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99-659: The Park Avenue Armory , also known as the 7th Regiment Armory , is a historic armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 643 Park Avenue in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , United States. Designed in the Gothic Revival style by Charles Clinton for the 7th New York Militia Regiment , the Park Avenue Armory was completed in 1880, with two expansions in

198-440: A Queen Anne style room for Company K. Though architects are not attributed for the quarters that housed companies A, B, and F, Albert Wagner was definitely involved in the design of Company B's room, and George C. Flint and Alexander Roux were also involved in designing the three rooms. Two additional company rooms, originally designed by Pottier & Stymus as the non-commissioned officers' and adjutant's rooms, were converted to

297-548: A balcony on its south wall; it also has mahogany and Brazilian woodwork carvings, some lockers, several door and window surrounds, a fireplace mantel, a beamed ceiling, and two large wrought-iron chandeliers. The second floor also contained two squad drill rooms decorated in Georgia pine. Within the basement was a rifle range measuring 300 feet (91 m) long; it consisted of two parallel brick vaults, each measuring 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. The rifle range had six targets. Also in

396-530: A beamed ceiling and no stairway to its gallery. The Company K room is clad in oak and mahogany and has lockers, cabinetry, a stenciled frieze, a paneled ceiling, and a fireplace mantel. Company K's room was intended as the most ornate of the company rooms and has undergone the least modifications. The eight company rooms to the west of the corridor housed companies B–I from south to north. Company B's room has mahogany woodwork, Tiffany glass chandeliers, and copper-leaf ceilings; it originally had blue-and-gold walls and

495-510: A dozen companies, Company L was created in May 1909, initially occupying a locker room. The 7th Regiment requested another $ 210,000 for renovations in April 1909, including $ 10,000 to further upgrade the heating plant. That June, Robinson & Knus drew up plans for the armory's renovation; Kelly & Kelly were the general contractors for the project, while Baker, Smith & Co. were hired to modify

594-462: A frontier, and placed so as to draw in readily the resources of the country. The importance of a large arsenal is such that its defences would be on the scale of those of a large fortress . In the early 21st century, the term " floating armoury " described a ship storing weapons to be supplied to merchant vessels in international waters subject to piracy , so that the weapons do not enter territorial waters where they would be illegal. The branches in

693-501: A gas chandelier. Mace-shaped lights, a painted ceiling, and oak woodwork, along with some original lighting sconces, are in Company C's room. The room for Company D has elaborately carved mahogany woodwork (including lockers), lamps, a chandelier, and a mantelpiece; it also had ornate stenciling on the walls, frieze, and ceiling. Old woodwork, lamps, and a mantel are similarly in Company E's room, which originally had stenciled red walls and

792-512: A great arsenal are usually subdivided into storekeeping , construction and administration : In the manufacturing branches are required skill, and efficient and economical work, both executive and administrative; in the storekeeping part, good arrangement, great care, thorough knowledge of all warlike stores, both in their active and passive state, and scrupulous exactness in the custody, issue and receipt of stores. Frederick Taylor introduced command and control techniques to arsenals, including

891-429: A judge imposed a 200-bed limit, state legislator Roy Goodman and the city and state governments became involved in a dispute over the shelter's capacity. City officials ultimately decided to convert the shelter at the 7th Regiment Armory into a women's shelter in mid-1985, citing a shortage in beds for homeless women, and the shelter began accommodating 100 middle-aged and elderly women with mental illnesses. The structure

990-427: A lack of money. Veterans of the 7th Regiment laid the cornerstone on October 13, 1877, after the armory fund had reached $ 100,000. By then, the armory's foundation walls had been finished, and the drill hall's walls were under construction. The fund had grown to $ 157,000 by the end of 1877, even as new subscriptions decreased sharply. The 7th Regiment hosted parties and benefit concerts to raise money. By September 1878,

1089-498: A law that provided $ 8,000 per year for the armory's upkeep when the bonds on the building matured in 1894. Amid continued disputes over the veterans' use of the armory, the veterans' groups split in 1889 because they could not agree on a new meeting location. Veterans of the 7th Regiment, which wanted to meet in the Veterans Room, unsuccessfully requested an injunction to prevent the regiment from evicting them. In January 1894,

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1188-519: A new roof and $ 25,000 on repairing the facade. The New York Community Trust installed a plaque on the building in 1959, acknowledging its architectural and historical significance. During the 1960s, the armory was renovated, forcing the relocation of the National Indoor Tennis Championships. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the armory's facade as a city landmark on June 9, 1967, and

