The Lockport Locks and
Canal District
The Lockport Locks
and
Canal District
A Tourism Service Of Lockport's
Home Page
www.Lockport-NY.com
Maps & Tourist Guides: Free tourist information on the Lockport Locks and Canal District, plus a brochure on a self-guided tour is available at a special tourism information area, just inside the main entrance of Lockport's Municipal Building which is on the north side of The Big Bridge (Main Street). Parking in front. Look for the flags out front.
Just north of Main Street in the
heart of downtown, canal Locks 34 and 35 can be seen in operation from both The Big Bridge
and The Pine Street Bridge.
A number of stairways and walkways allow close access to the locks and their operation by tourists. In the warm weather months, the locks are in use throughout the day and usually if one waits about an hour during the day, the entire process of lowering (or lifting) boats over the 50-foot drop can be witnessed. There are a number of overlooks and viewing areas. It is an impressive and educational experience. Informational sheets on the locks are available and a free self-directed walking tour of the area (Riley's Way) is described. One can spend a couple hours giving a full inspection to this engineering marvel of the 19th and early 20th century.
This picture, taken by Michael Donaldson from the "Upside-down Railroad Bridge," is looking west. (The bridge can be seen in the picture below) The view shows the lower lock, #34. That's the steeple of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in the center background. The church was built for Lockport's early German immigrants.
On the left is a portion of the "Lower Locks," #34, on the
State system. The eastern-most lock is seen wide open, having just released a boat.
To the extreme left in this picture, hardly visible, are remains of the original string of
five smaller locks.
In the middle are the lock houses and the Canal Museum. Seen spanning the canal to the east is the famous Lockport "Upside Down Bridge."
The entire Lock complex is connected by convenient walkways.
To the left of the lock house and Canal Museum is the remains of the
one flight of an older, much smaller set of five locks, that date to the first half of the
19th century. They now appear as a series of dramatic water falls which must be seen
from the lower level to be appreciated. When the new, wider, canal locks you see
today were opened in 1918, the smaller sets remained only as relic of the original
project. Upon seeing the first set of locks, General Marquise de Lafayette
proclaimed them to be one of the greatest engineering feats of the world.
When you visit Lockport and study this engineering marvel of the 19th and 20th centuries, plenty of guidance is available. Free written material for a self-directed tour is given out on site and guides are on duty during peak vacation times. Always, friendly Lockportians will be happy to answer your questions.
Be sure to allow time to witness boats going through the Locks, an event that takes place about every hour during the daytime summer season. While waiting for marine traffic to go through the locks a visit to the Canal Museum is recommended.
The locks complex is extensive. We have shown only portions of one set of locks and a fraction of the area you need to see.
Lockport Canal
Museum (Telephone 434-3140) open during most daylight hours with free
admission. Displays historic canal memorabilia. A hydroelectric station in the south side
of the canal complex generates electricity as water moves generators in its 50 foot drop
at Lockport from the level of the Niagara River to the level of the Genesee River.
National Mechanical Engineering Heritage Site. A historical marker located near the Canal Museum in the Lockport Locks complex notes that on the north side of the canal was the old Holly Manufacturing Company. The Holly System of fire protection and water supply was conceived here by inventor, Birdsill Holly (1820-1894), in 1863. Birdsill Holly earned over 150 patents, most related to water, pumps, and power. He was responsible for many inventions, end-products for many of which, were manufactured here in Lockport. Only limited ruins of the Holly Manufacturing Company, which once employed 500, remain along the north side of the canal.
Lockport "Cave" & Underground Boat Ride. This is a commercial venture that makes use of a man-made water tunnel on the south side of the canal. The 2430-foot hydraulic raceway had been constructed to supply waterpower to numerous mills and factories. It was blasted out of solid rock and excavated by the use of Irish emigrant labor…a project that took over a year and a half in the period 1858-59. The tunnel is large enough to walk through, and because of its age, the very beginning of textbook cave formations can be observed. It varies between about 20, to more than 60 feet below the surface. A guided tour takes you through the tunnel (underground temperature a constant 55-degrees F.) with some of the distance by boat, some walking. Lots of stair climbing, not for the disabled. Tours, seven days a week, start at the ticket office at 21 Main Street at the Corner of Pine. Cost $7.50/person. For information call (716) 438-0174. For information on the "real" Lockport Cave go to: The Mystery Of The Lockport Cave, a section of the Lockport Cyber Museum of Rocks, Minerals, & Fossils.
