Armories Sites

"This is a dual-purpose building which houses three companies of the Illinois National Guard and provides much-needed office space for the State government. The site is an entire square, approximately 350 by 350 feet, opposite the State Capitol group of buildings, and the armory and office building occupies half of the area. The central heating plant for the capitol group occupies part of the other half, and as future requirements necessitate expansion of the armory and office building, the heating plant will will be removed elsewhere. The new building is 5 stories and a basement in height and approximately 189 by...

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement work at the historic former Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Located at the northeast corner of Washington St. and Wayne Ave., the building presently houses the Indiana County Historical Society and also serves as a Veterans' Memorial.

The WPA provided assistance in repairing and otherwise improving the One Hundred and Fourth Field Artillery / 172nd Street-Jamaica Armory in Jamaica, Queens. The building is no longer extant.

Originally the Kensington Armory. The WPA made improvements and repairs to the then Kensington armory and rifle range in 1935.

The WPA provided resources to conduct repairs at the Kingsbridge Armory (Eighth Regiment Armory) in the Bronx during the 1930s. The armory was then home to the 258th Field Artillery. WPA Official Project No. 65-97-378.

The armory was named after James Rieger, a lawyer who was enlisted in the National Guard in about 1900 and who served with high distinction in WWI at the Meuse-Argonne offensive which was the decisive battle of WWI and for which Major Rieger was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross.  The entry has an art deco style with chevrons ascending on both columns flanking the entrance and a gold eagle at the top of the entrance.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the Konawa National Guard Armory in Konawa OK. What makes the Konawa National Guard Armory so intriguing is that a pair of swastikas on the front of the building. Most people associate this symbol with the Nazi people of World War 2, but prior to the war the symbol was a Native American emblem and was used by the 45th Infantry Division of Oklahoma as a tribute to the large Native American population. The Company F, 2nd Battalion, 179th, 45th Infantry Division was the first unit to occupy the building after it was built. But...

Now the Anderson-Murphy Community Center. It is a 17,964 square foot building constructed in 1927. This building served as the National Guard Armory before being purchased by the City for use by the Parks & Recreation Department. According to an index of WPA projects at the National Archives, the WPA improved and repaired the Laurel Armory in 1935.

Now a senior center, Tallahassee's historic Leon County Armory was constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The PWA provided a $19,859 grant to the project, whose total cost was $74,365. Construction occurred between November 1934 and June 1935. The building now serves as a senior center. PWA Docket No. FL 9236

The WPA built the National Guard Armory in Lexington in 1941. Strong horizontal lines define the 2nd floor, front façade. The design is almost identical to that of the Richmond, Kentucky WPA armory. It is now a police fitness center and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"Designed as the largest enclosed structure without walls in the world by noted California architects Robert Clements and Associates, this Art Deco building, constructed between 1938 and 1941 by the WPA, is the largest and second-oldest Navy Reserve Center in the United Stages. It has served as the induction, separation, and training center for more than 100,000 sailors since World War II well as the filming site for countless motion pictures and television shows."

From contributor Charles Swaney: "Modern deco design in this 2-story building that presently houses the Communication Arts Center of Trinity High School.  Trees obscure the front façade, but the prominent vertical elements surrounding the entry are still evident as is the rounded portico above the entry." The building is now the Trinity High School Communication Arts Center.

" the new Armory building under construction in Manitowoc, Wisconsin in April, 1939. Within the central space bounded by partially built outer brick walls are piles of old paving bricks that had been removed from Eighth Street in Manitowoc for re-use in the Armory walls. About 230,000 bricks were recycled for this project. The Armory/exposition building, located at 930 North 18th Street on the Manitowoc County Fair Grounds, was built in 1939 as a WPA project. It provided office and exhibit space for the fair as well as offices, storage, and drill space for the local National Guard unit, Company...

The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum was constructed as a Naval Reserve Armory by the Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1940-42. In 1939, the City of Santa Barbara deeded the land to the Navy, because city leaders thought that a Naval Reserve Armory would be beneficial to the city. The Armory was almost complete when WW II broke out and construction was stopped. The building was boarded up. Then, in 1942, the City of Santa Barbara leased part of the harbor to the Navy for a wharf and the following year Naval Reservists were ordered to finish the building, which was designated a Small...

