Lockport, Illinois, United States

🇺🇸 Lockport is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States, located 30 miles south-west of Chicago. The city was incorporated in 1853. It is situated along the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) Canal, and was the headquarters of the canal when the canal was operating. A section of the canal runs through Lockport, including the remains of the canal's Lock No. 1 from which the town received its name. The canal right-of-way is now the Illinois and Michigan National Heritage Corridor.

Geography Lockport is located on the east bank of the Des Plaines River just north of Joliet. The village of Lemont is about two miles to the north along the river.

Parks and recreation The City of Lockport, Illinois, has a park district titled the Lockport Township Park District that was created in 1945. It manages and maintains 38 parks and several recreational programs with the goal to "enrich the quality of life of the community". According to the city's website, each park should provide at least one of the following recreational activities: A place to engage in sports, open spaces in which children may play in, pavilions for picnics or gatherings, playgrounds, and other facilities.

Museums and historic sites Downtown Lockport contains four museums, all within walking distance of one another, as well as other historic places.

Gaylord Building. The Gaylord Building is a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It was constructed in 1838 of local limestone for use as a warehouse and is situated on the east side of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, just north of downtown Lockport. Renovated in the 1980s, the building now houses a restaurant and has historical galleries.

Illinois and Michigan Canal Museum Located in the original 1837 Canal headquarters building, the Illinois and Michigan Canal Museum offers 10 rooms filled with artifacts, pictures and documents relating to the construction and operation of the Canal, as well as period items specific to the region during the height of the Canal's operation.

The Lockport Gallery The Lockport Gallery celebrates Illinois through changing exhibits featuring paintings, drawings, sculptures, quilts and other media created by the state's artists and artisans. These rotating, theme-based exhibits are supplemented and showcased through educational events, group tours and outreach programs for all ages. An Illinois State Museum (ISM) facility, the Lockport Gallery is located in a structure that is itself a work of art and history. The historic Norton Building was constructed on the banks of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1850 to serve as a grain-processing facility. Today the building is a multi-use facility housing residential lofts, offices, commercial space and the Lockport Gallery. The Gallery's space gracefully incorporates the building's original features, including large windows (once arched portals used for loading and unloading), high ceilings, and hardwood floors.

The Gladys Fox Museum Maintained by the Lockport Township Park District, the Gladys Fox Museum is located in the 1839 Old Congregational Church. Beautifully restored, this historic building is now home to the museum's collection of historical photographs and memorabilia celebrating Dellwood Park and the Illinois and Michigan Canal.

Lincoln Landing Newly constructed just south of the Gaylord building and directly adjacent to the I&M Canal by the Give Something Back Foundation, the Lincoln Landing is a unique open air park and museum. The park shows the original I & M Canal lines with a statue of Lincoln contemplating the canal. Bronze medallions are placed all about the park with historical information. Each medallion then leads you to another with connected information.

Schools Taft School District 90 Taft School District 90 lies almost entirely within the south-west part of Lockport. The district dates from before 1888. In the 19th century it was called school district #9 of Lockport Township, and its school was called the South Lockport School. The district now has one school, called Taft School.

Milne-Kelvin Grove School District 91 Milne-Kelvin Grove School District 91, also known as Lockport School District 91, lies almost entirely within the west central part of Lockport. It has two grade schools.

Milne Grove has kindergarten through grade three.

Kelvin Grove has grades four through eight; sixth through eighth grade operate as a middle school.

Will County School District 92 Will County School District 92 is a public grade school district which serves grades K–8. It mainly serves the communities of Lockport and Homer Glen. It contains four buildings: Walsh, Reed, Ludwig, and Oak Prairie with the administration building adjacent to Ludwig.

Walsh School is an elementary school educating students from PreK through grade one.

Reed School

Reed School is an elementary school educating students grades two and three.

Ludwig School is an elementary school educating students grades four and five.

Oak Prairie Junior High School is a middle school educating students in grades six through eight.

High schools Three other grade school districts cover parts of Lockport. The eastern part of Lockport is in Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C. The northern part of Lockport is in Will County School District 92. The southern part of Lockport is served by the Fairmont School District 89.

All of the city is in Lockport Township High School District 205, which operates Lockport Township High School at a Central and East campus, both in the city. The district serves about 3,700 students from the communities of Crest Hill, Fairmont, Homer Glen, Lockport, Homer Township and Lockport Township. The Central Campus opened in 1910 and serves freshman students while the East Campus opened in 1964 and serves sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Private schools Lockport has two private grade schools: Saint Dennis (Catholic) School at 1201 S. Washington St. and St. Joseph (Catholic) School at 529 S. Madison St.

There are also two private high schools in the area: Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox and Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet.

Transport Lockport has a station on Metra's Heritage Corridor, which provides weekday rush hour rail service between Joliet, and Chicago, Illinois (at Union Station). Lockport is very close to Metra's Rock Island District.

Major highways Major highways in Lockport include:* Interstate Highways* • Interstate 355; US Highways • Historic US 66; Illinois Highways • Route 7 (159th Street) • Route 53 • Route 171 (State Street).