The Big Bridge. When first built it was the widest bridge in the world. The bridge is so wide those motoring over it may not realize they are on a bridge. The bridge allows Main Street to cross over the canal right in front of the Lockport Municipal Building. Information on the bridge is offered on historical markers.
On "The Big Bridge" is this historical marker
in honor of the many Irish immigrants who came to Lockport to build the canal and the
locks. They were used to dealing with rock terrain in their native Ireland and their
hard work ethic was just what was needed for the very difficult job at Lockport. The
blasting of the very hard layers of Dolostone rock and other rock layers was achieved by
drilling into the rock to place black powder explosives. After the blast laborers
toiled to remove the rock, first moving it to sides of the canal. These huge rock
piles were later used as a source of stone for homes and buildings in the Lockport area
and even later by the State to reinforce bridge foundations and approaches. As
legend tells it, an incentive of whiskey was offered the workers at the end their day's
work
Major destination for
Irish emmigration. The construction of the locks and canal at Lockport was
made possible largely by Irish and Irish-American labor. The population of Lockport
continues to have a high percentage of population of Irish descent. Besides the
plaque on the Big Bridge these early Lockportians, along with Irish who went to other
destinations such as Boston and New York City, were honored by the United States Postal
Service in 1999 with a special commemorative stamp. The picture on the stamp show boats
leaving Ireland in the early 1800's.
Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises. During the summer, regular sight-seeing cruises along the canal at Lockport are offered several times daily (usually at 10A.M., 12:30 P.M., and 3 P.M.).The departure point at 210 Market Street, north of the downtown area at the foot of the hill, is a restored old warehouse with a most interesting display and reception area. It may be too far for you to walk to from the central canal district and downtown. Items of a Lockport nature are offered for sale. A modest food and refreshment bar is available with plenty of outside and inside seating. The narrated boat tour is informative and well done. It takes about 2 hours. $12.50/person; $8 for children 10 and under,. For information call (716) 433-6155. Season opens (on a limited schedule) May 7th. A cruise boat departs daily during the Spring and Fall at 12:30 and 3:00, (10:00, 12:30 and 3:00 on Saturdays) and during the summer we depart daily at 10, 12:30, 3 and 7PM.
Canal district shopping. Lockport's downtown surrounds the canal in the primary area of tourist interest. There are several restaurants within walking distance (See Restaurant Reviews) and the commercial activity one expects in a city downtown. The following retail establishments are within very close walking distance of the canal (they are in the city's "Canal District") and offer something different:
-Frames By Ames - Corner of Main and Market
Streets. Wide variety of pictures and art of the Lockport area.
-Gallery 12 - 12 West Main Street, on west side of The Big Bridge. Variety of
pictures and art of the Lockport area.
-Grimbles Hardware - 18 West Main Street. An old-fashioned hardware store with
many items from the past (yet still full-stocking with all of today's needs).
-Mills Jewelers - 51 Main Street near
the Pine Street Bridge is Lockport's oldest existing jewelry store. "The Lockport
Pendant" is available here along with a brochure describing the canal locks, some
city history, and how this has been included in the pendant (or lapel pin, tie tack, or
framed jewelery). See their web page for
information.
Lockport Hydroelectric Station. Water flow in the canal is west to east at this point and water is always flowing. When the locks are not in operation, water by-passes the locks at Lockport by flowing over the original five lock steps and by being routed through a hydroelectric plant located just east of the Pine Street Bridge and observable from the Canal Observation Deck accessable from Main Street.
Water going
through the hydro station makes the same near 60-foot drop but in this case the power of
the water drives hydroelectric generators which produce electricity. The hydro
station runs automatically and is in the red brick building seen on the right side of the
picture here.
Water not used to drive the generators and various overflow exits through the large pipe. Electricity from the hydro station is directed into the New York State power grid. In earlier days, hydroelectricity and water power were used to supply power for mills and industry along the banks here.
Canal Fishing. Yes, there are fish in the canal and some Lockportians find time for fishing daily. One of the spots is along the area to the left of the hydro station pictured above, fishing out into the main canal. Another location is at Widewater Marina area further east. Small and large mouth bass are common catches.
Off-Season. A view from "The Big Bridge" in early March 2006. The Erie-Barge Canal is mostly drained of water. Patches of ice cling to exposed cement structures. Years of litter and debris, normally "under water" shows up. For those interested, it is possible to more fully appreciate the task of building the locks and the job they do in season.
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