – Tudor Revival, English Cottage, French Eclectic, Colonial Revival, Cape Cod, French Regency, and one Art Deco. The homes were built in the natural surroundings of woods, hills, and ponds. Harold worked with his brother, Lawrence, who supervised construction and served as business manager. During the New York World’s Fair (1939-1940) photographs of several of the homes were part of Kodak’s CAVALCADE OF COLOR which projected Kodachrome slides enlarged 50,000 times.
I had the pleasure of meeting and thanking Ken Dodgson this month when he visited the Local History room. He came with Tom Hamilton who had assisted with some of the archives and Colleen and Mike Robinson who helped deliver the archives to us. The pleasure and pride Ken felt about his former home was clearly evident. He presented our department with a photo of a painting of his home—13 Regency Drive. Entitled, ‘A Home for All Seasons,’ it serves as a reminder of all that Forest Hills meant to him, and continues to mean to others who live there. Ken’s work will always be a special part of our collection.