32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory, also known as the 32nd Street Armory or Drexel Armory, is a historic

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

and multipurpose venue located in the University City neighborhood of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Main entrances to the Armory are located at both 33rd and Cuthbert Street, and along

Lancaster Walk The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, first used in 1795, is the first long-distance paved road built in the United States, according to engineered plans and specifications. It links Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Phi ...

. Cuthbert Street is part of the Armory property and was removed from Philadelphia city street listing. It was built in 1916, and is a trapezoidal shaped building in the

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

style. It is a three-story, 21,346 square foot, brick building with stone entablature and

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. It houses administrative offices, a gymnasium, and drill hall. ''Note:'' This includes It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1991. In 2008,

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

leased parts of the armory with plans to renovate it into a

convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

arena for the use of Drexel athletics. Eventually, the university abandoned the plans to convert the armory into its primary arena, and instead focused on renovating the current arena, the

Daskalakis Athletic Center Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC) is a athletic and recreational facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The facility is best known for its 2,509-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to multiple Drexel University Dragons sports teams includin ...

. However, smaller scale renovations were completed at the armory and it is currently used for many events such as concerts, food events, art gatherings, and conventions.

Concerts

Drexel homecoming dance concert

The annual homecoming dance concert was held at the armory during the last week of January each year from 2009 to 2014. Following the 2014 concert, the event was replaced by the Drexel Fall Fest. Headlining performances included: *2014:

DJ Carnage Diamanté Anthony Blackmon (born January 3, 1991), known professionally as Gordo (stylized GORDO) and formerly known as Carnage (or DJ Carnage), is a Nicaraguan-American DJ, record producer, and former rapper. Blackmon was initially known for h ...

GRiZ Grant Richard Kwiecinski (born May 31, 1990), also known by his stage name GRiZ, is an American DJ, songwriter, and electronic music producer from Southfield Michigan. He is known for playing the saxophone along with producing funk, electro-soul, ...

ScHoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...

Trinidad James Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...

*2013:

Porter Robinson Porter Weston Robinson (born July 15, 1992) is an American DJ, record producer, musician, and singer from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Robinson began producing music in his childhood. He signed to Skrillex's record label Owsla, OWSLA at the age o ...

Flosstradamus Flosstradamus is the stage name of American DJ and musician Curt Cameruci. From 2007 until 2016, Flosstradamus consisted of Cameruci and Josh Young from Chicago. The duo announced they would both be pursuing solo careers, with Cameruci to continu ...

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

*2012:

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Wynter Gordon Diana Gordon, previously known by her stage name Wynter Gordon, is an American singer and songwriter. She began her career writing music for other artists, later signing with Atlantic Records where she started to work on her own album. Her deb ...

, DJ Serafin *2011: *2010:

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...

, DJ Serafin,

Vita Chambers Vita Chambers (born June 10, 1993) is a Barbadian-Canadian singer and songwriter. She is best known for her hit single "Like Boom" in 2010. Musical career and early life Chambers was born in Vancouver, Canada. She then moved to Barbados, wh ...

, East Hundred, Oh Snap! *2009:

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...

Chiddy Bang Chidera Anamege, now known by his stage name Chiddy Bang, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to its breakup, Chiddy Bang was an American hip hop duo consisting of Anamege, under the stage name Chiddy, and Noah Beresin, ...

, Mike Jones,

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, alon ...

Drexel Spring Jam

The annual Spring Jam concert, which is organized by the Drexel CAB, is generally held during the Spring semester. The Spring Jam was performed at the

Drexel Armory 32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory, also known as the 32nd Street Armory or Drexel Armory, is a historic National Guard armory and multipurpose venue located in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Main en ...

until it was relocated to Lot F, an open parking area on Drexel's campus between Main Building and 31st Street, beginning in 2011. The headlining acts of the Spring Jam concerts performed at the armory included: *2010:

N.E.R.D. N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Reco ...

Kevin Rudolf Kevin Winston Rudolf (born February 17, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist from New York City, New York. He is best known for his 2008 single " Let It Rock". Early life Kevin Winston Rud ...

*2009: Girl Talk,

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

*2008:

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

*2007:

Jack's Mannequin Jack's Mannequin was an American rock band formed in 2004, hailing from Orange County, California. The band originally began as a solo project for Andrew McMahon, the frontman of Something Corporate. The band was signed to Maverick Records and re ...

