The Gaylord Building

05/29/2026

How do artists turn ideas into finished work?

Join us for our next Think & Drink with artist and designer John McDavitt, the creator of our new Route 66 bench outside the Ga***rd Building! John will talk about creativity, public art, and the process behind bringing artistic ideas to life.

His talk will resonate with beginners, hobbyists, and seasoned artists alike, offering practical takeaways and inspiring perspectives on creative growth.

Thursday, June 11, 7pm. This is a free event. Registration link in the comments.

05/15/2026

The black locust trees are in full bloom on the I&M Canal trail. It's one of the prettiest sights of the season. Take a leisurely stroll along the path and then stop by The Public Landing Restaurant for a meal or refreshing drink. Best of all, the patio is now open for the season!

05/13/2026

We’re excited to be part of Lockport’s Route 66: 100 Year Road Trip! One of the Route 66 benches has already parked itself right outside the Ga***rd Building!

🚗✨ Start your engines, Lockport! ✨🚗

The Lockport Council of Arts, in partnership with the City of Lockport, Illinois, Government, is excited to announce the official launch of Route 66: 100 Year Road Trip 🎉, a public art initiative celebrating the 100th anniversary of Historic Route 66!

Join us for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall, 222 E. 9th Street. 📍 Light refreshments will be served!

⭐ From Memorial Day through Labor Day, 23 custom-painted, car-shaped fiberglass benches will be displayed throughout historic Downtown Lockport, creating a fun and memorable way for residents and visitors to experience art, history, and community.

Each bench has been uniquely designed by a local artist and made possible through the generous support of program sponsors. 👏✨

Come celebrate with us and get ready to cruise through Downtown Lockport this summer! 📸

05/08/2026

Coming this October to the Ga***rd Building, some spooky fun from Limestone Stage!

Earlier this year, we were told that our building would be unavailable for performances for the summer and fall due to parking lot construction. We, unfortunately, had to table our summer show for this reason, but it allows us to bring an extremely unique production back to where we started: The Historic Ga***rd Building in downtown Lockport.

We are excited to unveil Beyond the Grave: Resurrection

A night of ghost stories focused on the famous (and infamous) spirits and terrors you may see out of the corner of your eye walking down the street or sitting at a restaurant in and around our haunted little town.

Resurrection will be THREE NIGHTS ONLY, October 28, 29, 30th in the main room of the Ga***rd Building on Lincoln Landing.

Information on auditions and tickets will be available in June. Tickets will be extremely limited, so keep a close eye out for the on-sale announcement.

05/01/2026

Our Route 66: 100 Year Road Trip bench has arrived!

Stop by the Ga***rd Building to see John McDavitt’s fantastic artwork and take in the view at beautiful Lincoln Landing.

This bench is part of Lockport’s new Route 66 Bench Walk, which kicks off May 23 (more benches appearing throughout downtown soon!). It is also part of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s “Get Your Kicks” program. You can learn more about their latest Goosechase here:
https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/news/get-your-kicks-challenge-celebrates-route-66-centennial-celebration

And while you’re down here, explore I&M Canal history in our first-floor exhibit, grab a bite at The Public Landing Restaurant, and browse original artwork from Gallery Seven.

04/30/2026

May the facts be with you.

Our next Think & Drink brings scientists from Argonne National Laboratory to the Ga***rd Building for a fun, thought-provoking look at robotics, drones, AI, and the sci-fi ideas that helped inspire them.

"These ARE the Droids You're Looking For" is next Thursday, May 7, at 7pm in our 2nd-floor banquet room. This is a free event. Registration link in the comments.

04/21/2026

We’ve got some exciting news! The Ga***rd Building Historic Site has received two statewide awards from the Illinois Association of Museums!

Our exhibit "50 Years to Overnight Success" earned an Award of Excellence, and our Story Wall initiative received an Innovation Award.

We’re incredibly grateful for the recognition and for everyone who helped bring these projects to life, including artist Bob Morris, Mayor Steven Streit, Lindsey Minas and Lewis University, and Mr. Lindstrom’s 7th-grade students at Milne-Kelvin Grove District 91.

We look forward to another year of sharing this region’s rich history!

04/07/2026

Happy National Beer Day from the Ga***rd Building!

Let’s raise a glass to a lesser-known chapter of canal history: the Illinois & Michigan Canal was good for more than freight and limestone. It also helped support a thriving brewing industry. Several canal towns were home to breweries both large and small, producing thousands of barrels of beer each year. Canal boats carried these barrels up and down the I&M Canal. They also carried barley and malt, key ingredients in the brewing trade.

At the Ga***rd Building, we fully support celebrating history one sip at a time. So don’t forget to join us for our next Think & Drink: Maps! with Jason King, this Thursday at 7 p.m. in our banquet room. Free and open to the public. Registration link in the comments.

03/31/2026

What makes a map great? And how much do we really know about the maps we use every day?

Join us for our next Think & Drink, “Maps!” with Jason King. A former cartographer and now Department Chair of Geography at Moraine Valley Community College, King will explore the art, science, and hidden quirks of mapmaking. Along the way, he’ll share some of his favorite maps and reveal how even the best ones can distort, bias, and reshape the way we understand the world.

Come see the world a little differently!

Registration link is in the comments.

02/10/2026

If you’ve ever visited Lockport's Gladys Fox Museum, you’ve stepped inside one of Illinois’ oldest surviving church buildings, a place with deep ties to the fight against slavery.

Lockport’s Congregational Church organized in 1838 and completed its limestone building in 1839. In the mid-1800s, Congregational churches across the Midwest often became centers of reform, including the abolitionist movement. In Lockport, the church hosted anti-slavery lectures and gatherings, helping connect local residents to a national movement for freedom.

One of the voices who spoke here was Ichabod Codding, a minister and abolitionist who lived in Lockport and worked alongside local families active in the Underground Railroad. The building itself has changed over time. The original steeple was lost to fire in the 1880s and replaced with the Gothic Revival façade we recognize today. In the 1950s, the congregation moved to a new location, and the historic church was eventually preserved as the Gladys Fox Museum.

We’re sharing this story because it reminds us how local spaces can play powerful roles in national history.

If you’d like to learn more about Ichabod Codding and Lockport’s abolitionist connections, join us this Thursday for our next Think & Drink: Ichabod Codding and the Fight for Freedom, featuring student researcher Lindsey Minas with an introduction by Underground Railroad scholar Dr. Larry McClellan.

📅 Thursday, February 12
🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Ga***rd Building banquet room (2nd floor)
🎟️ Free admission

Registration is not required but appreciated to gauge attendance. Link in the comments.