Medina Armory
Medina Armory | |
NRHP reference No. | 95000399[1] |
---|---|
NYSRHP No. | 07341.000025 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 13, 1995 |
Designated NYSRHP | March 9, 1995 |
The Medina Armory is located on Pearl Street in Medina, New York, United States. It is a large stone building constructed at the beginning of the 20th century.
State architect George Heins designed it for what was at the time the 29th Separate Company of the
Building
The armory is located on a 1.1-acre (4,500 m2) lot that takes up the eastern half of the block formed by Lee Place, Pearl Street, and Prospect Avenue (NY 63) a few blocks northeast of downtown Medina. The surrounding properties are all residential, with the exception of a large former school building to the west on Catherine Street. The terrain is level.[2]
The building itself is a two-story structure of
In the center of the south (front)
On the side elevations of the nine-bay drill shed is paired narrow flat-arched windows set off by buttresses. Secondary entrances on both sides have four-paneled doors with similar transoms to the front entrance. The north (rear) has three groups of tall, narrow windows with buttresses.[2]
Inside, most of the original finishings remain. The entrance hall has a large oak staircase, the
History
Col. Hesikiah Bowen raised Bowen's Rifles, the precursor unit to the 29th, in 1838 in response to the escalating tensions of the Aroostook War in Maine, which threatened to start a third war between the United States and Britain. Hostilities were avoided, and the unit was never deployed, but it survived for several years afterward. Later another unit, Linus Beecher's Light Guards, replaced them although it was primarily a social organization. That unit eventually became the Pitts Light Guards.[2]
In late 1891, the 29th was formally
The present lot was acquired in 1899, and by September of that year the
It was the first of seven extant armories designed by George Heins, who had replaced
Originally the armory had a flat roof. Renovations in 1912 gave it the current hip-gable combination. The following year the unit was called up to help suppress the streetcar strike in
In April 1917, the unit was deployed into World War I as part of the 27th Division, drawn entirely from the New York National Guard. A Buffalo unit was stationed in the armory in their absence as a home guard. In 1919, after the war, the unit became Company F of the 108th Infantry. During World War II, it was Company L of the 65th Regiment.[2]
For the last three years of the Guard's use of the armory, the unit was Company C of the 174th Infantry.[4] In 1977, the state announced it would be closed and its units moved to other locations. The Medina community formed the Armory Action Committee, not wanting to see the building become neglected. It worked to adapt the armory for local recreational use, partitioning the office space in the process. After 20 years, the Lake Plains YMCA bought the building from the state. was fully established in the building. It continues to operate, with over a thousand members and a wide range of programs.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Nancy L. Todd (March 1995). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Medina Armory". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2009-06-14. See also: "Accompanying eight photos". Archived from the original on 2011-12-10.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Company F Memorial". Medina Armory. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- ^ "Lake Plains YMCA at the Medina Armory". Medina Armory. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.