1287-467: A north–south main corridor. The entrance hall, the hallways on the first and second floors, and the main stairway between the two floors were all designed by George C. Flint & Co. The spaces have decorative features such as plaster ceilings, oak woodwork, and ornate doorways. The first-floor entrance hall leads west of the north–south corridor to the Park Avenue entrance. From the outset, the hall

1386-603: A plaque indicating this landmark designation was installed in September 1968. At the time, preservationists had lingering concerns that the building could be torn down. Through the 1970s, the armory was mainly occupied by the Second Brigade of the 42nd Division and the First Battalion of the 107th Infantry. It was periodically open to the public for events, but Manhattan Community Board 8 could not convince

1485-546: A portrait of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale , and portraits depicting the 7th Regiment in camp and on the march by Thomas Nast and Sanford Robinson Gifford . There were also portraits of various 7th Regiment colonels and other officers. The armory displayed sculptures as well, such as a statue of Mercury , a plaster cast of the Seventh Regiment Memorial in Central Park , and a replica of

1584-416: A pressed metal ceiling. This corridor also contains portraits of Medal of Honor winners, portraits of 7th Regiment officers, trophies of war, and a book of remembrance for members of the regiment who have died in combat over the years. The second-floor corridor has stairways at either end that were installed in 1911. The Veterans Room and library, designed by Tiffany and White and completed in 1881, are at

1683-425: A railroad station. The drill hall has Georgia pine floors laid in asphalt and concrete. There are eleven elliptical arches made of wrought iron . Each arch is about 187 feet (57 m) wide. The top and bottom chords of each arch were calculated from different foci , giving the arches a varying thickness and thereby strengthening the arches. Above the arches are a roof extension supported by more trusses, as well as

1782-519: A residential tower above the armory in 1979, prompting protests from 7th Regiment veterans. Despite this, the state government began studying plans in January 1981 to erect a tower over the armory, generating opposition from figures such as former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and U.S. Representative Mario Biaggi . The plan was canceled that March, as officials wished to focus on other development projects. A men's homeless shelter opened at

1881-418: A roof made of pine planks; there are two tiers of clerestory windows on the roof. The top of the roof is 100 feet (30 m) above the floor, while the iron trusses are 75 feet (23 m) high. Originally, the drill hall had seating on all four sides, with a capacity of 1,100 people. Platforms and galleries were placed on the west and east walls. In addition, the western wall had walnut gun cabinets, and there

1980-413: A series of regimental rooms on the first floor; and twelve rooms for the 7th Regiment's companies on the second floor. The drill hall, measuring 200 by 300 feet (61 by 91 m), was one of New York City's largest column-free indoor spaces when completed. The New York City Board of Aldermen approved the Park Avenue Armory's construction in 1875 but refused to fund the $ 350,000 construction cost. As such,

2079-460: A small army, may contain a laboratory, gun and carriage factories, small-arms ammunition, small-arms, harness, saddlery tent and powder factories; in addition, it must possess great storehouses. In a second-class arsenal, the factories would be replaced by workshops. The situation of an arsenal should be governed by strategic considerations. If of the first class, it should be situated at the base of operations and supply, secure from attack, not too near

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2178-437: A solid oak, iron-studded door opened onto the main hall. Along the rest of the facade, the three towers are connected by recessed walls. The windows are long and narrow, illuminating the offices and regimental rooms inside. The facade also had granite quoins and granite arches. The cornices at the tops of each tower are decorated with corbeled bricks; above these are crenellated parapets. Brick corbels extend horizontally across

2277-480: A stenciled terracotta paneled ceiling. The design of Company E's room was revised in 1892 when the ceiling was refinished in a strapwork design, and the walls were covered in Japanese wallpaper. The original stenciling in the rooms of companies D and E was restored in 2013. The Company F room initially had red stenciled walls and still contains oak woodwork, a chandelier, a paneled ceiling, and plaques commemorating

2376-512: A variety of events such as balls, competitions, meetings, and festivals; it also housed the 7th Regiment Tennis Club. The armory quickly attracted members of New York City's wealthiest families. The regiment asked the New York City Department of Public Works in 1886 to provide funding for the armory's upkeep. That June, Clark ordered Veterans of the 7th Regiment to vacate the armory, believing that their presence ran counter to