Other concerts

*January 27, 2017:

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...

, Mija,

Valentino Khan Valentino Khan (born February 15, 1987) is an American DJ and producer born and raised in Los Angeles. He is best known for releasing material through Diplo, Skrillex and Steve Aoki. His singles "Deep Down Low" and "Make Some Noise" peaked at numb ...

*February 18, 2012:

Alesso Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad (born 7 July 1991), better known by his stage name Alesso (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer. He has worked with numerous artists, including Tove Lo, Theo Hutchcraft, Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld, Calvi ...

LA Riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, in April ...

*May 5, 2010:

Dave Hause Dave Hause (born March 12, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter. He currently performs both solo and with his band The Mermaid. His music draws from heartland rock, folk rock and punk rock. He has also played in multiple Philadelphia, PA area ...

*June 5, 2008: M.I.A.,

Holy Fuck Holy Fuck is a Canadian electronica band from Toronto. They were a part of Dependent Music, a music label and artist collective that began in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 2004 until its closing. They were then a part of the Young Turks label and in ...

*September 29, 1996: Goldfinger *December 10, 1994:

Run–DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and N ...

, Naughty by Nature,

Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip hop duo made up of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were signed to Death Row Records in their early careers and were key to the label's success. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in ...

Craig Mack Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1971 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper and record producer, and was famous during his tenure under Bad Boy Records. Early life and career Craig Jamieson Mack was born in The Bronx, New York, and raised on ...

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Kid Capri David Anthony Love Jr. (born February 7, 1967) is an American DJ and rapper better known by his stage name Kid Capri. Early life Kid Capri's humble roots can be traced back to his parents' home in the Bronx, where ten year old David Antho ...

*December 7, 1994:

Toad the Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, w ...

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...

*November 11, 1993:

Digable Planets Digable Planets () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987. The trio is composed of rappers Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Mariana "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira, and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving. The group is notable for their contributions to the subgenre ...

, Gumbo *November 8, 1993:

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

The Breeders The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...

Half Japanese Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...

*October 14, 1993:

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (informally referred to as The Bosstones and often stylized as The Mighty Mighty BossToneS) were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky ...

Ruder Than You Ruder Than You is an American ska band that was founded in 1989 at Penn State University and, in 1991, the group relocated to Philadelphia. While ska and reggae stylings have always provided the common musical thread, over the past 15 plus year ...

, Love Seed Mama Jump, Strange as Angels, Mr. Greengenes, Public Service, Tribes *October 1, 1993:

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip-hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. The group's name is a reference to the H. G. Wells novel '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'', a refer ...

Funkdoobiest Funkdoobiest was an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California, United States, composed of rappers Jason "Son Doobie" Vasquez, Tyrone "Tomahawk Funk" Pacheco and DJ Ralph "Tha Phunky Mexican" Medrano. They are members of the Soul Assassi ...

The Whooliganz The Whooliganz were an American 1990s hip hop music duo consisting of Scott Caan and Alan Maman (the latter of whom is known now as hip hop producer The Alchemist). The duo went by the names Mad Skillz and Mudfoot, respectively. Caan and Mam ...

Sports

Buckley Courts

The Buckley Courts are three plexicushion multipurpose courts within the armory. They are named after Robert Buckley, an alumnus of the Drexel College of Engineering and a member of the Drexel Athletics Hall of Fame as a three-sport athlete. From 2008-2018, these courts serve as a practice site for club and varsity sports teams during the winter. They are also available to students for recreational sports including tennis, basketball, volleyball, badminton, indoor soccer, street hockey and table tennis.

Basketball

The armory was the home arena for the

Drexel Dragons The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in ...

basketball teams from 1969 to 1975. The armory hosted three regional games in the 1967 NCAA College Division basketball tournament

References

{{Drexel Dragons men's basketball navbox Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania Government buildings completed in 1916 University City, Philadelphia College basketball venues in the United States Drexel Dragons men's basketball Drexel Dragons women's basketball Drexel University Sports venues in Philadelphia Basketball venues in Pennsylvania Defunct college basketball venues in the United States Defunct indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia