Originally displayed through a virtual reality headset, this interactive experience is designed to touch you down in the Clarissa Street neighborhood as it existed before Urban Renewal. Charles Price (1923-2021) was Rochester’s first Black police officer. In January 2021, he described to youth the “cave” that he wanted to create as a way to block out the current landscape and replace it with images and stories of the old Clarissa Street.
Check out the amazing recreation of the village below.
To move & look around the 360° video as you watch: From your phone or tablet: you can turn your body or move your device around. From your laptop, you can click on the video & drag your mouse left or right. As you move around the virtual version of the neighborhood, you will hear from community elders about what it was like to live in the rich and interconnected community of Clarissa Street.
Special thanks to the incredible effort that went into building this VR experience! Created by high school students Sahiyra Dillard, Raki Granville, Cyruss Bell, Sean Thomas, Paris Horman, Jordan Nunn, and De’Vonne Warren, School of the Arts graduates Dezmir Phelps and Malcolm Ahmad, RIT student Carly Strohl, RIT College of Art and Design Adjunct Prof. Daniel LaTourette and Lecturer Daniel Hughes, with support from Teen Empowerment, RCTV, Visual Studies Workshop, Prof. Missy Warp, Prof. Mark Reisch–all coordinated by Prof. Mari Jaye Blanchard of RIT College of Art and Design.
And most especially to Mr. Charles Price, who at 98 years old, described his vision to Teen Empowerment Youth History Ambassadors. We wish he was still here to put on VR goggles and stroll back down Clarissa Street.