2475-589: A window and cabinets. The modern-day Colonel's Room has black-walnut woodwork, including door and window surrounds; the walls and ceilings have been repainted over the years. Just north of the western part of the Colonel's Room is the Adjutant's Room, formerly the western part of the South Squad's drill room, which has an oak parquet floor, two lockers, and cabinets. Two other rooms are located north and east of

2574-637: A women's reception and coat room. The Board of Officers Room, also known as the Clark Room, is at the southwest corner of the building, on 66th Street. It is one of a small number of extant interiors designed by the Herter Brothers, with mahogany woodwork from that company. The south wall has a 7-foot-high (2.1 m) fireplace surrounded by a mantel and an overmantel with painting, flanked by windows and additional paintings. The walls and ceilings were decorated with floral designs, later covered over:

2673-417: Is decorated with dark mahogany woodwork and originally had green walls and a blue coved ceiling ; a coffered ceiling was installed c.  1897 , and there is also a fireplace dating from 1937. The Company M room contains oak woodwork, a fireplace, paneled ceiling, a door to the drill hall's mezzanine, and stairs and a gallery on the east wall. In the Company L room are oak woodwork and a fireplace but has

2772-399: Is located on 131 East 66th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan , New York City . This Italian Renaissance-inspired building was constructed in 1905–1906 as a cooperative apartment house. Designed by Charles A. Platt , who resided here from 1906 until his death in 1933, the building expresses the architect's highly individualistic style. Crowned by an elaborate projecting cornice,

2871-467: Is only operational in certain times of the day. The term in English entered the language in the 16th century as a loanword from French : arsenal , itself deriving from the term Italian : arsenale , which in turn is thought to be a corruption of Arabic : دار الصناعة , dār aṣ-ṣināʿa , meaning "manufacturing shop". A lower-class arsenal, which can furnish the materiel and equipment of

2970-557: The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the city's Board of Estimate had to pay $ 8,000 annually toward the armory's upkeep, and the 107th Infantry became the 207th Coastal Artillery. In 1941, the 207th Coastal Artillery moved out, and the 7th Regiment of the New York State Guard moved in. The public was allowed to use the armory again in 1943. The 107th Infantry Regiment was revived in 1947, with its headquarters at

3069-454: The Statue of Liberty . As of 2024, the rooms host various performances, exhibitions, and events. Many of the rooms are protected as New York City designated landmarks, so the art, floors, and walls cannot be modified for exhibitions. On the first floor of the administration building, the regimental rooms are divided into northwest, southwest, and eastern sections by a west–east entrance hall and

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3168-498: The Wade Thompson Drill Hall and also known as the drill room or drill shed, occupies the eastern portion of the site. It was designed by consulting architect Robert G. Hatfield, who had helped design Grand Central Depot , and engineer Charles MacDonald. Measuring 200 by 300 feet (61 by 91 m) across, the drill hall has a volume of about 3,720,000 cubic feet (105,000 m) and was about three times as large as

3267-437: The 1950s, there had been multiple proposals to replace the 7th Regiment Armory with a multipurpose building, as the 107th Infantry had outgrown the armory. Although the city and state governments unofficially did not oppose the plan (since they would be able to profit from the new structure), the development would have required renegotiating the regiment's lease of the site. In the meantime, the regiment planned to spend $ 125,000 on

3366-479: The 7th Regiment funded the armory's construction through donations and a bond issue; work started in 1877, and the armory formally opened on September 30, 1880. The armory was substantially expanded from 1909 to 1913, with a refurbished drill hall and a new fourth story; the fifth floor was built in the late 1920s or early 1930s. The building was mostly used for military purposes through the 20th century, though it had hosted numerous events, competitions, and exhibits over

3465-499: The 7th Regiment paid off the last of the armory's debt. To celebrate this, the regiment hosted a housewarming party that February and hosted an elaborate revue and parade in the drill hall the next month. In April 1896, the 7th Regiment requested that the New York Armory Board authorize the installation of electrical wiring and lighting throughout the building; the request was approved that June, with $ 30,000 provided for

3564-554: The 7th Regiment, the Knickerbocker Greys cadet corps, and the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House also occupy parts of the armory. The armory occupies a city block bounded by Park Avenue to the west, 67th Street to the north, Lexington Avenue to the east, and 66th Street to the south. It is composed of two structures: the five-story administration building to the west and a drill hall to

3663-513: The Adjutant's Room. There are four rooms north of the stair hall, all protected as city landmarks. The Equipment Room, built as the quartermaster's room, was designed by Clinton and Russell in 1895. It is a pine-clad space with cabinets, hardwood floors, a window on the east wall, and plaster decorations on the walls and ceilings. North of the Equipment Room are two committee rooms, both designed by Robinson & Knust and created out of

