Museums & Monuments
Monuments
Museums
Coykendall Coach Houses
Augusta Street near Chestnut
(845) phone
hours of operation
The houses were where Samuel D. Coykendall kept his coaches and later his automobiles. Although not offically landmarks, they are a highly visible part of the rondout neighborhood.
Fred Johnston Museum
Friends of Historic Kingston
63 Main Street
May thru October, Saturday & Sunday 1-4 pm Admission $5
A Federal style house, cir. 1812, built by John Sudam, a state senator and friend of Washingston Irving and President Martin Van Buren, who were overnight guests. The elegant interior features 8 rooms of the Fred J Johnston Collection of 18th and early 19th century furnishings and decorative arts, mostly American.
Hudson River Maritime Museum
One Rondout Landing
(845) 338-0071
Email Maritime Museum
May - October 11am - 5pm except Tuesdays
The only museum in New York exclusively dedicated to preserving the martime heritage of the Hudson River. Indoor and outdoor exhibits on hudson River maritime history, gift shop, and waterfront special events.
Old Dutch Church & Museum
272 Wall Street
(845) 338-6759
9am - 2 pm weekdays
The city's oldest institution, the congregation was organized in 1659. The 1852 Renaissance Revival style church, designed by Minard LaFever is its fourth home. Noted 19th century designer Calvert Vaux called the architecture "ideally perfect." The churchyard contains tombstones dating back to 1770, and the grave of New York's first governor, George Clinton, an Ulster County native. The steeple bell, tradition says, was cast in Amsterdam in 1794 from molten copper and silver items given by families at baptismal rites.
Replica Ship “Half Moon”
For more information visit: www.halfmoon.mus.ny.us
Rondout Lighthouse
The Rondout Lighthouse located on the Hudson River at the mouth of the Rondout Creek is actually the final of three Rondout lighthouses. The first lighthouse, made of wood, was built in 1837 on the southern shore of the creek. The effects of Mother Nature in the North East caused great strain on the structure which eventually had to be torn down and replaced. The second lighthouse, known as the Rondout I, was constructed of the locally quarried bluestone in 1867. This house was much more durable and better equipped to handle the changes in seasons and corresponding precipitation. Rondout I’s location became obsolete after the Army Corp. of Engineers extended the dikes farther into the River. The Rondout I was abandoned in 1915 for the third and final lighthouse. It was put of for auction but was never sold and ended up being demolished after the roof collapsed in 1954.
The Rondout lighthouse we enjoy today, Rondout II, was first lit on August 25th, 1915. Construction of the house began in 1913 by a company called the L.H.Bannon Plumbing, Heating & Contracting Co. The house was constructed of beige colored brick for a sum of $33,575.81. This lighthouse is the largest and most recent Hudson River Lighthouses built to house a family. The Rondout II existed as a family home until the Coast Guard took it over in 1946. That same year electricity was installed to run the navigational light, household lights and small appliances. In 1954 the light was fully automatic and functional; there was no longer a need for a live-in keeper. The last light keeper moved away and the house was boarded up that year.
The house remained vacant until 1984 when the Hudson River Maritime Museum entered into a lease with the Coast Guard to use the lighthouse for group tours. In November 2000, President Clinton signed a bill allowing lighthouse ownership to be transferred from the Coast Guard. On June 19th, 2002 possession of the Rondout Lighthouse was transferred to the City of Kingston with former Mayor James Sottile accepting the deed.
Today the lighthouse is maintained by the City of Kingston with the help of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. Due to the lack of an approved and available passenger vessel there are no scheduled public tours at this time. The lighthouse is visible from Kingston Point Park but is not accessible from land.
For more information contact the Kingston Planning Office at (845)334-3955 or the Hudson River Maritime Museum at (845)338-0071.
Senate House Museum
312 Fair Street
(845) 338-2786
April - October Sunday 1-5pm; Wednesday - Saturday 10am - 5 pm
The first New York State Senate met here in September and October 1777 when the building was the home of Abraham Van Gaasbeek. Built in 1676, it is the oldest public building in America. Descendants of the original builder, Wessel ten Broeck, occupied the residence until they deeded it to New York State in 1888. The adjacent museum, built in 1927, contains the largest collection of John Vanderlyn paintings, drawings and papers in the country.
Trolley Museum
89 East Strand, Rondout Landing
(845) 331-3399
Memorial Day - Columbus Day 12pm - 5 pm weekends and holidays
Trolley rides on original tracks along the historic Kingston waterfront to Kingston Point Park on the Hudson River.
Van Steenburgh House
97 Wall Street
(845) phone
Residence
It is the only pre-Revolutionary stone house that was untouched by the British when they burned Kingston in 1777. The officer in charge had been charmed by the owner's daughter at a party.
Henry Sleight House
Located at the junction of Green and Crown Streets
(845) 339-0366
Hours
Built in the late 1600's, still retains the original Dutch doors and hardware. Fine federal style cornice in front entrance way with lead glass side lights and transom. Since 1909, it has been the home of the Wiltwyck Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Volunteer Fireman's Hall & Museum of Kingston
266 Fair Street
(845) 331-0866
April - October Friday 11am - 3 pm; Saturday 10am - 4 pm; June - August Wednesday - Friday 11am - 3 pm; Saturday 10am - 4 pm
The former 1857 home of the Wiltwyck Hose Company, featuring antique firefighting artifacts and apparatus including an 1898 streamer.