Lockport is both a city and the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

that surrounds it in

Niagara County, New York Niagara County is in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 212,666. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word ''Onguiaahra''; meaning ''the strait'' or ''thunder of ...

, United States. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 2019. Its name derives from a set of

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigability, navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ...

locks (Lock Numbers 34 and 35) within the city that were built to allow canal barges to traverse the of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

. It is part of the

Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area The Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan statistical area is a metropolitan area, designated by the United States Census Bureau, encompassing two counties - Erie and Niagara - in the state of New York. It is the second-largest metropolit ...

History

The New York State Legislature authorized the

's construction in April 1816. The route proposed by surveyors was to traverse an area in central Niagara County, New York, which was then "uncivilized" and free of White settlers. At the time, the nearest settlers were in nearby Cold Springs, New York. Following the announcement, land speculators began to buy large plots along and near the proposed route of the canal. By December 1820, when the exact location of the step locks had been determined, the area that would become Lockport was owned by only fifteen men, many of whom were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

. The canal reached Lockport in 1824, but the Flight of Five Locks were not completed until 1825. By 1829, Lockport was an established village. The community was centered on the locks, and consisted mainly of immigrant Scottish and Irish canal workers brought in as labor. The workers remained in Lockport after the completion of the locks, giving the city a heavy

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic influence still discernible today, especially in the central and northern areas. The city of Lockport was incorporated in 1865. The

was supplanted by the larger New York State Barge Canal in 1918, and the famous south "Flight of Five" locks was replaced by two much larger locks E34 and E35. The north "Flight of Five" lock chambers still remain as a spillway. In recent years, public officials and private businesses have made an effort to promote Lockport history as a regional or national tourist attraction. This includes the completion of the Canal Discovery Center, the Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride tour, and the Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises. Local officials are seeking state grants to reconstruct the historic "Flight of Five" and make it a living history site complete with boat rides and reenactors. Published reports state that such a living history site in Lockport, marketed as a day trip from Niagara Falls, could draw thousands of tourists to Lockport each year. The city has a number of properties on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. They include the Bacon-Merchant-Moss House, Col. William M. and Nancy Ralston Bond House, Chase-Crowley-Keep House, Chase-Hubbard-Williams House, Nathan Comstock Jr. House, Conkey House, '' Day Peckinpaugh'', Dole House, Gibbs House, High and Locust Streets Historic District, Hopkins House, House at 8 Berkley Drive, Lockport Industrial District, Lowertown Historic District, Maloney House, Benjamin C. Moore Mill, Niagara County Courthouse and County Clerk's Office, Thomas Oliver House, Pound–Hitchins House, Stickney House,

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

, Peter D. Walter House, Watson House, and White-Pound House. Lockport's largest employer is General Motors Components, the former Harrison Radiator Corporation, which was founded locally in 1912 and which became a division of General Motors Corporation in 1918. After 10 years of ownership by Delphi Corporation as Delphi Thermal Systems, it returned to General Motors in October 2009. In 1948, the Lockport Chief of Police denied a permit for a

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

minister to preach in a public park using a

sound truck A sound truck is a vehicle equipped with a public address system and loudspeakers, typically used to play recorded messages at high volume to the public while driving through residential areas. They are used in many countries by groups to dissem ...

. In '' Saia v. New York'', the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the city ordinance as a violation of the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.4 km²), of which 8.5 square miles (22.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) (1.39%) is water. The

passes through the center of the city, turning south toward

Tonawanda Creek Tonawanda Creek is a small tributary of the Niagara River in Western New York, United States. After rising in Wyoming County, the stream flows through Genesee County before forming part of the boundary between Erie County and Niagara County ...

. It climbs the Niagara Escarpment through a series of two modern locks. Originally, a double set of five smaller combined locks were used. Lockport is at the junction of several major truck routes, including NY Route 78 (Transit Road), NY Route 31, NY Route 77 and NY Route 93. It is 17 miles north of

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

via NY Route 78. The highest point is the bell tower at 452 High Street, with the street itself being the highest street as measured by frontage above the 650 feet elevation. Lockport lies in area code 716.

Tourist attractions

* The Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises boat rides are offered on the Erie Canal, with one proceeding upward through the modern locks for a short cruise, and returning to pass downstream under two lift bridges and then returning to the docks. * The Lockport Erie Canal Museum is in an old lock control structure between the modern Locks 34 & 35 and the remaining original "Flight of Five" Locks spillway, and contains historic photographs, maps, engineering drawings and antique machinery. * The Canal Discovery Center is housed in an old church about 100 yards to the west of the locks. * Lockport has the widest bridge (399' wide x 129' long) in North America, which spans the canal to the southwest of the locks. * The Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride tour can be taken near the locks. * The Niagara County Historical Society, at 215 Niagara Street, is a complex of buildings that tell the story of Niagara County history. * 100 American Craftsmen is an annual show of arts and crafts held at the Kenan Arena. The arena is on the historic Kenan Center campus. * Ida Fritz Park plays host to the Taste of Lockport every August and to a cruise night every Monday during the summer. * Lockport has an ice rink for the Clarence Mustangs and Lockport Express (now defunct team in the North American 3 Hockey League) called Cornerstone Arena.