3762-605: The Field and Staff Room. Several paintings were gifted to the armory in the 1930s and 1940s, including portraits of George VI of England , Gustav III of Sweden , scientist Frederick M. Pedersen, and 107th Infantry commanding officer Harry Disston, as well as a painting of the Battle of Rezonville . With the onset of World War II , in 1940, the New York state government stopped renting out the armory for civilian events. The same year,

3861-523: The Lexington Avenue frontage of the drill hall. The administration building was originally three stories tall, with the third story being a mansard roof . The fourth story was added in 1909, but the fifth story, recessed from Park Avenue, was built in 1930. The structure's main facade faces Park Avenue and is 200 feet (61 m) wide. It is divided into two sections by a set of three protruding towers with corbels and crenellation . Originally,

3960-667: The Mary Divver Room (after an orphan that the 7th Regiment adopted in the 1850s), is on the south wall of the lobby and north of the Board of Officers Room. Alexander Roux was responsible for woodwork, and the Herter Brothers designed other decorations. The reception room features maple woodwork with sliding doors on three walls; the fourth wall has paneled wainscoting, a fireplace with overmantel, and windows. The Herter Brothers created stenciled decorations, mostly in red and gold, which no longer exist. It has historically been used as

4059-468: The New Armory Fund was officially established. Charles W. Clinton, a veteran of Company K, was hired to design the armory; the regiment approved his designs in May 1876. The fund had $ 80,000 by that July, but fundraising slowed down over the next year. Work on the building began in early 1877. The cornerstone-laying ceremony, originally scheduled for September 1877, was delayed to October 4 due to

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4158-506: The Silver Room, is just south of the Veterans Room on the north wall of the lobby. The room contains mahogany woodwork such as sliding doors; there were also formerly two tiers of bookcases with glass doors. A stair leads to a gallery with iron rails. The walls are paneled and were formerly stenciled. Also within the library are an inglenook fireplace and a pair of multi-pane round-arched windows with some stained glass. The ceiling of

4257-474: The U.S.'s Watertown Arsenal (a principal center for artillery design and manufacture) and Frankford Arsenal (a principal center for small arms ammunition design and manufacture). [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Arsenal ". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 131 East 66th Street The Studio Building

4356-401: The adjutant's, board of officers', colonel's, field and staff, and non-commissioned officers' rooms. Also in the building were a library, veterans' quarters, memorials, reading rooms, reception rooms, and drill hall/gymnasium, as well as six squad drill rooms and ten company rooms (expanded to twelve in the 1910s). Most of these rooms, with the exception of the Veterans Room, are not well known to

4455-510: The armory amounted to $ 589,438.91 (equivalent to $ 18,610,000 in 2023); the structure was one of a few armories in the United States built and furnished with private funds. From the outset, the building was owned by its board of trustees, composed of 35 officers who were majors or a higher rank. Upon the armory's opening, the 7th Regiment was reportedly the only one in New York state that owned its building. The armory initially hosted

4554-456: The armory in January 1983 and initially housed men on the third and fifth floors. At the time, the armory had a restaurant and a squash and tennis club, and it continued to host exhibitions. Neighborhood residents initially supported the shelter, but 7th Regiment veterans filed a lawsuit in March 1984 after state officials announced plans to increase the shelter's capacity from 150 to 400 beds. After

4653-474: The armory in the 1920s, commemorating 7th Regiment troops who had died in World War I . These included tablets dedicated to the fallen members of Company F in 1923, Company B in 1924, and Company A in 1928. Brighter lights were installed in the drill hall in early 1926, following complaints that the lighting levels hindered tennis players in the U.S. National Indoor Championships . Sources disagree on whether

4752-553: The armory there. The 7th Regiment then identified a site at Hamilton Square between 66th Street, Fourth (Park) Avenue, 67th Street, and Lexington Avenue for a new armory. A state senator introduced a bill to reserve the site for the 7th Regiment in February 1874, and the bill passed that April. Despite initial skepticism, representatives of the regiment voted to acquire the Hamilton Square site after seeing that most members of

4851-399: The armory, and the 199th Army Ground Force Band was also headquartered at the armory in the late 1940s. Although there is documentation stating that ownership of the building was transferred to a veterans' group named the 7th Regiment Fund in 1952, the state government has disputed the documentation, saying that the 7th Regiment's commanding officer was not authorized to transfer ownership. By

