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There are castles in Brooklyn, fortresses, really, which take up entire square blocks. Their towers and crenellated rooflines imitate the medieval European structures they are based on, and coming upon one, unawares, is a shock and a delight to anyone who loved forts and castles as a child.

There are six enormous armories still standing in brownstone Brooklyn, as well as several smaller ones. Descended from the NY state militias of the colonial and post-Revolutionary War, the regiments and battalions of New York City’s Guard saw action in the Civil War, and were called out for domestic peacekeeping during the draft riots of 1877 and later railroad strikes, as well as for exemplary military service, through the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and they continue to serve today. Following the Civil War, armories were set up throughout the city to provide indoor space to drill and train troops, store heavy weaponry and supplies, and maintain office space and amenities to officers and enlisted men.

In 1880, Manhattan’s elite 7th Regiment completed its impressive new armory on Park Ave and 67th St, which boasts an ornate and magnificent officer’s quarters designed by no less than Louis Comfort Tiffany. (If you can ever get in there to see it, it’s jaw droppingly awesome.) After getting a glimpse of such riches, every regiment in the city petitioned the state for funds to build their own new armory. Like sports stadia today, armories were considered by many late 19th century critics to be political pork spending, and like any tax funded spending project, these massive complexes had their admirers and their detractors. The New York Times, in 1892, called the armory appropriations a species of bunko steering. The three new armories, built around the same time in the early 1890′s, for the 13th Regiment in Bedford Stuyvesant, the 14th Regiment, in Park Slope, and the 23rd Regiment in Crown Heights, all ended up costing twice as much as budgeted. The 13th Regiment Armory was cited by critics for not including the pricing of sidewalks and gates into its budget, and spending the money on the interior furnishings instead, leaving the city to make up the difference. Some things never change.

In spite of such shenanigans, armories were very popular with the people. In addition to providing civil defense, these enormous spaces became integral parts of their communities. Their large indoor drilling fields soon hosted high school, college, and community club sporting events and festivals, trade shows and exhibitions, and their large officer’s banquet rooms and libraries hosted lectures, concerts and balls. One prominent member of the 23rd Regiment Veteran’s Association was Montrose W. Morris. The 23rd Regiment Armory at Bedford and Atlantic, in Crown Heights, and the 14th Regiment Armory on 8th Ave and 14th St. in Park Slope, were among the most socially active. The Brooklyn Eagle notes many a fancy dress ball at these locations, and the officers were said to be fine catches for eligible young ladies of gentle breeding. By the first decades of the 20th century, Brooklyn’s’ finest armories were all looking at the prime times of their existence. Soon World War I would call their officers and soldiers to the ultimate sacrifice.

Next week: The architecture of Brooklyn’s great fortresses: the 3rd Battery Armory, Fort Greene, the 47th Regiment Armory, Williamsburg, the 13th Regiment Armory, Bedford Stuyvesant, the 14th Regiment Armory, Park Slope, the 23rd Regiment Armory, Crown Heights North, and Troop C Armory, Crown Heights South.

Photos above: 1) 3rd Battery (Clermont) Armory in Fort Greene, 1996 – before condo conversion. Photo: armoryliving.com, 2) 23 Regiment (Bedford) Armory, 1909,in Crown Heights North 3) 47th Regiment Armory 1908, in Williamsburg, 4) 14th Regiment Armory, 1908, in Park Slope, 5) 13th Regiment (Sumner) Armory, 2009, Bed Stuy. Troop C Armory in Crown Heights South, and other historic photographs and drawings at the Flickr link.