Kodak Park, Rochester: work-history and asbestos evidence
A family may remember only “Kodak” or “Kodak Park.” Public records can help turn that memory into a more useful timeline by identifying the Rochester facility and court records describing asbestos exposure histories involving Kodak employment.
What the public record tells us
EPA identifies Kodak Park at 1669 Lake Avenue
EPA’s Superfund site profile identifies the Kodak Park Division of Eastman Kodak Company at 1669 Lake Avenue in Rochester, Monroe County.
A New York appellate decision describes Kodak employment and mesothelioma
In Matter of Gimber v Eastman Kodak Co., the Appellate Division described a worker who was employed by Kodak from 1967 to 1985 and whose widow sought death benefits after his mesothelioma diagnosis and death.
The court record considered more than one employer
The Gimber record discussed reported asbestos exposure at both Kodak and an earlier employer, International Paper. That is a useful reminder that a complete reconstruction may need to follow a worker across multiple jobs rather than stop at the last workplace.
What Kodak Park made and why the site was distinctive
Kodak Park was not simply an office campus. It developed as a large integrated photographic-manufacturing complex. Kodak's own history records the transfer of photographic film and paper manufacturing to newly built Kodak Park buildings in 1891. Over succeeding decades Rochester operations produced or supported roll film, photographic paper, motion-picture film, color film, medical imaging products and increasingly sophisticated coating and sensitizing processes.
For someone reconstructing a work history, ordinary production memories can be useful: film-base manufacturing, sensitizing/coating, finishing, paper manufacturing, laboratories, utilities, maintenance shops, warehouses, rail movements, chemical-processing areas or construction projects can all help identify the correct part of a very large complex.
Kodak Park — memory anchors
1891
Kodak moved manufacture of photographic film and paper into newly constructed buildings at Kodak Park.
1923
Kodak introduced 16 mm motion-picture film and equipment, part of the expanding film-manufacturing era.
1942
KODACOLOR negative film was announced; Rochester plants were heavily engaged in wartime production.
1950s–1960s
Film, medical imaging and processing equipment expanded, creating many different production and support environments across Rochester operations.
1986–1991
Kodak built and completed a new Rochester sensitizing plant for coating professional and motion-picture color films.
Today
The former Kodak Park is known as Eastman Business Park; Kodak continues film-base, sensitizing and finishing operations within the broader campus.
Kodak historical milestones → Kodak film-manufacturing overview →
How this can help reconstruct a work history
Historical records are most useful when they are connected to the person who actually worked there: the years, department, trade, tasks, equipment, contractors and coworkers remembered by the family. A documented workplace history can guide the questions; the individual work history supplies the context.
Which Kodak building or department?
Kodak Park was a large industrial complex. Building, department, process and supervisor names can sharply narrow the search.
What work was being done?
Maintenance, construction, utility work, production, electrical work, piping, insulation and contractor activity may create different research paths.
Was there earlier work elsewhere?
Prior employers, military service and contractor work can matter when reconstructing a lifetime history.
From this workplace to the next useful question
This pathway separates what public sources document about Kodak Park — Rochester from what still must be established for a particular person.
Documented here
- EVD-KODAK-FL-01 — EPA identifies the Kodak Park Division Eastman Kodak Co. site at 1669 Lake Avenue in Rochester, Monroe County, New York.
- EVD-KODAK-FL-02 — In Matter of Gimber v Eastman Kodak Co., the New York Appellate Division described a worker employed by Kodak from 1967 to 1985 whose widow sought death benefits after he died from mesothelioma, with the record discussing reported asbestos exposure at Kodak and an earlier employer.
- What exact years place the person at Kodak Park — Rochester?
- What job title, department, contractor, crew or work area can narrow the history?
- Which remembered detail best fits: building or department, job title, maintenance, utilities, production or nearby work?
- What employment, union, coworker, maintenance, specification or other record can connect the person to the correct time and place?
Primary and authoritative sources
- U.S. EPA — Kodak Park Division Eastman Kodak Co. Government record
- New York Appellate Division — Matter of Gimber v Eastman Kodak Co. (2020) Court decision
Continue the investigation
Rochester and Finger Lakes research → work-history reconstruction → industrial workers →
This workplace appears in an official DII site list
The DII Industries, LLC Asbestos PI Trust’s official Exhibit A list identifies Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, New York. The source-listed relationship is HAL 1936-01-01–1982-12-31.
Research outward from the workplace
A workplace can be one anchor in a larger exposure investigation. The next step may be a remembered trade, task, material, manufacturer, trust record or another workplace. These links are research pathways only; they do not establish that a particular product or manufacturer was present at this site.
Historical product research
Explore product families, material forms and historical evidence that may help identify what a worker remembers.
Manufacturer and trust research
Follow known company names into historical company, product and bankruptcy-trust research.
Occupation pathways
Start with the work itself—trade, task, equipment and nearby activity—when no product name is remembered.
Bankruptcy trust research
Review trust research and original-source pathways without assuming eligibility from a workplace memory alone.