4950-419: The basement were heating equipment, storage rooms, and restrooms, which were used as the quarters of the regiment's tennis club and rifle club. The Knickerbocker Greys youth cadet corps also has an office in the basement. The original third floor had a north–south corridor with wood wainscoting and Georgia pine trim. There were several rooms on the third floor, with ceilings and walls clad with Georgia pine. At

5049-400: The bottom of the first story. The main entrance is through a set of granite steps that leads to the first story (within the central tower). The entrance was designed to be wide enough to fit four soldiers walking side by side. Under the main entrance archway was originally a large bronze gate with a bronze tablet displaying the coat of arms of the 7th New York Militia Regiment . Behind the gate,

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5148-517: The building, on 67th Street; according to architect Robert A. M. Stern , it was "perhaps the armory's most notable interior". On the north wall is a mosaic-tile fireplace; a wooden mantel measuring almost 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, which depicts an eagle attacking a sea dragon; and a plaster overmantel with stained-glass windows on either side. The room has oak wainscoting, benches, and sliding doors. The walls were originally painted blue-gray with stenciling, and wrought-iron lighting fixtures illuminate

5247-450: The center of that story was a memorial room with tablets commemorating companies C, E, and H. This was flanked by two squad drill rooms, decorated with portraits of officers. The third floor also had a gymnasium; two general-use rooms; a kitchen; and rooms for the regiment's band and the drum corps. When the third floor was reconstructed in 1911, it was used as administrative offices. A new military library occupied half of that story (replacing

5346-406: The center of the Lexington Avenue facade was originally fitted with a heavy iron gate and thick oaken doors. Narrow windows, also meant to be easily defensible, lined the 66th and 67th Street facades. The first floor of the administration building has various regimental rooms laid on a north–south axis. The regimental rooms were used by both the public and the 7th Regiment's officers and consisted of

5445-406: The central tower was five stories high, while the outer towers were three and a half stories high. The central tower had a spired belfry with granite arches, which was removed in a 1909 renovation. The facade of the administration building was built with Philadelphia red brick and granite trim. The basement is clad with thick walls of rock-faced granite. There is a smooth-granite sill course at

5544-417: The company's Civil War casualties. In the quarters of Company G, there are carved woodwork, lockers, a mantel, and original polished-steel lamps, although the ceiling paneling and wall stencils were painted over in 1894. Company H's room has oak woodwork, lockers, wall covering, patterned oak ceiling with a cove , a variety of light fixtures, and doorway surrounds. Uniquely among the company rooms, Company I has

5643-530: The design included Samuel Colman , who did the stenciling; Candace Wheeler , who created the embroideries; and possibly Lockwood de Forest , who may have provided some of the woodwork carving. Though no single style was used for the spaces, one source called the rooms "Greek, Moresque, and Celtic with a dash of the Egyptian, the Persian and the Japanese". The Veterans Room is located at the northwest corner of

5742-523: The drill hall "a blank slate waiting to be transformed however an artist sees fit". Twelve landmarked company rooms occupy the second floor. The ten original rooms, designed for companies A–K, are mostly designed in a Renaissance Revival style, each with a distinct design and layout. Interior designers are attributed for seven of the ten original rooms: Pottier & Stymus designed four rooms for companies D, E, G, and I; Herter Brothers designed two rooms for companies C and H; and Sidney V. Stratton designed

5841-469: The drill hall at the 7th Regiment's previous armory. The drill hall was one of the largest column-free indoor spaces in New York City when completed; The New York Times said the room was among the largest such spaces in the United States. The hall was designed similarly to a train shed and is the oldest balloon shed in the U.S., as well as one of the first American balloon sheds not associated with

5940-546: The drill hall was repainted in green and gray; and the buttresses were modified or removed. Though the gallery seating was removed in 1955, the galleries still exist, with storage space underneath. In 2010, the trusses were reinforced, and new windows, shades, and lights were installed. By the 2010s, the drill hall was being used by the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy for large-scale artistic programming because of its size; The Wall Street Journal called

6039-681: The early 20th century. The building and its interior are New York City designated landmarks , and the structure was made a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Since 2006, it has been the home of the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy , which leased the building for 99 years from the New York state government . The 53rd Digital Liaison Detachment of the New York Army National Guard , the Veterans of

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6138-469: The east. The facade of the administration building is made of Philadelphia red brick and granite trim, with various defensive features. Numerous spaces in the interior of the building were designed in several styles by decorators such as Louis Comfort Tiffany , Stanford White , Kimbel and Cabus , Alexander Roux , Francis Davis Millet , and the Herter Brothers . These include halls and stairways;

