The Western Block

03/30/2026

A look into the past:
https://www.facebook.com/share/17KFRLPNff/

11/19/2025

November 29th!!!!! ARE you ready to bring in the Holiday Cheer?? Join us while we Celebrate Christmas Spirit at Art247 in the The Western Block Complex!!!!
Find Details & Register at:
❄️ FREE KIDS' CRAFTS: ❄️
https://www.ticketleap.events/events/art247/christmas-kids-crafts
&
🎅 SCROOGE'S FAMILY SEARCH FOR CHRISTMAS SPIRIT, [FOR KIDS] WITH SANTA!:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/hauntedwesternblock/1947777

Light Up Lockport is excited to announce the schedule of events for the day! We are thrilled to kick off the holiday season with a variety of community activities, including the official arrival of Santa Claus! Join us downtown for an array of fun events and giveaways, leading up to our enchanting nighttime parade, followed by a complimentary screening of the Polar Express for everyone to enjoy. Embrace the Christmas spirit and be part of Light Up Lockport on Saturday, November 29th, 2025! 🎅

11/04/2024

|| 𝙃𝙀𝙇𝙋 𝙐𝙎!! || 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗿?? We're looking for first hand perspectives (via any historically written accounts made by employees or associated individuals,) on what it was like to work with 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗿. at the 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗼, Randeleigh Farms, YMCA Camp Kenan, and/or at his residence (- now called the Kenan Center.)

We're especially interested in historical accounts during circa early 1900's to 1965, when 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗥 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗿. 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 & 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆.

While we've read Kenan's numerous versions of "Incidents by the way," " Western Block" Journals & Financial Ledgers, and Randeleigh Farm Journals & Financial Ledgers... we're now hoping to get some insightful perspectives by employees and associates that had surrounded William R Kenan Jr.

If you know of family members who had worked at the Western Block Company, and had kept old photos, correspondences, or written accounts involving the above, we'd love to obtain a copy!!!!

For any individuals who worked at the Western Block Company in its later years, we'd love to hear your perspectives as well!!!

One of our key focuses at the Western Block Complex, is preservation of the Western Block Company's History, and continuance of William R Kenan Jr's great Legacy.

● 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰: 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘰 "𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱" | - 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 25, 1941 || Photo found on-site at the Western Block Complex / ART247 Arts & Cultural Center, in an unrenovated section of the complex, in a storage archive box.... || Help us preserve the History!!!

____________________________
Western Block Co./Company was established in 1888 - Closed in late 1998, before becoming an Arts Center in 2001.
Today the Arts & Cultural Center continues with the added mission of preservation & restoration of the former Western Block Company & William R Kenan Jr's History, Property, & the WBC's former Artifacts.

DISCOVER:
𝗔𝗥𝗧𝟮𝟰𝟳 / 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 & 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿
𝗕𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗼 𝗡𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 | 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Located in the Western Block Complex in the
Lowertown Historic District on the Erie Canal

247 Market Street, & 7, 34 - 37 Exchange Street
Lockport, New York 14094

716-404-9884 | www.ART247.org

09/24/2024

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 | One of our main missions and goals of our Historic property is to preserve and restore not only the property and buildings, but the many artifacts and documents left behind by a once world renowned company the Western Block Co., and its Director one of the most highly accomplished individuals in Niagara County / Western NY / New York State /... the Entire East Coast, William Rand Kenan Jr.

During World War I and World War II, the Western Block and its subsidiary organizations were highly active in production, producing parts for various military contracts for war time efforts. Because the parts were deemed essential to these wartime efforts, men from the Western Block were not drafted to the ward, and instead stayed at the company working, unlike many other businesses that saw men drafted, and the woman who stood behind them, taking to those empty positions in their absence.

The following images are documents that request parts. The requests made by the U.S. Engineers Office at 540 Federal Building in Buffalo, NY, 1940.

These types of documents are a window into the past, not only can we understand the technical contractual aspects of these documents during WWII, but we also begin to understand the mannerisms of speaking of the time, the men of the Western Block & associated companies, the formality of communication, and much rarer, insight into the "intended" uses of such parts - specifically, the interesting excerpt by the US Engineers Office describing what these parts would be used for!!

As we continue our mission in preservation, we will begin scanning the more stable documents that can be handled and sharing them online.

/// Please consider donating, to help our efforts in accommodating this mission of preservation.