Eighth Regiment Armory | |
New York City Landmark No. 0823
| |
 partial south elevation, 2005 | |
 | |
| Location | Kingsbridge Heights, Bronx, NY |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°52′04.46″N 73°53′54.81″W / 40.8679056°N 73.8985583°W |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha)[1] |
| Built | 1917[2] |
| Architect | Pilcher & Tachau[3] |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001090 |
| NYCL No. | 0823 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 1982 [4] |
| Designated NYCL | September 24, 1974[3] |
The Kingsbridge Armory, also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory, is a decommissioned armory at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in the 1910s, from a design by the firm of then-state architect Lewis Pilcher to house the New York National Guard's Eighth Coast Defense Command (258th Field Artillery Regiment after November 1921), a regiment-sized unit which relocated from Manhattan in 1917. It is possibly the largest armory in the world.[3]
In addition to its military function, it has been used over the years for exhibitions, boxing matches, and a film set. After World War II the city offered it to the United Nations as a temporary meeting place. In 1974 it was designated a city landmark, and eight years later it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its military use ended and it was turned over to city management in 1996. Since then it has remained vacant as various proposals to redevelop it have failed. One such proposal, by the administration of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, turned into a dispute over living wage policies. In 2013, a new plan to redevelop it as the world's largest indoor ice center was announced, called the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, but this plan failed in 2021. One National Guard unit has continued to use an annex in the rear until a new headquarters can be found.
- ^ Covell, Anne (August 18, 1982). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Eighth Regiment Armory". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ^ Rahimi, Shadi (February 6, 2008). "National Guard Clings to a Bronx Redoubt". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Kingsbridge Armory (Eighth Regiment Armory)" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 24, 1974. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.