6237-403: The entire city block bounded by Park Avenue to the west, 67th Street to the north, Lexington Avenue to the east, and 66th Street to the south. The land lot is rectangular and covers 81,336 sq ft (7,556 m), with a frontage of about 200 ft (61 m) on either avenue and about 405 ft (123 m) on either street. Neighboring buildings include 620 Park Avenue to

6336-494: The fifth story was built in 1928–1929, 1930, or 1931. After the fifth story was completed, Irving & Casson and A. H. Davenport were hired to design several rooms in the armory. These included the Daniel Appleton Mess Hall, dedicated in March 1931. Irving & Casson and Davenport also renovated the Colonel's Room, historically preserved the Board of Officers Room, and may have been involved in renovating

6435-559: The former North Squad Drill Room in 1909–1911. The Outer Committee Room to the west and the Inner Committee Room to the east both have mahogany woodwork, wainscoting, wood doorways, plaster ceilings, and chandeliers. The Field and Staff Room, designed by Pottier & Stymus , is north of the committee rooms. It had large lockers; dark mahogany wainscoting and furnishings; stenciled walls, friezes, and ceilings; and taxidermied animal heads. The drill hall, officially known as

6534-423: The fund had reached $ 200,000, the administration building's facade was almost complete, and the drill hall's foundation was completed. The drill hall's roof was finished at the end of the year, and the facade was completed in 1879. To cut costs, the armory was constructed out of brick rather than granite. To fund the remainder of construction, the 7th Regiment contemplated taking out a mortgage loan in early 1879 and

6633-458: The ground-story library), and a kitchen occupied the other half. The third-floor library had a Gothic-style ceiling and mahogany shelves. As part of the 1911 reconstruction, a gymnasium was erected on the fourth floor. This story also contained a smaller drill hall with a stage. The gymnasium was relocated to the fifth floor, which was added in the late 1920s or early 1930s. A mess hall, named after longtime Seventh Infantry commander Daniel Appleton,

6732-411: The heating system. The modifications included space for the newly formed companies L and M, the reconstruction of the third story, and a new fourth story, which roughly doubled the building's usable space. The regiment hosted a party in January 1911 after the renovations were finished. The New York City Board of Aldermen issued $ 20,300 in bonds to renovate the drill hall in 1912. The Charles Meads Company

6831-491: The installation of electric wires and 4,500 lightbulbs. After the Commercial Construction Company unsuccessfully bid for the lighting contract, J. F. Buchanan & Co. was awarded a general contract for lighting in April 1897. Installation of electric wires and lights took place throughout 1897, prompting trustees and company members to complain about the disarray of the armory's interiors. The work

6930-408: The landmarked rooms, the Colonel's and Adjutant's rooms, are south of the stair hall. The Colonel's Room, the southernmost such room, was designed by the Herter Brothers and redecorated by Irving and Casson in 1948. Originally, the room was characterized as having a red stenciled wall, a frieze, and a decorated blue ceiling. The south wall has a mantel and overmantel, while the east wall originally had

7029-552: The leaky heating system, having sought funding for the project for years. The Armory Board approved repairs to the heating system in July 1902 and hired the James Curran Manufacturing Company to conduct the repairs the next month. From 1902 onward, the armory also hosted the Knickerbocker Greys , a youth cadet corps. Following the passage of a federal law that required all National Guard regiments to have

7128-404: The library is a barrel vault , originally salmon-colored with a basketweave pattern and silver disks. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling. The library's books were moved to the third floor in 1895–1896, and the space was adapted into a regimental museum c. 1911–1914. The reception and Board of Officers rooms are at the southwestern section of the ground floor. The reception room, also known as

7227-536: The next two decades, reaching 1,000 men by 1876. Emmons Clark, the leader of the 7th Regiment, had wanted to erect a new armory as early as 1867. Clark said the Tompkins Market Armory's drill room could fit only two companies at once, and the third floor of the structure was not strong enough to support military exercises. The regiment began seeking a new armory uptown; at the time, most members lived north of 35th Street, making it difficult to mobilize

7326-498: The northwestern section of the ground floor. They are among the few remaining interior spaces influenced by the American Aesthetic Movement , as well as two of the only surviving rooms worldwide designed by Tiffany's Associated Artists. Tiffany created stained glass windows for the Veterans Room, while Francis D. Millet and George H. Yewell were responsible for friezes in that room. Other people involved in