The Utah National Guard was funded by the New Deal to built several armories.  One of those is in Mount Pleasant. The exact year of construction is unknown to us.. "During the 1930s, UTNG used federal money, often supplied through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), to build or expand a number of UTNG facilities. The WPA funded eight armories and several garage and storage areas for the UTNG. By 1940, 13 armories were in use by the Utah Guard including  . The building is now utilized by the city of Mt. Pleasant as its Recreation Center, a.k.a. Memorial Hall.

"The Santa Barbara Armory, Work Projects NO. 4256, 7013, and 9073, was sponsored by the City of Santa Barbara and constructed for the 2nd Battalion of the 144th Field Artillery, California National Guard. The work involved the construction of a complete armory plant consisting of two units. The main building is a one story ell shaped structure with two wings having a total floor area of 28,790 square feet including the basement. The Gargare Building, the second unit, has approximately 4800 square feet of floor space and consists of one story and a basement.   "The auditorium section of the Main...

"This armory at Minneapolis provides quarters for 16 artillery, infantry, and naval units of the National Guard and Naval Militia. The main drill hall is flanked on each side by balconies underneath which are 16 supply rooms, each with an office and orderly room. There are also a trophy room, medical-examination rooms, officers' rooms, recreation rooms, and storerooms. The building is 215 by 330 feet in plan and is constructed of reinforced concrete, steel, and brick. The exterior walls have a high granite base above which they are brick with stone trim. The curved roof is supported by hinged steel arches. It...

In 1885, the Montana Territorial Legislature authorized the organization of a National Guard. Within three years its nine companies were headquartered in the territorial capital at Helena. Since that time Montana Guard personnel have been called up for State Active Duty to assist with riots, strikes, natural disasters, law enforcement, search and rescue, and other emergencies. Montana citizen soldiers mustered into federal service for military actions including the Spanish American War in 1898, the Philippine Insurrection in 1899, World War I France, throughout World War II's Pacific Theatre, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia and Kuwait,...

McComb's municipal auditorium/city armory/gymnasium on Virginia Avenue served as the armory for Company L, 155th infantry from 1938-1940 (MDAH/Historic Resources Inventory). Constructed by the Work Progress Administration between 1936-1938, the facility was destroyed by fire in 1952. Work on the field house was begun in July 1936, and within a few weeks, the gymnasium and armory components were added. Work was suspended December 1936 when the facility was 30% complete. A February 1937 news item indicated "work will be resumed on the long stagnated combination Field House, Gymnasium and Armory building" (To resume work, p. 1). A. J. Spradlin was...

This WPA armory was constructed by the WPA in 1936-37: "The Muskogee armory is a huge two-story, essentially rectangular shaped (260' x 160) building of cut, coursed, and rusticated native stone of buff colors. The masonry is of exceptional quality... Architecturally, the armory is unique as a WPA structure for its massive size, quality of workmanship, and its vernacular style."   (wpa3muskogee.pdf) The building is now in use as the Muskogee Teen Center.

WPA crews built this armory in 1939. It has a central barrel vaulted auditorium and surrounding single story offices, all of which has a native stone façade that is in excellent condition on the exterior.  It is on the east side of Doniphan and likely used some of the rock masons who were used on the school rock wall project.

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Douglas, Converse County. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.

The historic National Guard Armory in Fort Mill, South Carolina was constructed in 1938 with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) assistance. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The armory is located along the west side of Unity St. between E. Elliott St. and E. Leroy St.

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Gadsden. The armory was located between Riverside Drive and Cherry Street east of South 1st Street, north of Hughes Cemetery, and has since been demolished.

"The Guthrie Armory was constructed between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration. With sandstone quarried on-site, using local, unskilled labor, this building is typical of WPA construction in Oklahoma. This is a one-story building, 125 x 140 feet, located in a residential/recreational area known as Highland Park. The architect was Bryan W. Nolen. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. ...The building has an Art Deco appearance, with the placement of recessed stonework on the front, and the projected pilasters rising to a stepped parapet. The building has its original windows and overhead...

In 1935, Congress was considering legislation that would provide Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds for the construction of National Guard armories for communities whose National Guard units were currently renting space. If communities would provide a square block of land, deeded to the state, the federal government would loan the community $25,000.00 for a standard plan armory. Hartington was among the communities that indicated an interest in the program. In late September, Hartington was given notification that they had been selected for one of the $25,000.00 grants.

