Building of the Day: 1402 Eighth Avenue

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: 14th Regiment Armory, aka Park Slope Armory
Address: 1402 Eighth Avenue
Cross Streets: 14th and 15th Streets
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1895
Architectural Style: Romanesque Revival/Medieval Keep
Architect: William Mundell
Other buildings by architect: 47th Regiment Armory in Williamsburg, Adelphi Academy, now part of Pratt, Old Hall of Records (demolished), Long Island Safe Deposit Co. Building on Front Street, Fulton Ferry Landing.
Landmarked: Yes, individual landmark (1998), also on National Register of Historic Places. (1994)

The story: The AIA Guide describes this building as a “tower from where boiling oil might be poured upon mythical attackers.” While that’s a rather imaginative way to describe this castle fortress-like building, there is a kernel of truth in the description. Armories were designed, in part, to protect the National Guard regiments, and those they were protecting, from mobs and violence, presumably from the underclasses. They were also built to inspire awe and fear from those same masses, while also serving the community as a gathering place, recreation center, exhibition center, and a great place to party. Armories did it all.

The 14th Regiment of the NY National Guard was founded in 1844, and was known as the “Brooklyn Chasseurs”, for their French-style uniforms, or the “Red-Legged Devils”. During the Civil War, they fought at Bull Run, Gettysburg and Spotsylvania, VA, earning them the nickname the “Fighting Fourteenth”. They had more losses than any regiment during the war. After coming back to Brooklyn, the regiment was housed in the State Arsenal which used to be on North Portland (demolished). A new armory was planned here, in 1891, at the same time Brooklyn was also building new regiments for the 23rd and 13th Regiments. This part of Park Slope was very sparsely populated at the time, with intermittent rows of houses, as well as some industry.

The architect, William Mundell, had experience designing the 1883 Williamsburg Armory for the 47th Regiment. Sticking to the ideal of a medieval fortress, like all of the armories built at this period, he designed an elegant castle that takes up much of the city block. The administrative wing in the front of the building contained commander’s and officer’s offices and staff rooms, meeting rooms, a library, washrooms, lecture hall, and on the lower levels, a rifle range, billiard room, kitchen, dining hall, lavatories and a bowling alley. The largest part of the armory was the drill hall, where the troops paraded and drilled. It was large enough to accommodate heavy equipment, horses, and anything else the troops would practice with. When not used as such, this space could be used for local athletic events, exhibitions and balls.

The 14th Regiment went on to serve in the Spanish American War and World Wars I and II. In 1947, New York’s Guard units were all reassigned and combined, and the regiment, now part of the 187th and 955th Field Artillery went on to serve in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq. In 1992, the armory was taken out of commission and sold to the City of New York in 1996. Since then, the drill shed of the armory served as a sound stage for movies, and much of the administration building became a homeless shelter for women. Today the drill shed houses a state of the art recreation center run by the YMCA.GMAP