Police Museum

Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects was comissioned by the Board of the New York City Police Museum to create a new museum out of an existing mezzanine space in the historic Cunard Building. This site provided a unique setting in which to create an artifact museum: treating the site as a found object, an archeological place of work, the exhibition spaces were installed as a series of moments. These moments exposed the Cunard building itself as a historical artifact along side the various Police exhibits. The new work is seen as an insertion or a layering on the old; similarly the objects are further layered inside of this space within the cases. These layers reveal the histories contained in the diverse collection of artifacts, providing a unique portrait of New York City and those who helped maintain order. Through the use of large and small scale graphics, audio/visual exhibits, interactive exhibits, and an extensive artifact collection, the new museum provides an understanding of what the NYPD is, who the Police are, and what they do. These exhibits are structured much the same way as the Force itself is structured, beginning with the front desk of the station house, a profile of the NYPD throughout New York’s development is set against a wall of glass vitrines, each providing insight into the various chapters of the Force.