The Legacy Behind the Bar: The Lockwood Garage

By Todd Lockwood

“Gone for parts. Back soon.”

I would like to comment on the new bar in town called “The Garage on Water.” That bar was actually built in what used to be a real garage.

My Dad, Keith Lockwood, relocated the family back to Wilmington in 1961. He had previously been employed by U.S. Rubber in Indianapolis. Upon returning to Wilmington, Keith opened a Standard Oil gas station in Elwood, hoping to take advantage of the Joliet Arsenal traffic. I am not sure how long he operated the gas station, but when I-55 was being built, it took a lot of the traffic he was counting on with it.

Sometime in the mid-1960s to late 60s, he decided to sell the station and go into business with my grandfather, Earl Lockwood, and my uncle Don Lockwood. The three of them opened Lockwood Auto Sales in the exact location where the current Garage on Water stands today. It was next door to the Schmalz Florist and Greenhouse. Earl and Don were the main salesmen, while Keith preferred to do the repairs and paint cars.

When I got into high school, I ran track for legendary coach Howard Becker. My Dad never missed a home track meet in four years. He would place a sign on the door of the garage that read, “Gone for parts. Back soon.” When I reminded him that track meets lasted two hours, he said, “I never said where I was going for the parts!”

Things were going smoothly at the garage when changes occurred. Grandpa had retired and my uncle wanted to open a Chevrolet dealership with my Dad. It was decided that Herscher would be the town for the new dealership, with the grand opening taking place in 1972. Dad stayed in Wilmington and decided to get out of sales to focus solely on repairs and painting cars. He renamed the garage Lockwood Auto Service and remained there until he retired in 1991 at age 66. My Dad had been in the garage for four decades—from the 1960s to the 1990s!

During that time, there were numerous poker games, Christmas parties for customers, and a place where people could just come in and tell tales. My band, Silver Fox, often practiced in the garage, too. Dad eventually decided to sell the building to Gene House, who used the building for his florist needs.

So when Van Holman decided to create his sports bar and name it The Garage on Water, it continues to bring back fond memories from when I was a youth.