State Armory - Springfield, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 05.946 W 072° 35.196
18T E 699567 N 4663597
The State Armory was located on Howard Street before the street was incorporated into the MGM Casino complex. It was restored and preserved by MGM and is now part of the MGM Casino complex in downtown Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM134RE
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2020
Views: 0
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The State Armory was designed by Robert Wait and Amos Porter Cutting in the Romanesque Revival style and resembles a castle. This architectural team designed many State Armories throughout Massachusetts. Construction was supervised by the firm of Pyne and Gardner. Eugene C. Gardner, was a nationally known author of books on architecture. It was competed in 1895.
The building is built of gray granite blocks with brownstone trim. A central block is flanked by round towers with brownstone crenellated roofs. The six story high east tower has an additional semi-circular tower attached to it's east side. The north side of the east tower has two windows with rounded tops and lintels on the first level, a single window on the second level. The third level has a plaque with the seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts next to a single matching window and two porthole windows on the fifth level. The adjacent attached tower has one rectangular window on each of the first five level. They are in a staggered arrangement. The east side of the east tower has two windows on the first level, a double set of windows on the second level and a triple set of windows on the next two levels followed by two porthole windows on the fifth level.
The three and a half story high central block has a set of stairs leading up to an entrance with a rounded top and three sets of four windows four that are two stories high. There are a pair of windows on the second level and a pair of windows on the third level. Above is a crenellated roof.
The five story high west tower has an orderly arrangements of windows: a single window, a double set, a single window at each of the first four levels. The first level has an additional window on the south side. There are also a pair of flanking porthole windows on the fourth level.
The Armory was first used to train troops for the Spanish American War in 1898. It continued in this function through WWII. Next it served as a neighborhood community center. On May 3, 1976 the State Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The building sustained severe damage in a tornado that struck Springfield on June 1, 2011. The property was then acquired by MGM. It was restored and preserved and is now used as a comedy club for the MGM Casino.