Niagara History Center

By studying the timeline, what national events and/or societal shifts in the post-WWII era may have influenced the urban renewal movement in US cities? Using the inverted pyramid model of listing most important to least important, place the national events in order of significance. Separately, explain how events in Lockport NY paralleled those happening nationally?

Urban Renewal in the United States had it roots in the industrialization boom and the migration of disenfranchised populations from the South to the cities of the North in post-World War II America. Affordable automobiles, the Interstate Highway Act of 1956, and the growth of shopping plazas/malls, adversely affected local stores in large cities. These circumstances were paralleled in Lockport NY and other cities in the federal push for Urban Renewal beginning in the 1950s. 



Urban Renewal in Lockport, NY, Part 1: Setting the Stage, 1949 - 1961 

When Urban Renewal ended in Lockport NY in 1974, it left many empty lots and unfulfilled promises. Where once a busy shopping district and residential area existed, now contained large spaces between new businesses and virtually no housing for low income residents. In this slide show, you will see what Main Street and Lowertown looked like in Lockport before Urban Renewal and how those same places appeared in 2023. While viewing the photos, do you think the residents and businesses owners of Lockport today consider Urban Renewal a success or a failure? By comparing the before and after photos, what do you think were the positive and what were the negative aspects of Urban Renewal?  

Before and After: The Effects of Post-Urban Renewal on Lockport, NY 

Keep Lockport Beautiful. How might this be percieved in light of the situation? Do you see any irony in the photo? 

Urban Renewal: Process and Promises

In the early 1960s, the US the population continued to shift from the cities to the suburbs. In Lockport, Urban Renewal progressed from 1963 to 1974. Outside of the city, the area was transformed from farmland to retail and residential. Lockport's downtown district was altered as the process of purchasing properties, evicting residents and businesses, and razing the buildings proceeded. Plans for a "new" Main Street were publicized and public meetings were held to inform residents of would be taking place.     

By examining the images in the timelines, draw conclusions that will answer the questions: How did citizens react to Urban Renewal, both before and after its completion? How did they challenge proposals for Urban Renewal? 

Urban Renewal in Lockport NY, Part 2: Action and Reaction, 1962 - 1974

This map is from the Comprehensive Plan prepared by Victor Gruen Associates in 1961. The plan "represents the master guide for Lockport's growth in the coming two decades." This map shows existing land use in downtown Lockport and the Lowertown district located along the Erie Canal and Market St. The blue sections are industrial areas, the yellow are residential, and the orange are commercial and mixed use. While many of the plans for development were never realized, some development did occur along Main St. and adjacent areas. Click on the stars to see objects relating to the development of new businesses or loss of older establishments.

Urban Renewal: Development or Destruction?

Urban Renewal in Lockport had many different stages and with differing results. Main Street was one a busy shopping center but Urban Renewal turned it into a "war zone-like" area. When it came out on the other side, it had been transformed into the city that it is today. Using content you’ve previously read in this Resource Kit, move through the three phases outlined in the title: Downtown, debris and development. Be careful not to trip or fall in a hole left by the demolition!  

Find Your Way Through the Door to Downtown, Debris and Development in Lockport NY

This  kit explores the history of Lockport, NY between 1954 and 1974 when almost every major city in the United States was impacted by federal policies aimed at revitalization and modernization as part of a national movement called Urban Renewal. In Lockport, the Urban Renewal movement had significant impacts on the city. The plan to redevelop areas by razing old buildings and constructing new ones, led to the loss of historic architecture and displacement of the residents, and left a legacy of vacant and underdeveloped land. At the conclusion of this kit, you should be able to answer these questions:

1. How did national events and societal shifts influence the Urban Renewal Movement in the US?

2. How did citizens react and challenge proposals for Urban Renewal?

3. What were the costs and benefits of Urban Renewal, both in dollars and in the people that were displaced?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAA0QF2IXOs

https://usmodernist.org/PA/PA-1972-11.pdf

https://inclusivehistorian.com/urban-renewal/

An Historical Overview of Lockport NY on the Erie Canal 

https://www.nfcss.org/nchs-erie-canal-project.html

Urban Renewal or Urban Removal: A Case Study from Lockport, NY, 1954-1974

Civics and Government

Social Studies

Economics

U.S. History

Looking south on Market Street toward Main Street with the five-story, 1929 Bewley Building on the right. This was built to replace the 1881 Hodge Opera House, destroyed in a fire in 1928. The other buildings date from the 19th century. These structures contained stores, businesses, professional offices and residences in 1947.  

