The Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad went bankrupt in 1899 and was reorganized as the Rochester and Suburban Railway.
The company purchased fifty acres to open a resort for picnicking and other summer activities, which opened to the public on August 5, 1879.
In 1879, the Rochester and Lake Ontario Railroad Company built a line from Portland Avenue in Rochester to the Sea Breeze neighborhood at the inlet of the bay. Several hotels opened at the port of Charlotte and along Irondequoit Bay to entertain summer visitors, and rail lines were built from the city to both destinations. In the 1870s, the lakeshore of Lake Ontario became a tourist destination for residents of the city of Rochester. The park features roller coasters, a variety of other rides, a midway, and a water park. According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), Seabreeze is the fourth-oldest operating amusement park in the United States and the thirteenth-oldest operating amusement park in the world, having opened in 1879. Seabreeze Amusement Park (Seabreeze) is a historic family amusement park located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester, where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario.
