The Rondout-Phtoto Provided
Lost Rondout: A Story of Urban Removal is a film about the growth, destruction, and rebirth of the Rondout District in Kingston, to be presented by the Town of Lloyd Historical Preservation Society at its upcoming public program on Monday, December 5, 2016 at 7 pm at the Vineyard Commons Theater in Highland.
Urban Removal? No, it’s not a typo. The film chronicles the district’s history since pre-Civil War times, focusing on its development into a mixed-use neighborhood of small businesses and working-class residences that were flattened under the wrecking ball of an urban renewal project in the 1960’s that many people felt went far awry. The film also relates the area’s slow recovery as artists found its remaining boarded-up buildings and new business owners arrived, eventually reclaiming the area and turning it into today’s flourishing waterfront neighborhood and cultural attraction.
Filmmakers Stephen Blauweiss and Lynn Woods used nearly a thousand pictures taken by photographer Eugene Dauner prior to and during the urban renewal project as the basis for the film. They also included works by contemporary photographers and archival materials to illustrate the message told to them by people who lived in the Rondout District prior to, during, and after the demolishment of more than 400 19th century buildings.
In the film, the interviewees, including historians, urban planners, and city officials as well as residents, describe the Rondout District as a close-knit, racially and ethnically diverse community, where you could walk to everything you needed – “cleaners, food stores, department store, two banks,” and many other small businesses. The neighborhood had fallen onto hard times by the 1960’s, but the federally funded urban renewal project was wrong, interviewees said, in its theory that mixed-use buildings didn’t work well. Some comments:
“They had no regard for the effect on human beings.”
“Thousands of people were dislocated, not relocated.”
“New developers failed to arrive.”
“For 10-12 years, there was nothing down there.”
As the film shows, the area’s revival was more the result of artists and small business owners moving into the few remaining buildings than it was to any planned renewal program.
Stephenen Blauweiss is a filmmaker and graphic designer whose films have aired on PBS and been shown at museums and film festivals in the US, Canada, and Europe. Lynn Woods, a journalist, author, and painter, moved to the Rondout District nearly 20 years ago. Her articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal and other national publications as well as local periodicals such as Chronogram. Gene Dauner, who grew up in the neighborhood, took his early photographs there while delivering flowers for his father, a local florist.
Vineyard Commons, where the December 5 program will take place, is at 300 Vineyard Avenue, about a mile and a quarter from the Hamlet of Highland on Route 44/55, just south of the Hudson Valley Rehabilitation Center. To reach the theater, turn into Vineyard Commons and follow signs to Building 6. Early arrivers get the best parking spaces. The program is free and the public is invited. Free refreshments will be available. For more information call 845-255-7742.