Great Lakes Seaway Trail - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 909

Highland Park still lives up to that sobriquet: It features one of the world's most astonish-
ing displays of lilacs, more than 1,200 plants in all, which paint the park with purples and
blues.
The entire byway offers a look at a virtual anthology of American domestic architec-
ture. A fine example is Rochester's East Avenue Historic District. There, set among tall
trees, are the homes—past and present—of Rochester's many successful entrepreneurs.
None was arguably more prominent than George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak
Company, whose 50-room mansion now houses the International Museum of Photography
and Film.
Another local institution, the Strong National Museum of Play, is a testament to one
woman's faithfully indulged obsessions. Margaret Woodbury Strong, whose parents made
a small fortune in buggy whips and were among the earliest investors in young Mr. East-
man's company, parlayed her inherited wealth into collections of everything from decorat-
ive buttons to more than 20,000 antique dolls.
11. Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse
Beyond the urban sprawl of Rochester—at a point just 30 miles east of the mouth of the
Niagara River—sits the square limestone tower known as Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse.
NowservingasthevisitorcenterforGoldenHillStatePark,the61-foot-talllighthousewas
built in 1875 to mark a dangerous offshore sandbar. It commands a sweeping view across
the widest stretch of Lake Ontario. You can make reservations for overnight stays in the
lighthouse cottage.
12. Old Fort Niagara
The drive elbows abruptly southward at the mouth of the Niagara River. Here at its outlet
the river is so broad and placid that it's hard to believe it carries most of the water flowing
out of lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.
For more than three centuries Old Fort Niagara has stood guard at the river's mouth.
Its most conspicuous feature, the 1726 French Castle, is among the oldest structures in the
Northeast. To calm the fears of hostile Iroquois Indians, the architect disguised the fort's
guardrooms, powder magazines, and soldiers' quarters in a building that resembles a large,
unthreatening manor house. Watch for large, colorful reenactment events here.