Lost Kingston: Documentary Photographs by Gene Dauner

October 28 – December 31, 2023
474 Broadway, Kingston, NY

During the late 1960s, many of Kingston’s most distinguished architectural landmarks were destroyed by the modernizing impulse of federally funded Urban Renewal projects. More than 500 hundred historic buildings in Rondout were demolished, and thousands of residents were displaced. Young photographer Gene Dauner took it upon himself to create a stunning documentary record of this destruction, shooting thousands of extraordinary color slides which include the Kingston Post Office, Trailways Bus Station, and dozens of other local structures that were later leveled. This exhibition is organized by Kingston historian and filmmaker Stephen Blauweiss, noted for his award-winning film Lost Rondout.

About Gene Dauner
Gene Dauner (b. 1944) is a Kingston native, and a highly skilled and self-taught amateur photographer. He began recording the architecture of Kingston in 1967, when much of it, especially in the Rondout, was being destroyed by urban renewal. Taking time from his father’s florist business and later from his work at the post office, Dauner made sure to “stay one step ahead of the wrecking ball,” documenting over 500 buildings before they were leveled. His archive of over 50,000 slides of Kingston and its environs was stored in a closet for 40 years before historians looking for Kingston imagery learned of it. This is the first major exhibition of Dauner’s photography.

About Stephen Blauweiss
Stephen Blauweiss is an independent filmmaker, historian, and graphic designer. He specializes in topics related to the art and history of the Hudson Valley, but his work covers wide variety of subjects, from art and education to social and environmental issues. He has produced over 75 short films, including three features. Blauweiss and his partner Karen Berelowitz have published two books The Life & Death of the Kingston Post Office (2018) and The Story of Historic Kingston (2022). He co-produced and co-directed the 2016 documentary Lost Rondout: A Story of Urban Removal.

Banner image: Gene Dauner, Looking down lower Broadway from just above Abeel Street, Rondout, 1967.