An economic account of Kearney is given in The Kearney Daily Hub paper of November 19, 1935, reporting facts disclosed at a joint Buffalo County Board and Kearney City Council meeting. Board Chairperson Martin Slattery reported that “There were nearly five thousand persons on relief in Buffalo County last year, practically as many as the combined populations of Ravenna, Shelton, Gibbon, Elm Creek, and all other towns in the county outside Kearney.” Chairman of the County Board’s poor committee, Gene Loomis reported that there were then “about 150 non-employable cases on relief, as well as about 175 employable but jobless...

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the National Guard Armory in Kokomo IN. WPA project numbers: O.P. 65-52-2377 "Armory improvements" and O.P. 65-52-X7 "State armory improvements."

The Works Progress Administration constructed a building the National Guard Armory in Live Oaks FL.

Originally built and used as an armory for the National Guard, the building hosted the first wave of eight hundred Lodians of Japanese descent on May 18, 1943, who assembled there for the bus trip to the Stockton Fairgrounds Assembly Center before going to Rohwer War Relocation Camp in Arkansas. During and after the Second World War, the National Guard used the Armory for training and storing equipment. In 2002, the City of Lodi leased it for five years, with the intention of using it for recreation. In 2009, an adult women's dodgeball league began to play there while the...

"The Marlow National Guard Armory is located at 702 W. Main, in a residential area. It was constructed by the WPA, beginning on November 7, 1935, carrying through 1936, being completed in January 1937. It was dedicated during a fierce snowstorm on April 1, 1937. This is a one-story red brick armory with cast concrete detailing... Near the front entrance is a stone block reading "State Armory/Built by Works Progress Administration/1936/W.S. Key/State Administrator." At the northwest and northeast corners of the building are concrete blocks reading "Built by WPA 1936." When constructed it was the home of the 1st Battalion, 158th Field Artillery,...

National Guard Armory in McAlester OK is a single story armory built by the Works Progress Administration and made of sandstone with arched roof. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The building is still in use.

The concrete Art-Deco influenced WPA Moderne armory was completed as part of a 3 building complex. Cost was $200,000. The building is currently used as the Memphis Children's Museum.

What is presently the Indiana Army National Guard Armory was constructed as the Michigan City Naval Armory with the assistance of Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor. A plaque states the completion date as October 1939.

The New Castle National Guard armory located at Shenango Township, Lawrence County PA was built in 1938 with funding from the Public Works Administration (PWA). The building design is stone Moderne on an "I" floorplan, consisting of a one- to two-story administration building, a connected riding hall and former stable building. One observer notes that, "Ashler stone was used by the Thayer Company of New Castle to design this Romanesque structure, although the NRHP narrative classifies the building as Art Deco (I just don’t see it, but I’m no expert). Like most armories built in Pennsylvania for cavalry units at the time,...

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Newcastle, Weston County. The exact location and condition of this facility are unknown to the Living New Deal.  

The armory was constructed by the WPA in 1935-1936. "A one unit facility, the Pawhuska Armory is rectangular...with offsets and is constructed of rusticated and generally coursed native sandstone... The Pawhuska Armory is particularly significant because it was one of the structures sponsored by the WPA shortly after the agency was established. Along with other armories across the state, it was to provide job opportunities for unemployed and destitute workers during the desperate winter of 1935-1936. That the building program helped to salvage broken and hopeless lives makes the armory a symbol of a government that cared for its citizens."   (www.okhistory.org) The armory...

In 1936, the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed construction of an armory in Perry, Oklahoma in order to support the equipment storage and training needs of the Perry Unit of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. In 2011 the Armory was transferred back to the community. The public release that announced the transfer of the Armory from the military to the community points out that "...during the Great Depression, local communities and the State of Oklahoma were unable to fund the construction of... armories....This armory was one of many proposed Oklahoma armories approved for construction by the WPA." It goes on to note...

WPA Constructed National Guard Armory, built in Portsmouth, VA. GIS gives a sale (completion?) date of December 5, 1936.

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Sanford FL. The building is still in service as the Florida National Guard Co B.