Lockport (city), New York

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History


The construction of the Erie Canal was authorized by the New York State Legislature 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 located in nearby Cold Springs, New York. As it became known where the proposed canal was to be built, 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 whole area of what would eventually become Lockport was owned by only fifteen men, many of whom were Quakers.

The canal reached Lockport in 1824, but the locks were not completed until 1825. By 1829, Lockport had become 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 Celtic influence still discernible today, especially in the neighborhoods of Lowertown and North Lockport.

The city of Lockport was officially incorporated in 1865.

The Erie Canal 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 remains as a spill way.

In recent years public officials and private businesses have made an effort to incorporate Lockport history into regional if not a national tourist attraction. This includes the completion of the Canal Discovery Center, Lockport Cave Tours, and The Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises. Currently, 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 a living history site in Lockport marketed as a day trip from Niagara Falls could draw thousands to Lockport yearly.

The city has a number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

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. Following 10 years of ownership by Delphi Corporation as Delphi Thermal Systems, it returned to General Motors in October 2009.

Geography


According to the United States 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) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (1.39%) is water.

The Erie Canal passes through the center of the city, turning south toward Tonawanda Creek. It climbs the Niagara Escarpment through a series of two modern locks. Originally, a double set of five combined smaller locks were used.



Lockport is at the junction of several major trunk roads, including NY Route 78 (Transit Road), NY Route 31, NY Route 77 and NY Route 93. It is 17 miles north of Interstate 90 via NY Route 78 (Transit Rd.).

Lockport lies in the 716 Area Code.

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 located 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 is home to the widest bridge (399' wide x 129' length) in North America which spans the canal to the southwest of the locks.
 * The Lockport Caves tour can be taken near the locks.
 * The Niagara County Historical Society located at 215 Niagara Street in Lockport, NY. It is a complex of buildings that together 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 located 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 is now the home of the Molson Canal Concert Series on Friday evenings in the summer. The series brings national acts to the recently constructed Ulrich City Centre and events are free of admission charge.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, 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, 7.2% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

(2000 Census)There were 9,459 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 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.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% 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 income for a household in the city was $35,222, and the median income for a family was $44,614. Males had a median income of $35,197 versus $23,944 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,620. About 11.7% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, 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 subsequently reelected in 2007 and 2011, and is serving his third four-year term. First Ward Alderman Richelle Pasceri is the President of the Common Council, the first woman to hold the post.

Notable natives
Some people of note who were born in Lockport are:
 * Kim Alexis, supermodel
 * Helen Stuart Campbell, social reformer and home economist
 * Ferrin Fraser, radio script writer for Little Orphan Annie and Frank Buck
 * LtCol William G. Gregory, astronaut(ret.) in the NASA Space Shuttle program
 * Othniel Charles Marsh, pre-eminent 19th century paleontologist, discovered and named many fossils found in the American West.
 * William E. Miller, 1964 vice-presidential running mate of Barry Goldwater
 * Stephanie Miller, nationally syndicated radio talk show host (and daughter of William E. Miller)
 * William G. Morgan, inventor of volleyball
 * Joyce Carol Oates, author and professor
 * John J. Raskob, DuPont and General Motors executive
 * Mark Wahlstrom, founder of The Legal Broadcast Network
 * Brock Yates, noted automotive writer and author, former Sr. Editor of Car and Driver Magazine, wrote story and scripts for the movies Cannonball Run, and Smokey & the Bandit 2.
 * Sean Kugler, assistant coach for Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL
 * Timothy McVeigh, convicted terrorist responsible for Oklahoma City Bombing.

Notable residents
Some people of note who have resided in Lockport are:
 * Raphael Beck, 1848–1947, Internationally recognized American artist/sculptor.
 * Geoffrey Giuliano, Author, actor and syndicated radio host.
 * Herbert C. Harrison, sometimes credited with the invention of the modern honeycomb automobile radiator 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
 * Mark Hopkins, Jr., 1813–1878, Lawyer and Businessman who lived in Reynolds Basin (east of Gasport in Niagara County) and later Lockport from ABT 1829 to ABT 1848. He eventually became one of the "Big Four" of California (i.e. The Central Pacific Railroad) with partners Stanford, Crocker, and Huntington that formed in 1861.
 * William E. Miller, American prosecutor at Nuremberg War-Crimes trials; Member of United States House of Representatives 1951-1965; Republican National Committee 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. Later starred in American Express "Do you know me?" commercials.
 * William Rand Kenan, Jr., 1872–1965, Industrialist and Philanthropist
 * O.C. Marsh, Paleontologist.
 * Aaron Albert Mossell, First African American to graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School
 * Chauncey Olcott, American 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.

Notable businesses

 * First Niagara Bank, Founded in 1870 as Farmers & Mechanics Savings Bank, has grown to include branches throughout NY and PA, and with the acquisition of NewAlliance Bank based in New Haven, CT in April 2011 will be one of the largest regional banks in the country.
 * Transit Drive-In Theatre, Operating out of Lockport since 1952, it stands as one of the few Drive-in theatres left in NY.
 * The Lockport Palace Theatre, Operating out of Lockport since 1925, it is notable for retaining its original proscenium-arch-style space.