Lockport's
Lowertown is several thousand miles from Picardy and the northwest shores of France where,
during the WW-1 years, the flowering of the roses provided inspiration for song and
romance.
Lockport's
Lowertown is several thousand miles from Picardy and the northwest shores of France where,
during the WW-1 years, the flowering of the roses provided inspiration for song and
romance.
But here in Lockport, along the banks of the Erie Barge Canal at Tribute Park the scene can be every much as beautiful. For those in love...and for those who love Lockport and Lowertown.
This small stretch of green along Market Street between North Adam and Vine was designated in 1991 as Lowertown Tribute Park and the central attraction is the rose arbor. Those who wish to give tribute to family and friends provide funding for the project of the Lowertown Heritage Park Committee by subscribing to engraved bricks at the base of the rose arbor.
Besides the roses, the park provides benches for rest and reflection, a walking path, and lots of canal scenes to monitor when one's gaze isn't on the roses...or the "Rose of Lockport."
"I haven't much time to be fond of anything," says Sergeant
Cuff. "But when I have a moment's fondness to bestow, most times . . . the roses get
it."
----The
Moonstone [1868], First Period, ch. 12
A Canal Cruise Boat goes by Tribute Park. The
tourists give
out with the oohs and ahs as
they spot the rose arbor! The
tribute here goes to the volunteers
of the Lowertown Heritage Park
Committee for their work on this
project.
Roses are shining in Picardy
In the hush of the silvery dew
Roses are flowering in Picardy
But there's never a rose like you!
And the roses will die with the summertime
And our roads may be far, far apart
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart!
----Music by Haydn Wood with lyrics by Frederick E. Weatherley written in 1916.