FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2024
Mayor Noble Launches Competition for Post Office Park Monument
KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce the launch of a Small Monument Competition, coinciding with the current construction of the Post Office Park at Broadway and Grand Street.
“We are thrilled to launch the Small Monument Competition to create a statue, sculpture, or other work of art that will be permanently installed in the new Midtown park,” said Mayor Noble. “During the public engagement phase for the new park’s design, community members voiced that they would like to see an installation that pays homage to the lost post office, and to serve as a reminder that the City’s architectural assets must be preserved for future generations. We are looking for works that fit this criterion – and are open to all ideas.”
The City of Kingston has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to gather proposed concepts for a monument or sculpture design, which would be fabricated and permanently installed in Post Office Park. Applicants must provide concepts that pay homage to the memory of the lost post office that once stood on the site and was torn down during urban renewal in 1970. Built between 1904-1908, the post office was a notable limestone and granite structure with a rounded façade and Classical and Beaux Arts design elements.
Post Office Park’s design/construction plans include two 3 feet by 3 feet round cement pedestals for the support of artwork. The City requests proposals from interested individuals, companies, or partners, including but not limited to sculptors, architects, fabricators and other types of designers and manufacturers, to create and build a small monument for permanent placement on one of the pedestals. Artwork for the second pedestal will be selected in a separate future program. Applicants may identify which pedestal is more suitable for their design. The full RFP outlining the details and requirements is located here.
The competition deadline is Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The winning design is expected to be announced in June.
Funding for the Post Office Park Small Monument Competition comes from the City of Kingston’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
More details are available at https://engagekingston.com/post-office-park-small-monument-competition.
The City of Kingston is currently implementing Phase 1 of a landscape plan for the two greenspaces at Broadway, Grand Street and Prince Street, newly named Post Office Park. The construction includes sidewalks, paths, trees, shrubs, perennials, game tables, benches, bicycle racks, stone elements referencing the former Kingston Post Office, and interpretive/wayfinding signage.
The Broadway Grand Street Intersection Improvements project realigned and improved safety at a formerly dangerous intersection with funding from the NYSDOT Multi-Modal Program. Working with GPI, the engineering consultants for the Broadway Streetscape Project, the City redesigned the intersection to reduce traveler confusion, crashes, and near-misses. Pedestrians and bicyclists traveling on the Empire State Trail, use this intersection to connect to Prince Street to continue along the trail route. To accommodate the realignment, an abandoned Planet Wings building was demolished, leaving the greenspaces.
KaN Landscape Design, a women-owned, Kingston-based landscape design firm, was contracted to develop landscape design plans in August 2022. KaN has worked on many local projects including the Y Park, the YMCA playground, and the African Burial Ground. KaN partnered with the YMCA Youth Farm Project, Place Corps, and DRAW for community engagement outreach to inform the final design.
Last year, the City of Kingston put out an open call for name ideas and, of the 62 community suggestions, the Recreation Commission was asked to narrow to 10 choices. A public poll was open from October 27 to December 1, 2023. With 26% of the vote, Post Office Park was the clear favorite amongst the 10 choices.