369th Regiment Armory
2366 5th Avenue | also 40 West 143rd Street, 2367 5th Avenue | Harlem | built 1924
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1921
Ground is broken for the armory on a block cleared of tenements
In 1921 the city acquires a midblock site between West 142nd and 143rd Streets and demolishes the tenements standing on it. Ground is broken on November 6, 1921 for the first stage of the armory, a drill shed designed by Tachau & Vought. The 369th Regiment, which had been headquartered in a house on Astor Row, needed a proper armory after the unit was reorganized.
“A midblock site between 142nd and 143rd Streets was acquired in 1921, and the tenements on the site were demolished. Ground was broken on November 6, 1921.”
- 1923
A cornerstone is laid for the drill shed, with a copper box sealed inside
Mayor John F. Hylan lays the armory's cornerstone on May 27, 1923, with William Hayward and Fiorello LaGuardia among the speakers. Hidden in the stone is a sealed copper box holding five issues of the New York Age, two typed histories of the 369th, a list of the city board members who funded the building, and a payroll for 198 workers. The State Military Museum's team later finds no mention of the box in reports of the ceremony.
Source: army.mil
- 1924
The armory's drill shed is completed for the 369th Infantry Regiment
Architects Tachau and Vought design the Romanesque-style drill shed, built between 1921 and 1924 at a cost of about $800,000. It becomes the home of the 369th Regiment, which began in 1916 as the 15th Regiment, the first National Guard unit in New York State made up solely of African American soldiers, and which deployed to France in World War I.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1933
An Art Deco administration building is added to the armory
Architects John S. Van Wart and Sidney Wein design an administration building for the armory, built between 1930 and 1933 at a planned cost of about $1 million. Its Art Deco style contrasts with the medieval-style drill shed built for the regiment a few years earlier.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1934
The regiment refuses to accept its new administration building over defects
In January 1934 the New York Daily News reports that the 369th Regiment has refused to take title to the administration building finished the year before. The unit points to defects in the work, including a leaky roof. The Armory Board responds by opening an investigation into how the building was constructed.
“…the New York Daily News reported in January 1934 that the 369th Regiment had refused to accept title to the administration building, citing various work defects such as a leaky roof.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1936
The armory exhibits artwork made by 40,000 WPA workers
In 1936, the armory exhibits artwork by 40,000 people employed through the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Two years earlier, in 1934, the armory had served as a temporary homeless shelter during the same economic crisis.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1964
Elijah Muhammad speaks at the armory, and Pelé follows in 1978
In 1964, Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad gives a speech at the 369th Regiment Armory in Harlem. In 1978, Brazilian soccer star Pelé gives a soccer demonstration there. Both events show the building serving as a public venue as well as a military one.
Source: Wikipedia
- 1982
The Landmarks Commission holds its hearing on the armory with the veterans in support
On September 14, 1982, the Landmarks Preservation Commission holds a public hearing on designating the 369th Regiment Armory. One witness speaks in favor and nobody speaks against. The 369th Transportation Battalion's division commander and the 369th Veterans' Association also express support, and the designation follows in May 1985.
- 1982
The state hands the armory to the city for a 200-bed men's shelter
In 1982 New York State turns the 369th Regiment Armory over to the city so it can open a 200-bed shelter for homeless men. Existing shelters have become overcrowded, and the city is opening new ones in armories. The 369th Sustainment Brigade still operates out of the armory, which had also served as a temporary shelter in early 1981 during extreme cold.
“In 1982, the state turned over the 369th Regiment Armory to the city so that the latter could open a 200-bed men's homeless shelter.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1985
The city designates the armory a landmark
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the 369th Regiment Armory a New York City landmark on May 14, 1985. The armory is listed on the National Register of Historic Places nine years later, in 1994.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2012
A community mural of the regiment's history is painted, then Sandy partly floods the armory
In September 2012 a community program paints a mural on the armory's walls devoted to the history of the 369th Regiment. A month later, in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy partially floods the building. The drill shed was by then also hosting a Police Athletic League community center, opened in 2006, and programs of the Harlem Children's Zone.
“In September 2012, a community program painted a mural on the armory's walls that was devoted to the 369th Regiment's history. In October 2012, the armory partially flooded during Hurricane Sandy.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2022
Contractors replacing the cornerstone plaque find a 1923 time capsule
On February 19, 2022, contractors replacing the 99-year-old granite cornerstone plaque of the drill floor find a sealed copper box hollowed into the stone. New York State Military Museum director Courtney Burns opens the soldered box on March 10, 2022, loosening the seal with a screwdriver and cold chisel. Its newspapers, programs and signed papers give a snapshot of the regiment in 1923.
Source: army.mil
Further reading
- 369th Regiment ArmoryWikipedia
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