National Guard Armory

UPDATE:
November 2015: The Paterson National Guard Armory was demolished after a seven-alarm fire severely damaged the building forcing local officials to tear it down.

DESCRIPTION:
Paterson was the first New Jersey city to take advantage of an 1889 law enabling cities that lacked armories to purchase property to build them. This 53,800 square-foot, three-story, red brick and steel structure was completed in 1896. With a crenelated roofline and a wide, arched entryway flanked by towers, it resembles a fortress. The armory was home to the New Jersey National Guard’s Second Regiment until it was decommissioned in 1982. Soldiers deployed to the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II through its portals. It was the site of rallies during the 1913 silk strike and has been a sports and concert venue over the years.

There have been several unsuccessful attempts to find a new use for the massive structure, which has been empty for 25 years. In 2007, Mayor Jose Torres proposed selling it to a developer who had plans to turn the armory into a self-storage facility, but the City Council rejected this proposal. A 2009 plan to convert the building into a community recreation center was stalled by the nearly $12 million price tag. More recently, city leaders set up a non-profit corporation to reuse the building as a recreation or sports complex. But there has been no movement for at least a year, and high costs are most likely the obstacle. Finding investors for this once-grand historic building’s adaptive reuse is indeed a difficult challenge, nut PNJ believes that city, county, and state leaders must work together to meet it.