23rd Regiment Armory
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The 23rd Regiment Armory, also known as the Bedford Atlantic Armory, the Marcy Avenue Armory, and the Williamsburg Armory, is a historic
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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 ...
building located at 1322
Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, and passing through the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyves ...
between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
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, United States. The building is a brick and stone castle-like structure designed to be reminiscent of
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military structures in Europe. It was built in 1891–95 and was designed in the
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
style by Fowler & Hough, local Brooklyn architects, and Isaac Perry, the New York state government's architect. The structure was originally built for the 23rd Regiment of the
New York State Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...
. Since the 1980s, it has been in use as a men's
homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously r ...
, though in the 2010s, there were plans to redevelop the armory. The building was designated a
New York City landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
in 1977, and was listed on 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 1980.


History


Planning

The 23rd Regiment of the
New York State Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...
was organized in 1861 as a relief guard of the 13th Regiment. It was meant to take over the duties of the Brooklyn City Guard, which at the time was participating in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The Relief Guard, later known as the City Guard Reserve, was mustered-in as the 23rd Regiment in 1862, and participated in the Civil War for one month in 1863. Concerns about the readiness of volunteer militia led to the passage of an "Armory Law" in 1862, during the Civil War, which called for the construction of armories statewide. However, the effort stagnated after the end of the war. The 23rd Regiment then moved to an armory on 165–179 Clermont Avenue in
Fort Greene Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the wes ...
, which was built in 1872–1873. The still-extant building, which now includes apartments, contained windows with pointed arches and a tall
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
. The regiment soon outgrew the Clermont Avenue location, and started looking for a location to build a new armory. Halstead P. Fowler, of local architecture firm Fowler & Hough, was selected as the new armory's architect. Fowler, a 23rd Regiment member, designed the building under the supervision of state architect Isaac Perry. Another armory architect, John N. Partridge, was also part of the 23rd Regiment. In June 1889, Partridge requested a $350,000 appropriation from the New York State Commission for the construction of the new armory. That August, a site was selected at the southwest corner of
Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, and passing through the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyves ...
and Atlantic Avenue. At the time, the land was occupied by the St. Bartholomew's School, as well as two farmhouses and a rowhouse. The rowhouse belonged to H.P. Fowler, a principal at Fowler & Hough.


Construction and use as armory

A budget appropriation of $300,000 was given for construction, and plans for the 23rd Regiment Armory were finalized in 1890. The ceremonial
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...
-laying event was held on November 14, 1891. Soon after, the costs of building the armory increased greatly, and by 1892 another $100,000 was being requested for the 23rd Regiment Armory's completion. Another $50,000 was requested in May 1893. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described the armory as one of three Brooklyn armories facing extreme cost overruns, the others being the 13th Regiment Armory in Bedford–Stuyvesant and the 14th Regiment Armory in
Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...
. In 1894, during construction, the building's flagpole shattered in a lightning storm. On November 4, 1894, the 23rd Regiment marched to its new armory to signify that it had taken possession of the building, and the Clermont armory was sold shortly thereafter. On November 15, the regiment started a two-week fundraiser to collect money for furnishings, and raised almost $70,000 for said purpose. The new 23rd Regiment Armory was not completed until 1895, and the drill room was not completed until 1902. The total cost of the armory was $550,000, almost twice the original budget, though this figure also included the funds spent on furnishings. A
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memorial outside the armory was dedicated in 1922. In 1923, the building was rented by
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for use as studio space for his Cosmopolitan Productions after the company's own facilities were destroyed by a fire on February 19, 1923. The 23rd Regiment Armory also housed the 106th Infantry until the 1980s, when the
New York National Guard The New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (NYS DMNA) is responsible for the state's New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard, New York Guard and the New York Naval Militia. It is headed by Adjutant General of New ...
vacated the premises. In addition to military use, the 23rd Regiment Armory was used by various exhibits, including home shows and car shows; as well as various sporting events such as cycling and school sports.


Conversion into homeless shelter

The city converted the building into the Bedford-Atlantic Shelter, a 500-bed men's homeless shelter, in 1982. The shelter, operated by the
New York City Department of Homeless Services The New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is an agency within the government of New York City that provides services to the homeless, though its ultimate aim is to overcome homelessness. The guiding principles of the department were ...
(DHS), is nicknamed "
Castle Grayskull Castle Grayskull is a fortress located on the fictional planet Eternia. It forms a central location in the '' Masters of the Universe'' toy/comic/animation universe and also appears in the 1987 live action adaptation. The concept is credited to ...
" by the homeless and locals, in reference to the armory's castle-like appearance. The Bedford-Atlantic Shelter was one of 19 shelters built around the city during the 1980s; by 1987, it had 532 beds accommodating 800 men. Following a 1992 lawsuit brought by community members seeking to close the 23rd Regiment and Fort Washington Armory shelters, the city agreed to decrease the Bedford-Atlantic Shelter's capacity. By 2002, the shelter had been downsized to 350 beds. The shelter still contained 350 beds by 2017, making it the city's largest homeless shelter to house exclusively men. In addition to housing homeless men, the shelter serves as a DHS intake center, performing evaluations for homeless people, who are then sent to other shelters or treatment programs. Plans to use the 23rd Regiment Armory for this purpose were first announced in 2008 upon the planned closure of an existing intake center at
Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, which would make the armory the city's only DHS intake center. Following controversy over these plans, a second intake center was later announced for Manhattan. A
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
training facility is also located in the armory, and teaches new officers security procedures at New York City homeless shelters. The Bedford-Atlantic Shelter is known as Brooklyn's most dangerous shelter and one of the most dangerous in the New York City shelter system. Since the 1980s, it had received a reputation for tolerating use of
illegal drugs The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...
. A 2018 analysis found that in 2017, there had been 89 arrests at the shelter, and police had been called 865 times, or over twice a day. Many of these arrests were drug-related. Workers and residents also made allegations of a rat infestation at the shelter in 2018.


