Seventh Regiment Armory
Encyclopedia
The Seventh Regiment Armory, located at 643 Park Avenue
also known as Park Avenue Armory in New York, New York
, United States
, is an historic brick building that fills an entire city block on New York's Upper East Side
.
Charles Clinton in the Gothic Revival style and dedicated in 1880. It is the only armory
in the United States to be built and furnished with private funds. It originally served as the headquarters and administrative building for the 7th New York Militia
Regiment, known as the Silk Stocking Regiment due to the disproportionate number of its members who were part of the city's social elite. The building is known for detailed interior rooms that are furnished with ornamental
woodwork, marble and stained glass depictions of moderately disapproved behavior.
The main facade of the administration building faces Park Avenue between 66th
& 67th Streets, with the large vaulted space for the drill hall
in the center of the block. The administration building has provisions for a reception room, a library, veterans room and staff offices for ten regimental companies. Noted architects and interior designers of the American Aesthetic Movement were commissioned to furnish the rooms and company quarters. The library is known as the Silver Room or "Trophy Room" and was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany
who worked with architect Stanford White
as a consultant on the project. The masterpiece of the armory building is the Veterans Room, also known as the Tiffany Room, with hand carved wood panelling
and coffer
ed ceiling. Other significant craftsmen with work in the building include Alexander Roux
, Francis Davis Millet
, and the Herter Brothers
.
The Armory is currently home to:
After 9/11 the Armory was temporarily converted into a support center for the victims and the families of the terrorist attacks.
The building was made a National Historic Landmark
in 1986.
(WHSAD) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. WHSAD is a 9-12 college preparatory school whose mission is to provide its students with a quality education that is geared toward future training in the preservation trades and related professions such as architecture, conservation, engineering, and city planning. WHSAD is the only school in the country with a Historic Preservation program.
Park Avenue (Manhattan)
Park Avenue is a wide boulevard that carries north and southbound traffic in New York City borough of Manhattan. Through most of its length, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east....
also known as Park Avenue Armory in New York, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, is an historic brick building that fills an entire city block on New York's Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
.
History
The building was designed by architectArchitect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Charles Clinton in the Gothic Revival style and dedicated in 1880. It is the only armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
in the United States to be built and furnished with private funds. It originally served as the headquarters and administrative building for the 7th New York Militia
7th New York Militia
The 7th Regiment of the New York Militia aka "Silk Stocking" Regiment, , was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
Regiment, known as the Silk Stocking Regiment due to the disproportionate number of its members who were part of the city's social elite. The building is known for detailed interior rooms that are furnished with ornamental
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
woodwork, marble and stained glass depictions of moderately disapproved behavior.
The main facade of the administration building faces Park Avenue between 66th
66th Street (Manhattan)
66th Street is a crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan with portions on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side connected across Central Park via the 65th Street Transverse...
& 67th Streets, with the large vaulted space for the drill hall
Drill hall
A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practice and perform military drill. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was also used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, which usually incorporated such a hall...
in the center of the block. The administration building has provisions for a reception room, a library, veterans room and staff offices for ten regimental companies. Noted architects and interior designers of the American Aesthetic Movement were commissioned to furnish the rooms and company quarters. The library is known as the Silver Room or "Trophy Room" and was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
who worked with architect Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
as a consultant on the project. The masterpiece of the armory building is the Veterans Room, also known as the Tiffany Room, with hand carved wood panelling
Panelling
Panelling is a wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials....
and coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed ceiling. Other significant craftsmen with work in the building include Alexander Roux
Alexander Roux
Alexander Roux was a French-trained ébéniste, or cabinetmaker, who emigrated to the United States in the 1830s. He opened a shop in New York City in 1837. The business grew quickly: by the 1850s he employed 120 craftsmen in his shop and introduced then-new industrial technologies, such as...
, Francis Davis Millet
Francis Davis Millet
Francis Davis Millet was an American painter, sculptor, and writer who died in the sinking of the on April 15, 1912.-Early life:Francis Davis Millet was born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts...
, and the Herter Brothers
Herter Brothers
The firm of Herter Brothers, New York, , founded by Gustave and Christian Herter , begun as an upholstery warehouse, became one of the first firms of furniture makers and interior decorators in the United States after the Civil War...
.
The Armory is currently home to:
- Park Avenue Armory, a newly-launched, not-for-profit arts organization whose mission is to revitalize this important landmark as a unique alternative arts space.
- The 53rd Army Liaison Team of the New York Army National GuardNew York Army National GuardThe New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization...
, a unit carrying on the heritage of the 7th Regiment. - The Veterans of the 7th Regiment
- The Knickerbocker GreysKnickerbocker GreysThe Knickerbocker Greys is the oldest after school activity in the United States, founded in 1881 for children aged 6 to 16. Since its founding, the primary purpose of the Greys “is to instill in cadets a sense of personal responsibility, and instinct for leadership, the habit of reliability, and...
, an afterschool program which has been at the Armory since 1902. - The Veteran Corps of Artillery (VCA)Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New YorkThe Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York is an American historic militia organization founded at the end of the American Revolutionary War for the purpose of preventing another British invasion of New York City....
, a ceremonial unit which was organized on November 25, 1790 (Evacuation DayEvacuation Day (New York)Following the American Revolution, Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when the last vestige of British authority in the United States — its troops in New York — departed from Manhattan...
) by American Revolutionary War Veterans.
After 9/11 the Armory was temporarily converted into a support center for the victims and the families of the terrorist attacks.
The building was made a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1986.
Education
Park Avenue Armory enjoys a rich partnership with Williamsburg High School for Architecture and DesignWilliamsburg High School for Architecture and Design
The Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design, commonly called WHSAD, Architecture and Design or A&D, is a 9-12th grade college preparatory high school committed to developing students as imaginative critical thinkers...
(WHSAD) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. WHSAD is a 9-12 college preparatory school whose mission is to provide its students with a quality education that is geared toward future training in the preservation trades and related professions such as architecture, conservation, engineering, and city planning. WHSAD is the only school in the country with a Historic Preservation program.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsNational Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsList of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th StreetsThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places between 59th and 110th Streets in Manhattan...
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- Squadron A ArmorySquadron A ArmoryThe Squadron A Armory is a former United States Army armory and the homebase of Squadron A. It took up the whole block between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue, between 94th and 95th Street. It was therefore also known as the Madison Avenue Armory...
External links
- MuseumPlanet Armory narrated slide tour
- Park Avenue Armory Park Avenue Armory Website
- Tourist Profile cityguide.aol.com
- Seventh Regiment Armory, 643 Park Avenue Images and data pages - Historic American Building Survey (HABS)
- Photos & Short History
- Knickerbocker Greys
- VCA website