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Detroit Naval Armory
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| Location: | Detroit, Michigan |
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| Built: | 1930 |
| Architect: | William Buck Stratton |
| Architectural style: | Moderne |
| Governing body: | State |
| NRHP Reference#: | 94000662[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | July 01, 1994 |
| Designated MSHS: | October 2, 1980[2] |
The Detroit Naval Armory is a located at 7600 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is also known as the R. Thornton Brodhead Armory. The armory was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1980[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[1]
In the 1880s, several states formed "naval militias," the forerunners of present-day Navy and Marine Corps Reserve units.[3] Michigan formed a naval militia in 1893; the militia quickly became a popular pastime for wealthy Detroiters. Even so, the militia fought in both the Spanish-American War and World War I.[3] By 1929, over 600 men were part of the militia, and it had outgrown its existing headquarters. Captain Richard Thorton Brodhead convinced the Michigan state legislature to construct a new building.[4] The state of Michigan and the city of Detroit pooled $375,000 to build a new armory on Jefferson near the foot of the Belle Isle bridge.[3]
The new armory opened in 1930, and was used as both a training facility and civic event site. The indoor drill floor was used for dances, USO mixers, auto shows, and political and sporting events.[3] In 1932, future heavyweight champion Joe Louis fought his first career bout.[3] With the onset of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration funded numerous artistic additions to the armory, including three murals, plaster carvings, and extensive wood carvings;[3] this collection of WPA art is the largest collection of federally-funded Depression-era artwork of any building in the state.[2] During World War II, the armory was used as a barracks and schoolhouse for Navy diesel and electrical schools. After the war ended, it was again used as a training center for reservists.[3]
The armory was eventually renamed the R. Thornton Brodhead Armory in memory of its first Naval leader.[3] The armory was home to Marines and Sailors of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines[3] until 2004.[5] As of 2008, plans were to refurbish the armory to include bowling, fitness and youth boxing club facilities.[5]
The Detroit Naval Armory is a limestone structure with four main sections: a vestibule, a drill hall, an office / penthouse section, and a company drill hall.[2] The building mixes Art Moderne and Art Deco influences, and contains a large array of Depression-era WPA art[2] by artists such as John Tabaczuk, Edgar Yaeger, David Fredenthal, and Gustave Hildebrand,[4] all with nautical themes.[6] The building faces East Jefferson; the entrance is heavily decorated in military and naval themes using Pewabic tiles.[4] In front of the building is a semi-circular drive encircling a flagpole erected in 1943 and a large Navy anchor from the USS Yantic, a Civil War gunboat whose hull is buried in a filled-in boat slip in Gabriel Richard Park.[2]
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