Murderer's Row was the name given to one of the toughest sections of Rochester in the later 1800's. We read about the area in Rochester History. "A resurgent evangelism contributed to the reestablishment of the Rochester "Y" in 1875. ... to reform this portion of the city in the 1870s. ... A vacant store at No.
6 Main Street East was leased and furnished with chairs and kerosene lamps by friendly patrons. A sprinkling of sawdust supplied a familiar carpet for the prayer services conducted there every night for several weeks. ... after a few months, ... series of revival meetings in an old variety theater overlooking the canal back of Exchange Street.
It was in the section known as 'Murderer's Row" the toughest part of town ... in the course of a few months ... [turned] hundreds of young men from lives of drunkenness and evil habits and greatly "sweetened the atmosphere of Murderer's Row." 1 Murderer's row was also described as a "wretched alley near the railroad station" 2. From the same source we know that in 1893 a cluster of buildings on Murderer's Row were ordered demolished.
1Rochester History Oct 1954 Vol 16 No 1, Page 82Rochester History Oct 1965 Vol 27 No 4, Page 3