Minneapolis Armory
The Minneapolis Armory is a former US National Guard facility in downtown Minneapolis , Minnesota . The building was completed in 1936 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985 .
The construction of the Minneapolis Armory was a Public Works Administration project under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program . At just under $ 800,000 to build, it was the most expensive PWA project in Minnesota. The 24-meter-high building was designed by the St. Paul architect PC Bettenburg in the Streamline Modernist style. In addition to being used for storage purposes, over 27 units used it as a training and recreation facility at peak times.
From the late 1930s to the 1970s, the building was also used as a location for civil events such as concerts, party events, and sports events. The Minneapolis Lakers wore sporadically between 1948 and 1959, in the 1959/60 season, all of their home games in the Minneapolis Armory.
The National Guard used the building until 1980. In 1989, Hennepin County bought it for $ 4.7 million. There were plans to demolish the old building and establish a new county jail there. The Minnesota Historical Society pushed through the Minnesota Supreme Court to stop the demolition of the historic building in January 1993. After various plans for further use had been discarded, Hennepin County sold the building in 1998 for $ 2.6 million to a private company to set up a parking garage. As a condition, the buyer had to agree that the historical substance be preserved and that the county administration may set up a Veterans Memorial Garden .
Web links
- Facts Sheet on the Minneapolis Armory (English; PDF file; 415 kB)
Coordinates: 44 ° 58 '30.3 " N , 93 ° 15' 48.8" W.