Escape to romance.... We all know what
this means. It's what drives us to tune into ABC every
weekday and visit the mythical city of Port Charles.
Although most of us (OK, all of us) often wish we
could spend more than just one hour a day in P.C., we
know that it isn't a real place. Right? Well, not
exactly. You see, Port Charles was based on the real
city of Rochester, New York. Back in 1993 GH actually filmed on location in Rochester as part of
capitalizing on the event of the Spencers' return.
So, while to most people Rochester is just a place on
the map, perhaps to us soapfans it's become a little
bit more.
Do you ever wonder what Port Charles looks like?
Beyond what you see on the sets or sketchy views from
outside the penthouse windows, do you ever try to
picture what it would look like as a real city? Well,
those of you who watched the Spencers' return were
given a glimpse of what "the real Port Charles" looks
like. You must surly remember Luke and Laura speeding
down the rainy streets in their infamous Pink Cadillac.
That was shot right downtown on Main St. Rochester.
How about the beautiful, aerial shots of 10-year-old
Lucky and Sly running along the green banks of the
river on their way to the catacombs? Or the scene of
Lucky waking up at dawn after sleeping on river grass?
You can thank the parks surrounding Rochester for
those locations. And who could forget Luke and
Laura's final descent as they parachuted into Port
Charles? That scene was done about 45 minutes south
of Rochester at a place called Letchworth State Park.
For those of you who never saw those episodes, I highly
recommend getting copies. It gives a much different
feeling to Port Charles than the enclosed, small scope
we get from the regular sets every day. (Personal
note: I wish GH would go on location more often!)
There are some other things about Port Charles that
I have always wondered and, thanks to Pittsford
telling me about Rochester - "the real Port Charles"
- I understand a little better now. For example:
Why is there still snow on the docks in late March?
Why isn't an
important company like ELQ located in Manhattan? Because "the real Port Charles," for its relatively
small size, still has a very impressive business center.
In fact, Pittsford shared that there actually is a
family owned company, one of the 100 largest privately
owned companies in the country, that could easily be
ELQ. Just imagine - there really could be a family of
Q's in this world.
Why is so much business and activity centered around
the docks?
Well, in "the real Port Charles," there is
basically a lot of water. Lake Ontario is just to the
north and both the Genesee River and the Erie Canal
flow through the city. Remember the rapids Luke and
Laura had to ride to sneak into the city?
Why is every
shopping spree, from Emily's trendy clothes to V's "heiress"
wardrobe done at Wyndham's or the Port Charles Hotel
and not in New York City?
Why does every young genius go to P.C.U.?
Why does everyone always hang out at the park?
Why is Sonny always sending people over the boarder
into Canada, even to deliver his mail?
A final note from Pittsford, "the real Port Charles"
has a well known Art Gallery and is home to the
International Museum of Photography and Film. Maybe
Liz won't have to go so far to show her work :)
So, there you have it. There is a "real
Port Charles" in the world after all. Maybe Rochester,
New York isn't quite the escape that we soapfans can
get by visiting our Port Charles on ABC, but it can
give a little glimpse into what the actual city might
be like. Thank you to Pittsford for sharing with her
fellow soapfans. If any of you would like to see the
Spencers' return shot in Rochester, edited copies of
those episodes are available at GH Tapes
(Personal note: I think I'll start bugging TPTB to film
on location there again).
Our fellow soapfan,
"Pittsford," was a citizen of Rochester at the time
the Spencers' filmed their adventures there.
She had a lot to say about her former home and our
favorite
soap city. Although Rochester doesn't have a General
Hospital complete with Hardys and Quartermaines on staff,
or a Kelly's Diner where the police
commissioner hangs out with ex-prostitutes,
it's still close enough to "the real Port Charles" to
provide us with a few hints about our favorite
destination for escape.
Because "the real Port Charles" is located in far
upstate New York and gets about 95 inches of snow a
year. It's no wonder Carly wanted that fur coat!
Well, "the real Port Charles" is located in New
York State, but it's 359 miles from NYC. It would take
7 hours to drive there, which explains why Nik
insisted the "fab four" fly when they took their day
trip to Manhattan last fall.
It's not really that far-fetched. "The real Port
Charles" does have it's own university that actually
has received some international acclaim.
It's most
renowned school is the Eastman School of Music,
so maybe Ned should teach there if AJ ever manages to
usurp his place at ELQ.
According to Pittsford there are actually over
3,000 parks, malls, and green areas in the whole city.
So, I guess the question should be, how does
everyone manage to hang out in the same park?
Actually, the Canadian boarder via Buffalo is only
78 miles from "the real Port Charles."
The reason Lucky
was gone so long when Sonny sent him to Canada last
January is because he went all the way to Manitoba!
No wonder he told Liz, "there was way too much of it!"
Article by Boo and Pittsford
Pictures by CurlyQgrl
3X5 copies of the pictures on this page are
available at
CurlyQgrl@aol.com
