Military and Public Safety Sites

"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.

Constructed by the WPA in 1938.

Originally the 102d Cavalry Armory, this facility was constructed with the aid of Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. "This city is a residential suburb near New York. It has a population of approximately 25,000. The building contains a large riding ring, stable quarters, rifle range, machine shop, repair shop, caretaker's quarters, company rooms, officers' lounge, grill room, and administrative section. It is fireproof throughout with structural steel frame and concrete floor construction. There are 74,256 square feet on the ground floor. The volume is 2,598,690 cubic feet. It was completed in November 1938 at a construction cost of $458,469 and a project cost...

The WPA-built Art Moderne style armory adjacent to Delta State Teachers College (now Delta State University) provided facilities beginning in 1946 for one of the earliest guidance centers. Delta State later acquired the armory building and it served as an art studio until it was demolished in 1971.

This 2-story Art Moderne building was constructed by the WPA in 1938, and from 1939 to 1940 served as the armory for Company G, 155th Infantry. It is currently used to house the City Parks and Recreation Department.

The Works Progress Administration financed the construction of a national guard armory and rifle range for Amory. Architects N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town designed the building, "expected to exceed $56,000 and take 12 months" (Daily Clarion-Ledger, Oct. 6, 1940, p. 5). The average number of workers for the project was 44. In 2002, the building was named a Mississippi Landmark.

The Works Progress Administration built the National Guard Armory in Batesville in 1936. A 1998 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form describes the formal characteristics of the structure: "The 1936 National Guard Armory in Batesville was constructed in a vernacular Ozark stone style with Gothic Revival influences by local stonemasons hired by the federal government as well as National Guard unit members. The armory was a WPA project designed by Dutch architect Pieter Blaauw and is composed of Batesville sandstone obtained from the Maxfield Quarry on the outskirts of town. Each stone from the local quarry is hand cut. A barreled tarpaper roof...

Saved from the wrecking ball after being slated for demolition in 2007, Bozeman's Daily Chronicle writes that current plans (as of 2013) for the building call for the construction of an eight-story 'boutique' hotel on top of the existing structure. The armory was designed by Fred Willson, who was also the architect behind the new WPA courthouse and multiple school construction projects in Bozeman. The Daily Chronicle writes: "The armory was built in 1941, complete with a rifle range, soundproof room and thick floors capable of accommodating military trucks." W.P.A. Official Project Numbers: 65‐91‐6550; O.P.: 265‐1‐91‐6. Details: "Complete the construction of armory building," total...

In 1941, the WPA completed work on a National Guard armory designed by Edd Gregg for Williamsburg. The building is a classic modern deco building with strong vertical elements surrounding the entry that is capped with an eagle in flight. From the Kentucky National Guard History eMuseum: The old armory in Carlisle was constructed circa 1941 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The armory was completed with funds from the Armory Corporation of Kentucky. The building is located in downtown Carlisle on Main Street, and is a grey one-story poured concrete building with an attached, barrel-vaulted drill hall and a basement. The...

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) constructed the former National Guard Armory at 302 W. Fox Street in Carlsbad, New Mexico, in about 1941-2. WPA project No. 265‐1‐85‐20: "Construct Armory and improve grounds," $108,355, sponsored by the State Armory Board.

From the National Park Service website: "Among the highlights of Chandler’s Route 66 landscape is the Chandler Armory, behind which stands the only brick outhouse in Oklahoma, thought to have been built between 1903 and 1912 and still containing its original French fixture.  The Chandler Armory is an excellent example of Works Progress Administration (WPA) architecture; it is rich with history. The armory is also significant as the home of Battery F, Second Battalion of the 160th Field Artillery of the Oklahoma National Guard, 45th Infantry division and for its role in helping the men of Battery F prepare for their...

The National Guard Armory in Columbia was one of what was initially envisioned to be a large number of armories across the state, though the number actually built was limited. The building served as the home of the home of the Missouri National Guard until the last of the 20 th century. It presently houses the Ash St Sports complex for the Columbia Parks and Recreation Dept.

The former National Guard Armory in Columbia, Tennessee was designed by Warfield and Keeble. The facility includes a 70x100-foot drill hall. Warfield and Keeble designed a series of Tennessee National Guard Armories for the WPA between 1940-1942 with a "standardized but vaguely Art Deco-style architectural plan" (Fieser & Moore, 2011). Other armories were in Cleveland, Shelbyville, Centerville, and Murfreesboro. The Tenth Machine Gun and Chemical Company was headquartered in the Columbia armory during World War II. The building is currently used by the local Parks and Recreation department.

The National Guard Armory in Greenwood, Mississippi was built by the federal Work Projects Administration (WPA) with the City of Greenwood and Leflore County as sponsors. Began in 1939, the building was completed in 1940, with the facility dedicated March 31, 1941. The cost was approximately $80,000. Architects were N. W. Overstreet and A. H. Town. Frank McGeoy was supervising architect until his death in 1940 prior to completion. Superintendent of construction was Paul Thomas. The building was of reinforced concrete with an 80 x 100-foot drill hall, 20-foot ceilings, and maple floors. It included a stage with 1,600 square...

In 1941, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed work on a National Guard armory designed by Edd Gregg. The building is a poured, 2-story modern Deco style building with both horizontal and vertical elements on the front façade. It has been repurposed for use by the local YMCA. A barrel vault over the gymnasium is visible at the rear.

