New York City, Park Ave. Armory:

Board of Officers Room  |   Veteran's Room  |   Colonel's Reception Room  |   Second Floor Hallway

The Park Avenue facade of the Seventh Regiment Armory evokes the fortified palazzi of north Italian city-states from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The proportions of the three square towers (the central tower was originally topped by a two-story open bell tower) as well as the insistently flat surfaces of pressed red brick and granite trim mark the building as a High Victorian production. The entryway of bronze gates and six-inch thick oak doors with musket ports is large enough to allow a four abrest formation to march in and out of the building. The architect was Charles W. Clinton, a veteran of the Regiment and a student of Richard Upjohn, and the premier Gothic revivalist in the United States. Clinton’s later work, executed in partnership with William Hamilton Russell, centered on skyscraper design influenced to a certain degree by the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan.

This is the only armory in the United States to be built and furnished with private funds. The interior is distinguished by two features; a large drill floor, covered by an impressive iron roof, and the lavish Veteran’s Room and adjoining library (known today as the Trophy Room), designed by a group of artists working under the direction of Louis Comfort Tiffany. Other designers who contributed to the building included the Herter Brothers, Alexander Roux, Pottier & Stymus, Kimbel & Cabus, and Marcotte & Company.

In 1909, a floor was added to the administration area; in 1930 a fifth floor was added and the third and fourth floors were redone. The first and second floors, however, are unchanged. A landscaped areaway behind a low railing surrounds the building on all but the Lexington Avenue side. The Armory is a National Historic Landmark.

The Seventh Regiment was formed in 1806. It has a long list of battle honors (including service in the War of 1812, The Civil War, and both World Wars). During public disturbances (such as the civil riots of the 1830s and 40s) the Regiment controlled and subdued civilian crowds and protected private and city property from looting and vandalism. For a complete history of the Seventh Regiment see our historical article titled "The 7th NY and the Naming of the National Guard"