| Welcome
to the Erie Canal Discovery Center. We invite you to visit us and experience the
great accomplishment of the 19th Century - the Erie Canal. Explaining
the role that Lockport played in the opening of the Erie Canal is the interpretive
mission of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. The visitor is drawn at once
to the immense mural that is the artistic focal point of the Center. The
mural, "The Opening of the Erie Canal, October 26, 1825" painted by
A. Raphael Beck, depicts the grand celebration that would have accompanied Dewitt
Clinton's passage through the locks at Lockport.
Raphael Beck, an award winning American artist, made his home in
Lockport for most of his life. The Erie Canal Discovery Center is pleased that
it can now provide a state-of-the-art facility in which the public can view the
mural. The
Beck Mural forms the basis for much that happens at the Discovery Center.
In addition to the beautiful "gallery" in which to display this piece
of art, many of the "hands-on" interpretive exhibits draw from individuals
depicted in the mural. Computer kiosks stationed in the viewing room allow
the observer to meet and dialog with people from the past, as depicted in the
Beck mural. An exchange of questions and answers helps to guide the visitor
through the learning process. After viewing the mural, guests are invited
to enter an automated theater, where the audio/visual recreation will help them
to feel as if they really witnessed the events depicted. Following the narration,
"passengers" will board a recreation of an actual Erie Canal packet
boat, the Western Comet, for a nighttime "ride" upon the Erie Canal.
The trip is fraught with sensory perceptions, sights and sounds from long ago.
Visitors are even skirted around an 1800's tavern brawl, to add to the illusion
of time-travel. After
completing the "canal trip," visitors are allowed to sample from among
several other "hands-on" activities. A reproduction of the rock-wall
allows guests to find "hidden treasures" within an actual reproduction
of the geology found in Lockport. A working replica of a canal lock
has observers performing simple tasks to raise and lower water levels, within
the miniature lock, to move a "canal boat" along its path. The
Erie Canal Discovery Center is a short walk (one block) to the Lockport Locks
and other canal attractions and is fully handicapped accessible. Hours
of operation:
10AM to 5PM daily.
7
days a week, from June through October Admission:
$5 for adults
$3 for students under 13
Children
under 5 are admitted without charge. Group
tours are arranged through the Niagara County Historical Society at 716.434.7433
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