A view of the same location in 2023 with the now nearly empty Bewley Building. Some stores and businesses still operate on the ground floor but most of the offices are vacant. The two 19th century buildings were taken down during Urban Renewal and replaced with a parking lot for the Bewley Building. 

The north side of Main Street between Market and Pine Streets in 1947. Main Street was the primary shopping district in Lockport from the mid-19th century to the 1960s. Most of these buildings were constructed in the later part of that century. Ground floors housed stores while upper floors had businesses/offices or residences.

The north side of Main Street between Market and Pine Street in 2023. The 19th century buildings taken down for Urban Renewal in the 1960s were replaced with the Urban Towers low income apartments in 1978. This housing unit was recently updated and modernized.

West Main Street looking east in Lockport in 1947. This section of West Main Street contained several businesses, including the J.J. Frazer building at the corner. Some of the buildings at the east end of the block were located on or very near Lockport’s “Big Bridge.”

Looking east on West Main Street in Lockport in 2023. The J. J. Frazer building is still standing, as are several other structures from the previous photo, along with some newer construction. It is uncertain as to why the Urban Renewal Agency did not take this block as well. 

South side of Main Street between Elm and Locust Streets in 1947 was dominated by the Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building, constructed in 1905.

The Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building, vacant for decades, still dominates the downtown Lockport landscape in 2023. 

The Niagara County National Bank constructed this stone building in 1919. It changed names several times before closing in 1998.

The stone bank building dating from 1919 survived Urban Renewal but the adjacent structures did not. It is now used as a training center for Niagara-Orleans BOCES. 

South side of Main Street looking east in 1947. The building with the parapets is the 1855 Ringueberg Hall (now called the Masonic Building). Other structures are from the mid-to-late 19 century.

South side of Main Street, Lockport NY, 2023. The 1855 Masonic Building dominates the intersection of Main and Cottage Streets. It is one of the few 19th century buildings that escaped destruction caused by Urban Renewal.

North side of Main Street in 1947 showing many viable businesses operating out of 19th century buildings. In the distance, the large granite edifice is the former Lockport Exchange Bank built in 1920.  

North side of Main Street between Cottage and Pine Streets in 2023. The Lockview mini-plaza, obsured by the trees, was built to replace some of the stores that were lost to Urban Renewal. Today it houses small businesses and offices. The former Lockport Exchange Bank in the distance is now the Ulrich Development Corporation.  

North side of Main Street between Market and Pine Streets in 1947. Several shops, particularly clothing stores, did a thriving business in these 19th century buildings while the upper floors housed offices and apartments. 

North side of Main Street between Market and Pine Streets in 2023. A parking lot has replaced a parking ramp that was built in the 1970s following Urban Renewal. A mural painted on the side of one of the few 19th century buildings that was spared depicts the Flight of Five Erie Canal locks that gave the city its name.

The Lox Plaza Hotel began life as the Judson House in the late 1850s after the Great Lockport Fire of 1854 destroyed nearly everything in the canal district. After going through many owners and names, it was torn down in 1966 to make way for the new Lockport Municipal Building.

The Lockport Municipal Building opened in 1974 after vacating a Civil War-era  building a few blocks away that was spared from Urban Renewal. The Brutalist architecture is still distained by local residents.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Urban Renewal or Urban Removal: A Case Study from Lockport, NY, 1954-1974

Before and After: The Effects of Post-Urban Renewal on Lockport, NY

Market Street, Lockport NY, 1947