The Sibley Building

I remember Sibley’s, I do. Problem is, I only remember the Marketplace Mall location, which gives away my age. I do wish I had been old enough to go to the downtown Sibley’s as a child, as I’m at an age where I am aware of history and know that it happened, but too young to have actually experienced it. For that reason, I’m grateful that the building still stands and I can use my overactive imagination when I’m there.
I have been to two events at the Sibley Building in the past year: RACF’s Evening Out at Home and the party for the Rochester Venture Adventure scavenger hunt this past fall. Both events were held in the lobby and were quite fun. The ceilings are high and there’s plenty of room to walk around, hang out by the clock, and pretend you’re shopping for elbow-​length gloves. That last one might just be me, but I digress. The acoustics aren’t the best with those high ceilings, so if you’re in the throes of the party, you may want to move away from the groups to hold a conversation where you don’t want to shout. You can wander around the building while you’re there, the offices probably won’t be open if an event is going on, but you can see where everything is located (or in the case of new developments, where things will be located).
Over the next few years, the building is set to undergo a massive transformation into mixed use space. So many projects say «mixed use» these days that the phrase has lost all its meaning to me. I have my own ideas for how the tea room should be repurposed, but I don’t see that happening. The tea room is probably my favorite piece of history here. I think it would be absolutely adorable to restore it to something that pays tribute to its roots, instead of turning it into a faceless workspace. Once upon a time, afternoon tea at Sibley’s was a major agenda item for little old ladies and shoppers alike. Can you imagine sitting down for tea after a long day of shopping for the aforementioned elbow-​length gloves? I can, and I never actually did that, nor is there any scenario in my life where I would need or want those gloves, outside of an epic Halloween costume.
I’m looking forward to more events in the lobby and seeing what happens to the building in the future. The most important piece of the Sibley Building is the history, so let’s make sure to preserve it as best we can. As the shoppers of yore would say, «meet me at the clock!»