This national guard armory was constructed by the WPA in 1934-36. It is no longer in use, though as of 2012, the building was still standing. The Armory is constructed of native stone cut into irregular size blocks. It is rectangular, 141x120 feet with a front facade with large columns of stone flanking the entrance in a deco modern style. A large portion of the roof has a round vaulting. It is currently being used for storage.

"The Pawnee Armory in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, United States, is a single story rectangular building measuring 149' x 237'. It was built of native stone by the Works Progress administration. According to the plaque...it was completed in 1936, though the application form for the National Historic Places Registration form indicates it was finished in 1937. It originally housed the Oklahoma National Guard."   (wikipedia)

"The Sedalia Armory is one of the few remaining WPA projects in the city, and a good example of Art-Moderne style structures, emphasizing simplified streamlined form, smoothed-faced concrete exterior walls, rounded corners and horizontal emphasis. Work began on the Armory in December of 1940 and was completed in March of 1943. Located on a six-acre lot this concrete building consists of a two-story office wing, with and 85 x 100 foot barrel roof drill hall. Two incised artillery pieces flank each side of the main entry way, which faces south onto Ninth Street. Sold to a private owner in the...

This WPA armory was constructed in 1940-1941. "The significance of the Tulsa Armory stems from its date  of construction and its enormous size, among other things. Tulsa was not among those scheduled for an armory in 1936, in part because the WPA supported other projects and in part because Tulsa was strongly Republican in politics and armory selection was controlled by Democratic officials in Oklahoma City. The clear need for job opportunities for Tulsa's unemployed and the willingness of Tulsa County to lease land at no cost to the state as a site for the armory cleared the way for the...

"The Wagoner Armory, also known as National Guard Armory, was built in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration in order to make jobs for unemployed workers in the area. The Oklahoma National Guard used the building since it was built, until it was abandoned along with 58 other armories in the state of Oklahoma after they were ordered to be closed in 2006 by the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The Wagoner Armory, like many other armories, was contaminated with lead from bullets fired in their underground rifle ranges and from asbestos. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality cleaned the...

In 1942, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed work on a National Guard armory designed by Edd Gregg for Williamsburg. The building is a 2-story poured concrete building with a modern deco style. From the Kentucky National Guard History eMuseum: The first armory was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1942, and was located close to downtown on Bridge Street. The old Williamsburg Armory was designed by Louisville architect Edd R. Gregg, who designed six other armories in Kentucky in the same style. The armory is a two-story poured concrete building with attached maintenance garage/drill hall. Currently, the old armory is...

Duluth's National Guard Armory, built in 1915, received a significant expansion through the Works Progress Administration on the eve of World War II. Minnesota's WPA administrator, Sidney L. Stolte, announced the plans to "increase the size of the building, provide new meeting rooms, and extend the stage easterly" in the fall of 1940. Architect Philip C. Bettenberg drew up the plans. Bettenberg had already designed armories throughout Minnesota, including those in Minneapolis and Brainerd. A rift between the city and state regarding what type of curtain (steel or asbestos) should be used for the stage delayed the project. Construction was further postponed...

The historic National Guard Armory in Burlington, New Jersey was the recipient of WPA efforts: "alteration and addition" work. WPA Official Project Number: 65‐22‐3451

The Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) constructed an armory and equipment garage and for the New Mexico National Guard in Tucumcari. The location and status of the structure is unknown to Living New Deal. Official Project Number: 165‐1‐85‐163 Project cost: $111,456.00 Project sponsor: New Mexico National Guard

Gardner, Massachusetts's former city hall building was converted into as constructed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The building is still in service.into an armory with assistance from the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.).

The Washington Post, October 11, 1933, reported that the Public Works Administration (PWA) was funding a number of projects around Washington, including $66,945 for housing facilities and equipment at the district National Guard armory.

"The old National Guard Arsenal is the second largest adobe building in continuous use in the United States. Funded by the Works Progress Administration in 1936, it was part of the recreation development of Papago Park, an expansive, designed landscape."

The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) conducted improvement and development work at the National Guard installation in Sea Girt, New Jersey. Example project description: "Improve the National Guard camp grounds, including bulkheads, curbs, walks, sewers, manholes, and field drains, reconstructing pump houses and septic tanks, demolishing obsolete structures and hauling to low areas for fill, excavating"

"Work Of Constructing National Guard Rifle Range Resumed Tuesday Dan Cassidy, clerk at the local ERA office, announces that work was resumed Tuesday on the construction of the National Guard rifle range on the Sylvain farm situated just off the Norridgewock road. The project which is simply a continuation of the one started early this summer will run for four weeks, starting as of August 2nd. The project calls for ten men, a foreman and the use of one truck. Thus far the crew has been engaged in the building of a road from the main highway to the old range. Under...

The Works Progress Administration built a National Guard Squadron facility at the Municipal Airport in Birmingham, in 1936.

In 1933, the Washington Post reported the allocation of just over $30,000 to the Public Works Administration (PWA) for repairs to the Navy and Munitions Buildings, which were temporary troop quarters constructed during World War I on the western portion of the National Mall. $27,000 was apportioned for a new roof, $672 for other repairs, and $2,340 for resurfacing a road serving the facility. According to Paul Williams (2004): "Washington had been suffering from a shortage of both office space and housing since World War I, when the giant Main Navy and Munitions Building had been built as one  of the...