Post Office Park Small Monument Competition

The City of Kingston, NY requests proposals from interested individuals, companies or partners, including but not limited to sculptors, architects, fabricators and other types of designers and manufacturers, to design and build a small monument for permanent placement in its new Post Office Park located in Midtown.

Kingston is home to an abundant inventory of historic structures. However, in the 1960s and 70s, many significant buildings across the City unfortunately fell prey to urban renewal. Among them was the original 1908 post office designed by James Knox Taylor that was demolished in 1970 to make way for a fast-food restaurant. At the time, its destruction sparked a rallying cry among preservationists that continues to resonate in the community today: Remember the Post Office!

The notable limestone and granite structure with a rounded façade and Classical and Beaux Arts design elements was located at 500 Broadway, which will soon be the site of the new “Post Office Park.” Construction of the park is underway and scheduled to be completed by December 2024.

The park’s design/construction plans include two 3’ wide x 3’ high round cement pedestals for the support of artwork such as a sculpture or monument. During the public engagement phase for the park’s design in 2023, community members voiced that they would like to see installation of a work that pays homage to the memory of the lost post office, and serves as a reminder that the City’s architectural assets must be preserved for future generations. This competition will culminate with the selection of a monument for one of the pedestals; artwork for the second pedestal will be selected in a separate future program as yet to be defined and scheduled.

For the purposes of this competition, the City defines a monument as a statue, sculpture, or other structure marking the former site of a historically and culturally significant asset. Respondents should present design concepts that interpret their vision of how to pay homage to the 1908 structure.