Proposed redevelopment

The 23rd Regiment Armory was proposed for redevelopment in 2012 at a cost of $14 million. Several developers submitted suggestions for alternate uses of the drill hall, including as a climbing facility, concert auditorium, or
ice-skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...
. However, plans for the renovation of the 23rd Regiment Armory stalled in 2015. By 2017, there was still no progress on the armory's renovation.


Design

The 23rd Regiment Armory consists of a three-story administration building, facing Bedford Avenue to the east, with an attached drill shed to the west. It features a series of circular corner towers, the tallest of which is 136 feet in height. ''See also:'' Upon the 23rd, 13th and 14th Regiment Armories' completions in the mid-1890s, the ''
New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' stated that "these three armories are the product of a lavish expenditure ... for the support and encouragement of the militia that has perhaps never been excelled." The 23rd Regiment Armory is located on a trapezoidal lot. As a result, the northern facade on Atlantic Avenue measures while the parallel southern facade on Pacific Street measures . The armory takes up the entire width of the block between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, the length of the western facade. The eastern facade on Bedford Avenue measures . The administration building takes up on the eastern portion of the site, while the drill room occupies the on the western part of the site.


Exterior

The facade features deep red pressed brick, brownish red Potsdam stone, and red
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
detail. On the first floor facade are courses of
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
. The general design of the facade is meant to be imposing rather than inviting. Eight circular towers are located on the exterior, the tallest of which is tall. Of these, there is one tower at each corner of the armory; one each along the Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street facades, at the points separating the administration building and drill hall; and two flanking the main entrance on Bedford Avenue. The southeastern corner tower, at Bedford Avenue and Pacific Street, is accompanied by a smaller round tower. The Pacific Street side to the south is located on slightly higher ground than the Atlantic Avenue side to the north. The administration building's Bedford Avenue facade consists of a central entrance bay with
gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s, and a two-story-tall round-arched
sally port A sally port is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter an ...
with a steel
portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down gr ...
that drops from the top of the arch. There are friezes directly above the sally port, as well as three tall, narrow arched windows on the floor directly above the sally port. Flanking either side of the sally port are two 3-story-tall architectural bays, with two columns of windows in each bay. The first-floor windows contain round arches while the second-and-third floor windows are rectangular. There are also rectangular, quarter-size window openings from the basement. The wall on the right-hand (northern) side of the entrance includes a bronze plaque commemorating those who fought in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, which was dedicated in 1922. The administration building's Pacific Street facade contains seven bays, with similar window design to the Bedford Avenue facade. Each bay contains two arched windows on the first floor, and two rectangular windows on the second and third floors. The center three bays are five stories tall, with a gabled roof on top, and include arched windows on the fourth and fifth floors. The other four bays are only three stories tall. The facade of the drill hall contains ten windowless bays, separated by protruding brick
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s. The Atlantic Avenue facade of the administration building is simpler in design. It contains ten columns of windows, with arched first-floor windows and rectangular second- and third-floor windows. There are also square, half-size window openings from the basement. The drill hall facade along Atlantic Avenue is similar to that on the Pacific Street side, but contains enclosed emergency stairs.


Interior

The basement was described as being similar to that of the 13th Regiment Armory, with rifle galleries, firing rooms, squad drill rooms, large lavatories, and a
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
. One of the largest interior features in the administration building is the Council Room, which contains a
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
with a mantel that are both high. The July 18, 1897, edition of the ''Tribune'' described the room: "Certainly nothing in any other American armory compares and visitors from abroad say they have never seen anything like it." Another article in 1898 stated that the "company rooms are the best in all the armories of the state".


See also

* * *
List of armories and arsenals in New York City and surrounding counties This is a comprehensive list of armories and arsenals in New York City and surrounding counties of New York (i.e., in the New York metropolitan and downstate New York areas). This list details the structures built between the 18th and 20th centu ...
*
List of New York City Landmarks These are lists of New York City landmarks designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission: * New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan: ** List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street ** List o ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Kings County, New York The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn. This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the New York City borough o ...


References

Notes Sources *


External links

* {{Authority control Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Government buildings completed in 1895 Infrastructure completed in 1895 Military facilities in Brooklyn Crown Heights, Brooklyn National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn 1895 establishments in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Brooklyn Armories in New York City Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Romanesque Revival architecture in New York City