7425-589: The proposed expenditure wasteful. That November, the city's Board of Apportionment voted against granting a mandamus that would have raised the required $ 350,000 through taxes. The next month, a judge denied the regiment's request to force the Board of Estimate to give them the money. The regiment's board of officers announced in January 1876 that they would raise $ 330,000 for the armory themselves, and they contacted 1,500 regiment members and veterans for donations. The regiment had raised $ 36,000 by early February 1876, when

7524-583: The public. Architects and interior designers of the American Aesthetic Movement were commissioned to furnish the rooms and company quarters. These include the Veterans Room and Library, decorated by Louis Comfort Tiffany along with Stanford White ; and the Reception, Board of Officers, and Colonel's rooms, designed by the Herter Brothers . The interior spaces were decorated with various paintings and portraits. The collection included

7623-514: The quarters of companies L and M, respectively, by Robinson & Knust between 1909 and 1913. The Company L room is in the neoclassical style , while the Company M room is in the Tudor Revival style. As of 2024, these rooms house workshops and artists in residence. Four of the company rooms are located on the east side of the second-floor corridor; from south to north, they housed companies A, M, L, and K. The Company A room on 66th Street

7722-443: The regiment lived nearby. The regiment signed a 21-year lease in September 1874, and it began seeking funds from the city for construction. The Tompkins Market Armory was severely damaged in a fire in mid-1874, leaving that structure without a roof for a year. The New York City Board of Aldermen authorized the new armory's construction in July 1875, providing up to $ 350,000 for the armory; city controller Andrew Haswell Green called

7821-490: The regiment to host neighborhood activities there. The armory, one of two in the city that still hosted tennis matches, rented out the tennis courts in its drill hall to a private club. The dining halls could be rented out, and, the armory housed an extensive collection of military memorabilia such as uniforms and weapons. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Developers proposed

7920-750: The regiment. Furthermore, the regiment's members perceived the old armory's location on the fringes of the Lower East Side , a tenement district within what is now the East Village , as being less safe than the Upper East Side, which was growing into an upscale neighborhood. In 1873, the 7th Regiment attempted to obtain a site for a new armory at Reservoir Square (now the site of the New York Public Library Main Branch ), but local residents opposed building

8019-486: The site. When streets were laid out per the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , the city government retained six city blocks between 66th Street, Park Avenue, 69th Street, and Third Avenue . The six-block site was intended to be developed into a public park called Hamilton Square, but the plots were instead leased to educational, medical, and charitable institutions. The Park Avenue Armory was one such institution, built on

8118-405: The southwest corner of Hamilton Square on land leased from the city. Just prior to the armory's construction, Emmons Clark , the leader of the 7th New York Militia Regiment , described the site as having been occupied by "35 shanties". The armory, along with Hunter College and a fire and police station on 67th Street, are the only remnants of the site's use as an institutional campus. The building

8217-726: The southwest; Millan House and the Hunter College campus to the north; 149–151 East 67th Street and the Park East Synagogue to the northeast; 130 East 67th Street and 131 East 66th Street to the east; and the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer to the southeast. The site was owned by the British Crown until the American Revolutionary War , when the New York City government took over

8316-436: The space. At the top of the wall is a frieze with battle scenes and shields. There are two columns with nautical chains wrapped around their lower halves. The coffered ceiling has redwood beams. The room is overlooked by a balcony with oak balustrade . It has been modified several times; it was used as a reading and social room after 1889 and served as a performance venue by the early 21st century. The library, also known as

8415-405: The surrounding neighborhood. The structure could be defended by fifty soldiers at a time. The large vaulted space for the drill hall is on the eastern three-quarters of the block. The drill hall is also clad with brick, with three band courses of stone running horizontally across the plain facade. The top of the wall has stone coping and a parapet that is crenellated . The arched doorway at

8514-422: The terms of the regiment's lease agreement with the city. Though the veterans' group refused to move, the regiment began allowing outside groups to use the Veterans Room. The city government was also reluctant to fund repairs to the armory, but a state judge ruled in late 1886 that the city was responsible for funding all aspects of the armory's upkeep, including a new heating system. The state legislature then passed

8613-451: The third floor. The administration building was designed as a utilitarian structure, lacking what Clark described as "useless ornament". The tall, narrow windows could be easily defended in an attack, and the windows had iron shutters. The facade also contains numerous loopholes , through which soldiers could fire their rifles while being shielded from enemy fire. The top of the central tower, rising 100 feet (30 m), allowed easy views of

8712-497: The wall was originally painted blue, and the ceiling had a frieze. Originally, there was also a desk for the presiding officer, as well as cabinets. From 1932 onward, the room was a memorial to Emmons Clark. The stencils on the ceiling and walls were restored in 2013; the wall was painted dark green, and the ceilings were painted yellow. Between the hallway to the west and the drill hall to the east are additional regimental rooms, including six protected as New York City landmarks. Two of

8811-402: The years. The state government proposed leasing out the armory in the late 1990s. In 2000, the state awarded the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy the responsibility of overhauling the building, restoring the dilapidated interior spaces, and transforming it into an arts venue. In the 21st century, the armory is largely used as an event, exhibit, and performance space. The Park Avenue Armory occupies

8910-568: Was also walnut wainscoting and porcelain reflectors. Jasper F. Cropsey was responsible for the drill hall's original decoration. The space was originally painted red, white, and blue, the colors of the United States flag . Between 1911 and 1913, the seating capacity was increased to about 3,000. During this renovation, the separate galleries on the west and east walls were replaced with a single gallery accessed by several stairways. In addition, new lights and clerestory windows were installed;

9009-512: Was authorized to issue $ 150,000 in bonds that March. The regiment began issuing bonds in April, and the city extended the regiment's lease of the site indefinitely, on the condition that the building remain in military use. Work on decorations continued through the end of 1879. Visitors were first allowed into the armory on November 17, 1879, when U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the New Armory Fair. The fair netted $ 140,550, which

9108-547: Was built on the fourth floor in 1931. Also on the fourth floor were two gates salvaged from the Union Club of the City of New York 's building. By the 1980s, the administration building had two handball courts and two squash courts. What is now the 7th New York Militia Regiment (nicknamed the "Silk Stocking Regiment" because of its members' affluence) was established in 1806 as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th companies. The battalion

9207-458: Was completed by January 1898. From the late 1890s to the early 1910s, numerous companies renovated their rooms to add new decorations, conduct repairs, or accommodate changes made to the building as a whole. Some of the regiment's companies, such as Company K, retained their respective rooms' original designs, while other companies significantly modified their quarters. Additionally, in 1901, the regiment's trustees indicated their intention to repair

9306-498: Was decorated with various plaques describing the 7th Regiment's history. At the eastern end of the entrance hall (where it meets the corridor), a double stairway leads from the first to the second floors. The stair was built of iron to accommodate the weight of a large number of soldiers, but it is clad with oak. The north–south corridor on the first floor, and a similar one on the second floor, are illuminated by various wrought-iron wall sconces and chandeliers. The first-floor corridor has

9405-399: Was designed by the architect Charles W. Clinton in the Gothic Revival style. The builder was R. L. Darragh, while the bricklayers were Van Dolson & Arnott. The Park Avenue Armory is composed of two structures: the administration building to the west, on Park Avenue, and the drill hall to the east, on Lexington Avenue. The entire building is surrounded by a landscaped areaway , except on

9504-442: Was hired for the renovation, which was completed in early 1913; the project involved new seating areas and modifications to accommodate tennis games. Although the rebuilt drill hall could accommodate more than 5,000 people, visitors criticized its acoustics. The 7th Regiment became the 107th Infantry during World War I . A fourth-story room housing the city's police band was destroyed by fire in 1922. Several tablets were dedicated at

9603-612: Was made a National Historic Landmark in 1986. After the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs leased the building to a theatrical company in the late 1980s, the New York Comptroller 's office accused the agency of illegally leasing the armory without the comptroller's approval. Armory (military) A sub-armory is a place of temporary storage or carrying of weapons and ammunition, such as any temporary post or patrol vehicle that

9702-654: Was renamed several times before becoming the 7th Regiment of Infantry, New York State Militia, in 1847. The regiment quelled several civil disturbances in New York City during the mid-19th century, and it served in the American Civil War . The 7th Regiment originally trained in Central Park and other open spaces before moving into the State Arsenal in 1853 or 1854 and the Tompkins Market Armory in 1860. The regiment continued to grow over

9801-544: Was used to fund the armory's completion and decoration of the ornate interiors. The 7th Regiment held its last assembly at the Tompkins Market Armory on April 25, 1880, and it took possession of the new uptown armory the next day. The next month, the regiment received approval from the Armory Committee to lease out the drill hall for events. The regiment formally opened the armory on September 30, 1880, and held an "Inauguration Ball" that December 15. The total cost of

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