Cyclists in Spencerport © Andy Olenick
involved
Erie Canalway Home Erie Canalway Explore Learn Erie Canalway Get Involved Erie Canalway About Us Erie Canalway Gallery Erie Canalway Contact
 
Arts Forum
Awards Program
Economic Revitalization
Grants and Funding
Heritage Tourism
Historic Preservation
Interpretive Signs and orientation
Newsletter Sign-up
.
Photo Contest and Calendar
Resource Center
Trails and Rails Program
Workshops and Training
What You Can Do
image
 
vf df dsfdf
cvc Get Involved: Awards Program
 
2009 Honorable Mention
Erie Canal Discovery Center and Lockport Visitor's Center, Lockport
 
The 2009 Jury selected the Erie Canal Discovery Center and Lockport Visitor’s Center for its contribution to heritage tourism development and promotion. The jury commended the project for:
 

  • Saving an 1843 stone church, proximate to Lockport’s Flight of Five, from demolition and transforming it into a museum and visitor center;
     

  • Developing sophisticated and engaging professional exhibits that showcase Lockport’s critical role in the expansion of the Erie Canal westward;
     

  • Employing a business savvy approach to forge effective partnerships among community organizations, businesses, and canal-related attractions that are improving the visitor experience;
     

  • Contributing to economic development in Lockport by serving as an anchor location for tourists and providing the impetus for redevelopment in the Erie Canal Heritage District overlooking the Lockport Flight of Five.
     

  • Fostering community pride with a memorable, high quality institute.

 
Project Description
 Opened in 2005, the Erie Canal Discovery Center and Lockport Visitor’s Center serve as a critical starting place for visitors to Lockport, whose historic Flight of Five locks remain “the holy grail” of early canal engineering.
 
The project involved a million dollar transformation of a former historic church and is the result of an innovative partnership among the Niagara County Historical Society, which designed and operates the Discovery Center, the City of Lockport, which operates the visitor center, and The First Presbyterian Church, which owns the building. A coordinated, disciplined, and professional approach to planning and project implementation proved a highly successful method of achieving results.
 
As a centerpiece of the Discovery Center, a 13’ x 20’ mural by Raphael Beck, painted in 1925, depicts the story of the opening of the Erie Canal in Lockport. The painting is brought to life in the Center’s interactive exhibits and innovative film, which showcases Lockport’s critical role in the western expansion of the Erie Canal through the Niagara Escarpment.
 
By partnering with other canal-related attractions in Lockport, the visitor center and museum provide visitor orientation and a starting place for excursions to the historic Lockport Flight of Five, Erie Canal Cruises, Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride, area historic sites, and trolley service to attractions. The center instituted a popular Lockport Passport to offer combined discount admission and visitation grew to 15,000 in 2008, including 1,500 students from across Western New York.
 
Erie Canal Discovery Center and Lockport Visitor’s Center are contributing a self-sustaining engine of economic growth based on cultural heritage development in Lockport. Yet the success of this project is not solely to the benefit of Lockport alone. Steeped in Erie Canal history, with the historic Lockport Flight as its centerpiece, the Erie Canal Discovery Center contributes substantially to preservation, interpretation, and heritage tourism goals of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. 		 
     
tile tile tile
  Detail, Raphael Beck mural  
   
Detail, mural by Raphael Beck, which is the centerpiece of the Discovery Center.
 		  
  Educational program  
   
Volunteers bring historic figures to life in programs at the center.
 		  
  Flight of Five and present-day locks, Lockport  
   
The Erie Canal Discovery Center offers an excellent starting place for visitors to Lockport's Flight of Five.
  		 
 
back to awards main page > 		 
Erie Canaways e-news sign up Corridor Map FOIA and Accessibility Information
kl