A Rochester bar owner is raising money and the awareness of the building's historic importance in the community to preserving the historic Chamberlain building location at 128 E Eighth St.
Purchasing the Putt's Bar and Grill in 2020, just weeks before the the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, owner Monica Smith started out fighting as a business owner. The past four years hasn't been easy. Always managing to keep her head above water and come out on top for the first four years, Smith's business was once again hit with hardship in 2023 when the neighboring business east of the bar, formerly known as Putt's Bails Bonds, 130 E. Eighth St, was condemned due to foundation and structural issues. It's close location and connection to Putt's Bar and Grill left the bar in danger of being torn down with it and the bill for any future construction to save the building in Smith's hands. Scrambling to raise funds, Smith says she still has hope to save the historical building despite the obstacles.
Hoping to highlight the building's history, Smith dug in to old records and discovered the bar was built by Alexander Chamberlain in 1835 and opened as Rochester's first tavern-hotel. That same year Alexander Chamberlain and Lot Bozarth filed a plat for the town, naming it Rochester.
Further ties to the building and family link to John Chamberlain, an ancestor of Alexander Chamberlain, who was known as being one of the 10 best sculptors in the world. Born in Rochester in 1927, John's parents once owned the Eighth St. bar, then known as Chamberlain's Tavern. John died in 2011 while working on an exhibit at Guggenheim Museum, New York. Notorious for his bright colored sculptures made of car metal, some of John's art is featured in many famous museums in various major cities throughout the world.
Inspired by the history, Smith says once funds are raised for repairs she plans on rebranding the bar and further highlighting its history by renaming the establishment Chamberlain's, after its original owner. Decades of neglect and decay have made repair costs expensive, however. Smith said she was given an estimate of a little more than $250,000 if she was wanting to salvage the building. Not ready to allow history to be destroyed just yet, Smith says she has started a GoFundMe account to help the cause. The link for the GoFundMe is featured below:
With little time to lose, Smith is also doing other events to raise money towards saving the bar, including a raffle this Labor Day weekend for a 2025 Gatorade utility/lawn mower trailer.
Tickets are $20 each, with the drawing set to take place Sept. 1 at Putt's Bar and Grill. Participants in the raffle do not need to be present to win. Thankful for the community support over the years and hopeful for the future, Smith says she still has a long way to go to raise enough money to clean up the mess from the corner lot and save her bar, and its historical roots in Rochester, from demolition.
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