{"nrhp_refnum":"97000417","name":"Niagara County Courthouse and County Clerk's Office","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"175 Hawley St. and 139 Niagara St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lockport","county":"Niagara County","state":"NY","lat":43.169389264000074,"lon":-78.70064235199999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-05-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A pair of limestone county government buildings in Lockport, Niagara County, New York: the Niagara County Courthouse at 175 Hawley Street (built 1886, enlarged 1915-17 and 1955-58) and the County Clerk's Office at 139 Niagara Street (built 1856, enlarged 1917).","why_significant":"The nomination argues the buildings are significant under Criterion C as a distinctive pair of civic buildings built in stages between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Each preserves features of its design phases, and together they present a coherent Neoclassical design from the 1917 program. They are the only survivors of a county administrative complex that grew around Hawley and Niagara Streets.","narrative":"Two limestone buildings on Hawley and Niagara Streets in Lockport served as the core of Niagara County government for well over a century. The County Clerk's Office, a small classical building, dates to 1856. The courthouse followed in 1886, designed in the Second Empire style by the Buffalo firm M.E. Beebe and Sons, with a mansard roof and a multi-stage entrance tower. Between 1915 and 1917, architect Chester R. Phelps of Niagara Falls doubled the courthouse in size, turned its main face toward Hawley Street, added a temple-front entrance pavilion and dome, and reorganized the interior around a central rotunda. He enlarged the clerk's office in 1917 with similar Neoclassical features. A steel and glass wing was added to the courthouse in 1955-58. The buildings are the only survivors of a larger county complex, and they show each construction phase within a unified design typical of civic architecture of their era.","period_of_significance":"1856-1917","architect_builder":"M.E. Beebe and Sons (1885); Chester R. Phelps (1915); Builder: Wm. J. Blackley (1885); John Moon (1913-1915)","architectural_style":"Mid 19th Century; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals; Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Both buildings remain in government use; the former clerk's office now serves as the Niagara County Civil Defense Building. The courthouse has had interior alterations and a 1996 renovation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.441258-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/97000417.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000417/b8f32f8af6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000417/b8f32f8af6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_County_Courthouse_Jun_09.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog at en.wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_County_Courthouse_Jun_09.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320127","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_County_Courthouse_and_County_Clerk%27s_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14707099"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/niagara-county/niagara-county-courthouse-and-county-clerks-office-97000417/"}