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 21,165 people, 9,153 households and 5,172 families residing in the city. There were 10,092 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 87.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.8% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 3.2% of the population. At the 2000 census, there were 9,459 households; 30.5% of households included children under the age of 18, 41.4% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.03. 25.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $35,228, and the median family income was $44,614. Males had a median income of $35,197 and females $23,944. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $19,620. About 11.7% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Local politics

The city is governed by a mayor and a city council. The mayor is elected to a four-year term, the aldermen to two-year terms. There are five wards in the city, resulting in five aldermen plus one alderman-at-large, who is elected by the entire city. In 2003, Michael W. Tucker was elected mayor of the city of Lockport; he was reelected in 2007 and 2011. However, he resigned in 2014 during an investigation into his scandal. Nothing became of the scandal after multiple council members reached out to the governor to launch the investigation. instead of serving his third four-year term. City of Lockport Common Council President and 2nd Ward Alderwoman Anne McCaffrey replaced Tucker as interim mayor and was sworn in on February 24, 2014. She was later elected to a full four-year term that began in January 2016. She resigned and accepted the position as president and CEO of Eastern Niagara Hospital.

Education

Lockport City School District oversees all local public schools. The district includes all of Lockport city and most of Lockport town. * Anna Merritt Elementary School * Charles Upson Elementary School * George M. Southard Elementary School * Roy B. Kelley Elementary School * Emmet Belknap Intermediate School * Aaron Mossell Junior High School * Lockport High School * Lockport High School West * DeSales Catholic School DeSales Catholic School is a local private elementary school within the regional Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. The school was named after St. Francis de Sales. Previously a high school, it now teaches classes from pre-school through eighth grade.

Notable people

Some people of note who were born in Lockport are: * Kim Alexis, supermodel * Walter Ransom Gail Baker, former vice president of

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

, director of engineering for the Radio Manufacturers Association, founder of

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

* Philip Baruth, writer and politician * George W. Batten, former New York State Treasurer * Anna Smeed Benjamin (1834–1924), social reformer * Holly Broadbent Sr., orthodontist * Lillian Bronson, film/TV character actress * Ellen Burrell, professor of mathematics at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

* Bernard Buzyniski, retired

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

player * Helen Stuart Campbell, social reformer and home economist * Jerry Cook, race car driver * Francis R. Delano, banker and lawyer * Geoffrey Deuel, actor * Lyman Draper, secretary for the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin * M. A. B. Evans, poet * David Fluellen, pro football player * Ferrin Fraser, radio script writer for ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...

'' and '' Frank Buck'' * Harold Huston George, general officer in the United States Army Air Forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

* Lt Col William G. Gregory, astronaut (ret.) in the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

program * Katherine Hannigan, writer * Tommy Hicks, boxer * Alice Tisdale Hobart, novelist * William Leonard Hunt (1838–1929), also known by the stage name the Great Farini, tightrope performances at Niagara Falls, inventor of the " human cannonball" * James Jackson, Jr., former US congressman, Mayor of Lockport * Sean Kugler, head coach for the

UTEP Miners football The UTEP Miners football program represents University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the sport of American football. The Miners compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and in Conferenc ...

team * William F. Leonard, Medal of Honor recipient * Duane Lyman, architect * Jane Rignel, Recipient of the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of paleontology. A prolific fossil collector, Marsh was one of the preeminent paleontologists of the nineteenth century. Among his legacies are the discovery or ...

, 19th-century paleontologist, discovered and named many fossils found in the American West * Timothy McVeigh, convicted terrorist responsible for

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

Stephanie Miller Stephanie Catherine Miller (born September 29, 1961) is an American political commentator, comedian, and host of '' The Stephanie Miller Show'', a Progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles, California, by WYD Media Management and ...

, nationally syndicated radio talk show host and daughter of William E. Miller * William E. Miller, 1964 vice presidential running mate of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

* William G. Morgan, inventor of

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* John Murphy,

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

radio announcer * Edwin Griswold Nourse, economist *

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

, author and professor * Frank C. Penfold, artist, teacher * Cuthbert W. Pound, former Chief Judge of the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

* John J. Raskob, DuPont and General Motors executive * John B. Raymond, delegate from

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

* Chris Sacca, tech start-up venture capitalist, former Head of Special Initiatives at

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

* John Shulock, retired MLB umpire * Clip Smith, talk radio host * Mark Snell, retired professional soccer player, former coach * Brandon Stickney, journalist, author, and documentarian * Daren Stone, professional football player * Robert Thurston, science fiction writer *

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

, race car driver * Charley Wood, amusement park developer * Brock Yates, automotive writer and author, senior editor of ''Car and Driver'' magazine, wrote story and scripts for movies ''

The Cannonball Run ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action-comedy film directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong firm Golden Harvest, and distributed by 20th Century-Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Burt Reynolds ...

