New Exhibit Celebrating Downtown Lockport Now Open At Gaylord Building

LOCKPORT, IL — A new exhibit at the Gaylord Building Historic Site celebrates a milestone in Lockport’s story: fifty years since its downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a news release from the Gaylord Building.

"50 Years to Overnight Success: The Story of the Lockport National Historic District, 1975–2025" explores how a small town rallied to save its historic core, and in doing so, redefined its future, a new release states.

The exhibit uses building histories, visuals and local voices to share how decaying industrial sites became restaurants, galleries, museums and community hubs.

Featuring unique and original artwork by Lockport artist and architect Bob Morris, and with contributions from historian Clint Cargile, the exhibit traces key preservation victories that helped shape today’s Lockport, according to the news release.

From saving the old Central School (now City Hall) in the 1970s, the Gaylord Building in the 1980s, the Norton Building in the 1990s, to more recent revivals like Embers, the Roxy Theater, and the Opera House, the exhibit chronicles how decades of preservation have transformed downtown Lockport.

The exhibit is open through March in the third-floor gallery of the Gaylord Building, 200 W. Eighth St., in Lockport. Admission is free.