Friday, November 14, 2008

The times, they are 'a change'n: no more "Kodak Park"

ROCHESTER NY - Ever since I was a little kid, I remember driving by Kodak Park on the way to my Grandma's house. This is where Kodak took off. Some of the company's first production lines were here. Film was perfected here, and the digital technology that replaced it was invented here too. Kodak founder George Eastman is even buried at the entrance to this industrial complex. Through over a century of change, one thing was the same: it was called "Kodak Park." Until this week.

After nearly two decades of Kodak's decline in Rochester, including over 50,000 layoffs, and several building demolitions and implosions, the company decided a name change was in order. The fact is that this once sprawling "city within a city" is now home to more than 25 other companies along with Kodak necessitated a name that reflected that. Now it will formally be called "Eastman Business Park." It is a way for Kodak to attract more tenants to the buildings it has vacated. This is a sad change because it is one more reminder of what Kodak once was to Rochester, and another concern for its future presence here.

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