Hunt Armory (also known as Pittsburgh Armory) is a former

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 ...

located at 324 Emerson Street in the Shadyside neighborhood of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. It was designed by Pittsburgh architects W.G. Wilkins Co. Announced on August 29, 1909 and budgeted at $450,000 ($ in present-day terms) it was completed by 1916. The armory was named after

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

hero, metallurgist, and industrialist Captain Alfred E. Hunt (1855–1899), best known for founding the company that would eventually become Alcoa, the world's largest producer and distributor of aluminum. The Hunt Armory occupies an entire city block covering an area of , also reported as 1.84 acres. For many years, it was used (along with the

Syria Mosque Syria Mosque was a 3,700-seat performance venue located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1911 and dedicated on October 26, 1916, the building was originally built as a "mystical" shrine for the Ancient A ...

) as the city's main

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

. Until the

Pittsburgh Civic Arena The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) ...

was completed in 1961, the Hunt Armory was the largest auditorium in Pittsburgh and was frequently the host for

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s and political events including: *October 20, 1944: Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey. *October 23, 1948: President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

with a crowd of over 25,000. *September 7 - October 4, 1952: Billy Graham's Pittsburgh crusade. *October 27, 1952: Presidential candidate

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. *October 30, 1952: Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson. *October 9, 1956:

President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. *October 31, 1956: Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson speaks to 12,000. The Armory is closed for military use, but continues to be used for other purposes. In 2008, it hosted the Handmade Arcade. By 2015, historically appropriate redevelopment was being planned under the City's

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 April ...

(URA). In November 2021, the site opened as a public skating rink, becoming the first indoor community ice rink opened within the city of Pittsburgh in 25 years. Hunt Armory has been listed in 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 ...

since November 14, 1991. It received City of Pittsburgh historic landmark status on February 27, 2014.

References

External links

* {{Pittsburgh Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania National Guard Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Pittsburgh Infrastructure completed in 1916 National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

See also

References

External links