Kingsbridge Armory

29 West Kingsbridge Road | also 2727 Jerome Avenue, 1 West Kingsbridge Road | Fordham | built 1913

Open on the map7 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

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.

  1. 1911

    The state picks a half-dug reservoir basin as the site for a new National Guard armory

    Workers had started excavating this ground in the early 1900s as the eastern basin of the Jerome Park Reservoir. In 1911 the State Legislature designated the ground for a National Guard armory instead. Digging turned up a number of military relics, which the Landmarks Preservation Commission linked to the nearby Revolutionary War sites of Fort Independence and Fort Number Five.

    “…the State Legislature authorized the site for a National Guard Armory in 1911. Interestingly enough, a number of military relics were dug up…”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1917

    Pilcher & Tachau finish a brick fortress wrapped around a 300-by-600-foot drill floor

    Built from 1912 to 1917 to designs by Pilcher & Tachau, the armory hides a huge drill hall under a metal-and-glass roof behind red brick walls, crenellated parapets and two tall round towers with conical roofs at the entrance. The double-truss roof rises more than 100 feet over a 300-by-600-foot floor. Since the ground slopes, the space under the drill floor holds a 400-foot rifle range, a bowling alley, a gymnasium and a lecture hall.

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  3. 1942

    Herbert Lehman reviews 10,000 troops at the armory during World War II

    The armory took an active part in the war effort. In 1942 Herbert Lehman, who had been governor and a U.S. Senator, held a ceremonial review of 10,000 troops here. The building also served as one of only a few places in the city where immigrants from enemy nations registered. Once the war ended, New York City proposed it to the UN General Assembly as a temporary home while the permanent UN headquarters was being finished.

    “Herbert Lehman, a former governor and U.S. Senator, ceremonially reviewed 10,000 troops there at a 1942 event.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  4. 2006

    Warner Bros. rents the armory for six months to shoot I Am Legend

    Over the years the armory hosted temporary uses such as dog and boat shows and boxing matches. In 2006 Warner Bros. leased it for half a year to shoot I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, using it for preproduction and principal photography and building sets inside that stood in for Washington Square Park. The music video for The Pretty Reckless song "Just Tonight" was filmed here in 2010.

    “In 2006 Warner Bros. rented the armory for six months to make the Will Smith film I Am Legend.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  5. 2010

    The City Council votes 45-1 to kill a $310 million plan to turn the armory into a mall

    The Related Companies had won the bid to remake the armory as a shopping complex, but a coalition called the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance demanded living wages for jobs there. In 2010 the City Council rejected the plan 45-1, then overrode Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto 48-1 a week later. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. used the defeat to launch a citywide living-wage campaign.

    “In 2010 the full City Council rejected the plan by 45-1, with one abstention.”

    Source: Wikipedia

  6. 2013

    April

    Mark Messier and Mayor Bloomberg announce a deal for a nine-rink ice center at the armory

    In 2012 a Deutsche Bank group proposed the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which it said would be the largest indoor ice complex in the world, with nine rinks and a 5,000-seat hockey arena; Messier and skater Sarah Hughes were its spokespeople. Bloomberg and Messier announced a deal with the city in April 2013. The developers never lined up enough money, and the city ended the contract at the end of 2021.

    “Bloomberg and Messier appeared at a press conference in April 2013 to announce the city and the developers had reached a deal…”

    Source: Wikipedia

  7. 2025

    January

    The city picks 8th Regiment Partners to redevelop the armory with 450 housing units

    In January 2025 the city chose a bid from 8th Regiment Partners, a partnership of Joy Construction and Maddd Equities, calling for sports facilities, event and commercial space, community space and 450 housing units. The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition was to take about a fifth of the building. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plan that July, and the City Council followed in late October.

    “The city selected a bid from 8th Regiment Partners LLC (a partnership between Joy Construction Corporation and Maddd Equities) in January 2025.”

    Source: Wikipedia

Further reading

Nearby

All 8 buildings with stories in Fordham