'' and ''Smokey & the Bandit 2'' Some people of note who have resided in Lockport are: * Maltbie Davenport Babcock, clergyman *

John J. Bagley John Judson Bagley (July 24, 1832 – July 27, 1881) was a politician from the US state of Michigan, as well as the 16th governor of Michigan. Early life in New York and Michigan Bagley was born in Medina, New York to John and Mary M. (Smith) B ...

, former governor of Michigan * Raphael Beck (1848–1947), artist, sculptor * John Beilein, former collegiate and professional basketball coach * John Black, former mayor of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

* William W. Campbell, former New York state senator * Lot Clark, former US congressman * Richard Crowley, former US congressman * Oliver Dyer, first Congressional shorthand reporter * Brent Nicholson Earle, AIDS activist * Lewis Eaton, former US congressman * Timothy E. Ellsworth, former New York state senator * Thomas T. Flagler, former US congressman * David Gibson, Canadian politician * Geoffrey Giuliano, author, actor and syndicated radio host * William G. Gregory, NASA astronaut * Herbert C. Harrison, sometimes credited with the invention of the modern honeycomb automobile

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

and founder of Harrison Radiator, now a part of General Motors' components division * William Hawley, Union Army Brigadier General * Birdsill Holly, inventor, credited with inventing the first integrated fire hydrant system along with 150 U.S. patents, many related to the Holly Steam Combination Company * Mark Hopkins, Jr., 1813–1878, lawyer and businessman who lived in Reynales Basin (east of Gasport in Niagara County) and later Lockport from c. 1829 to c. 1848; eventually became one of the "Big Four" of California (i.e. The Central Pacific Railroad) with partners Stanford, Crocker, and Huntington that was formed in 1861 * Washington Hunt, former governor of New York * Michael Huskey,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Tom Jolls, TV weatherman * William R. Kenan, Jr., businessman * Benajah Mallory,

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

political figure * William E. Miller, American prosecutor at Nuremberg War-Crimes trials; member of

1951–1965;

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

Chairman 1961–1964; Republican Party Vice President nominee on 1964 Goldwater-Miller ticket; only practicing Catholic to be nominated for national office by the party until

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

in 2012; later starred in

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

"Do you know me?" commercials * Charles F. Mitchell, former US congressman * Aaron Albert Mossell, first African American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School * Jeremy O'Day, retired CFL player * Chauncey Olcott, stage actor and songwriter, known for the ballad " When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"; Olcott spent summers as a youth in Lockport in an "Irish shanty" with his maternal grandmother * Charles Gilbert Peterson, former mayor and contractor * Gilbert Peterson, contractor of multiple waterworks and reservoirs projects along with expansion of the Erie Canal; superintendent of both the Western and Eastern divisions of the Erie Canal * Jesse Peterson, presidential elector and industrialist, president of the United Indurated Fibre Company * Lyman C. Pettit, founder and first president of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (now

Eastern Nazarene College The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) was a Private university#United States, private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. Established as a Holiness Movement, holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college m ...

) * Thomas Stinson,

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, businessman * The Seven Sutherland Sisters, long-haired singing group traveling with Barnum and Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth" * Burt Van Horn, former US congressman * Thomas Wall, Wisconsin businessman and state legislator * Samuel Works, former New York state senator

Notable businesses

Yahoo Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, an ...

operates a large data center to the west of the city. * First Niagara Bank, founded in 1870 as Farmers & Mechanics Savings Bank, has grown to include branches throughout New York and Pennsylvania and, with the April 2011 acquisition of NewAlliance Bank based in New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the largest regional banks in the country. * General Motors, Lockport was founded in 1910 as the Harrison Radiator Company for the purpose of designing, manufacturing, and selling automotive radiators and components. Since that time the company has flourished into a lean manufacturing site that produces a wide array of Powertrain Cooling and HVAC components and systems. The company has historically been a significant employer of the local population and currently employs almost 1400 people. * The Palace Theatre a neoclassical theatre, was constructed by Charles Dickinson beginning in 1922 and opening July 18, 1925. During opening, Lock City Theater Company President A. Edmund Lee was quoted as saying it was "built not for the aristocracy, but for all the people.” It is designed with a mix of art deco and Italian Renaissance styles complete with wall and ceiling murals. The theatre underwent an interior redesign in 1936, with John Eberson as the architect. In 1969, the Palace Theatre closed its doors, and it stood vacant until it was bought by Granchelli Real Estate in 1972. Although there was talk of demolishing the theatre, the Palace reopened later that same year "under either direct or indirect management of the Dipson Theatres chain." The theatre underwent restorations in 1973, and it reopened in 1974. By 1999 profits started to dwindle as other businesses began to leave Lockport's downtown area and patrons became less frequent. Later that same year, "Curtain Up Productions" leased the space until 2003, when the theatre was sold to Historic Palace Theatre Inc., a community-based not-for-profit organization which has maintained its commitment to keeping the theatre active. In 2021, the Palace Theatre finished its most recent restoration project at a cost of $4.1 million, with "$600,000 coming through Lockport's Downtown Revitalization Initiative award."

References

* Peca, Paulette (2005), ''Lockport'', Arcadia Publishing,

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockport, New York Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area Cities in New York (state) Cities in Niagara County, New York County seats in New York (state) Erie Canal