Our Organization

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The Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation collaborates with private and public organizations to provide the premier Erie Canal experience for visitors.   

The Lockport Locks Heritage District is a nationally recognized heritage attraction, featuring the fully restored and operating circa 1842 Enlarged Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks adjacent to Barge Canal Locks 34 & 35. The Locks Heritage District is fully interpreted, and it attracts thousands of visitors annually.  

The Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation is organized as a 501c3 subsidiary of the City of Lockport’s economic development agency, the Greater Lockport Development Corporation. The LHDC is governed by a 13-person Board of Directors, is audited annually and it complies with the provisions of the Public Authorities Accountability Act of the State of New York. Since the New York State Canal Corporation is the owner/operator of the New York State Canal System, the LHDC does not own the assets of the Erie Canal Flight of Five; however, the LHDC does operate the Flight of Five Locks under the terms of an annually renewable permit from the Canal Corporation.

The Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation (LHDC) was organized in 2014 as the successor organization to the 12-year-old City of Lockport Flight of Five Committee, which had championed the rehabilitation of the Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks. The LHDC, in addition to agreeing to campaign for the complete rehabilitation of all five of the historic Erie Canal-era locks, accepted the fiduciary responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the rehabilitated locks as well as the implementation of additional improvements detailed in the Erie Canal Flight of Five Interpretive Plan (Eisterhold Associates, 2012) so that the community could realize the full economic benefit from this unique Erie Canal heritage site.

To fulfill its mission, the Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation (LHDC) has initiated, organized, and implemented several major projects including improvement of the Locks District Museum, historical rehabilitation of Erie Canal Locks #68, #69,and #70, and installation of the Lock Tenders Tribute.  LHDC also supports and coordinates the activities of over 200 volunteers who beautify the area around the Locks, maintain the Locks District Museum, conduct the guided Flight of Five Lock Tender Tour, and offer demonstrations of the rehabilitated Flight of Five Locks.  Current LHDC projects include production of America's Stairway, a video documentary focused on the Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks (visit https://americasstairway.com), to be released in conjunction with the Erie Canal Bicentennial and the 2025 World Canals Conference. 

The Lockport Locks Heritage District yearly tabulates pedestrian traffic in the Locks District through the use of a series of infrared trail counters to gather data to support both on-going and future LHDC activities. 

The Lockport Locks Heritage District and the Erie Canal Discovery Center are regarded as one of the best interpreted sites on the New York State Canal System. 

In 2015, the Lockport Locks Heritage District was awarded the Erie Canalway Heritage Award of Excellence. The  Award of Excellence celebrates significant places in the Erie Canalway where people have come together to preserve and share our heritage or to make part of the Canalway Corridor a vibrant place to live, work, or visit.

The Heritage Award recognizes outstanding places and highlights the work that has gone into making them great. Erie Canalway shares best practices and lessons learned from award recipients in hopes that others will be inspired by and learn from them.