Skip to main content

For Find Out Friday - What’s a Fort Got to Do With It?






As I mentioned in my last post I have been MIA because I am taking care of my mother who is recovering from open heart surgery. 

While she was in the hospital, I spent A LOT of time staring at the same building over and over again. I knew the name but not what lied behind it’s uniquely designed walls. That is where we arrive at today.

It is known officially as The Armory and it survives a variety of purposes. 

Going back through history its initial intent was as a fort. It was constructed in the early twentieth century and was one of the first of its kind to appear in NYC. It is build in the Gothic Revival style which makes it stand out greatly in its Washington Heights neighborhood. This is partly why I noticed it; it looks at though it is from another era. And, well it is. 

At that time it housed the twenty-second regiment of the Army Corps of Engineers where those seeking to become architects, engineers, nurses, and the like, could seek out the appropriate licensing exams. This section of the army were the only unit to stay back in NYC when others left due to the outbreak of the Civil War.  But during these years they were not housed in this building. They moved around to a few different locations before finally settling here in 1911, and in a building that cost a whopping one hundred and sixteen million dollars! That would be nearly thirty-one million dollars today; certainly not chump change. 

Now The Armory serves a number of important and mixed purposes. 

In no particular order they are:

  • A temporary homeless Shelter;
  • The Police Athletic League of New York City;
  • The National Track and Field Hall of Fame (previously housed in exhibits in West Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, and California); and 
  • The New Balance Track and Field Center (which includes a two hundred meter, six-lane banked mondo track, two large runways, sand pits, a pole vault pit, and a throws cage).

You might be thinking how on Earth can all of these interests be served in the same building? 

The answer is that it is HUGE. 

It is ninety-six thousand square feet, which is roughly twice the size of Madison Square Garden! That certainly puts The Armory’s size into perspective. 

Finally in 1995, securing its place in history, The Armory was added to National Register of Historic Places. To read more about the process of landing on such a list, you can read a previous Find Out Friday post (https://bit.ly/2HYJICw).  

When I think back to just a few weeks ago, when I was staring out of my mother’s hospital room window into that big, old building, I couldn’t have imagined all of this was going on inside its walls. 

I like to think in sharing its story I am returning some of its former glory.


For More Information:







Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards
Post a Comment
Read more

For My Madness During Migraine Awareness Month

Last weekend as I sat staring at the blank page in front of me, I was still surprised and elated that I had an entire day to myself and unlike past experiences it was filled with what I wanted when I wanted it. There were a few rough moments but when I consider the previous twelve hours (and the days to come) have been better than the last week. Especially this last week even though I had braced myself ahead of time, I just didn’t know I should have braced for a more serious episode. I am a chronic migraine sufferer for so many years I don’t quite remember when they started exactly which is ironic because I can remember every special event they have ruined. I remember plays or dinners I was at where I don’t remember what happened but I could tell you what I felt minute by minute. It amazing how the mind works, especially when it’s operated by a migraine brain. In the last few years, specifically the last few years since I have been going to the Montefiore Headac
10 comments
Read more

For Find Out Friday - Why is One Foot More Ticklish Than the Other?

As I sit here typing I can’t seem to stop thinking about my nails. Mainly that they REALLY need to get done. They are starting to chip and become unruly. As soon I as think about making an appointment my mind immediately returns to this question: “which of my feet will be ticklish this time?” Because I am a girl that needs her fingernails and toenails to match, I always get a pedicure whenever I get my nails done. And while this should be an activity I enjoy, it often feels like a chore, despite my going only once every three to four weeks. I know; #firstworldproblems.  Anyway, each and every time I get my toes done, as soon as they are done soaking in the bubbly water I wonder, which of my feet will be ticklish today?  Without fail one of them always seems to get the brunt of it and suddenly what was supposed to be a relaxing activity has made me all tense. So, is there a scientific reason for this?  According to most research, yes. While the answer doesn’t
Post a Comment
Read more