‘Opening of the Erie Canal’

'Opening of the Erie Canal, October 26, 1825'. Photo courtesy of the Niagara History Center.

‘Opening of the Erie Canal’ has been an inspiration for those of us involved in the production of America’s Stairway. The original 21’ tall mural today adorns the auditorium at Lockport High School in Lockport, NY. The depiction of the original flotilla departing Buffalo on the morning of October 26, 1825 presents a romantic image of the pomp and circumstance as the boat flotilla descends down the magnificent Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks on its journey to New York Harbor in order to ceremoniously mark the official opening of the entire length of the largest public work undertaken in the nascent republic. A digitized copy of the mural welcomes visitors to the Erie Canal Discovery Center, located in the Lockport Locks Heritage District at 24 Church Street, and is operated by the Niagara History Center. Artist Raphael Beck (1858-1947) maintained a studio in Buffalo for thirty years. He went on to design the logo for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. Beck is best known for his work related to the Pan-American Exposition, featuring the logo of two women in the shape of North and South America, holding hands through Central America; this image came to be the most recognizable symbol of the Pan-American Exposition, held in Buffalo in 1901.

David Kinyon

Chairman

Lockport Locks Heritage District Corporation