America’s Stairway

Released: September 26, 2025

America’s Stairway places the historic Flight of Five locks on the Erie Canal in Lockport, New York, squarely in the American narrative as a symbol of a young and developing nation. It draws a direct line between the Erie Canal, the Flight of Five, and the birth of American tourism to today’s heritage tourism industry which is inextricably linked to community-based, grassroots preservation efforts and a community’s sense of place. In doing so, it has meaning and resonance that transcends both time and geographic location.

Narrated by
Liev Schreiber

Directed by
Paul Lamont

Produced and Written by
Paul Lamont & Robert Borgatti

Directors of Photography
Jack L. Cummings
Neal Ten Eyck

Edited by
Chris Bové

Additional Cinematography
Stephen McCarthy

Location Sound
John V. Davis

Aerial Cinematography
Neal Ten Eyck

Additional Aerial Cinematography
Jeff Scruggs

Narration Recorded at
Monk Music Studios, East Hampton, New York
Cynthia Daniels, Producer
Parker Lyons, Engineer

Propellerhead Media, Buffalo New York
Shaun Mullens, Producer/Engineer

Audio Post, Sound Design & Mix Shaun M. Mullens

Audio Post Facility Propellerhead Media

Voice of Anne Royall Margo Davis
Voice of Timothy Geohagen Michael Dugan
Voice of Thomas Woodcock Robert Waterhouse

Map Animation Kurt Murphy

Story Consultant Michael Frisch, PhD

Academic Advisors Patrick McGreevy, PhD
Michael Leroy Oberg, PhD
Brad Utter, M.A, C.A.S.