Blues Armory

	Blues Armory
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Virginia Landmarks Register
Location	6th and Marshall Sts., Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates	37°32′35″N 77°26′9″W / 37.54306°N 77.43583°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1910
Architect	Averill & Hall
NRHP reference No.	76002229
VLR No.	127-0278
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 17, 1976
Designated VLR	December 16, 1975

The Blues Armory is a large brick armory in downtown Richmond, Virginia. Housing the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, the castle-like structure originally served multiple purposes, with a food market on the ground floor and a drill hall for the National Guard of the United States on the top floor. The level between housed suites of offices for each individual National Guard company. The Richmond Spiders played their home basketball games at the site for a period of time.^[3] In 1985, the ground floor was converted to retail and restaurant space, part of the 6th Street Marketplace.

The composite steel-reinforced structure is clad with brick and heavily rusticated stone masonry. Completed in 1910, it was designed by the Washington, D.C. firm of Averill and Hall. The castellated design was not entirely whimsical, as the structure was designed to withstand attack during riots. The ground floor was entirely separated from the military upper floors. The structure extends over the sidewalks, forming an arcade at ground level, with five bays on the Marshall Street side and seven bays on Sixth Street. The corners are marked with projecting turrets or bartizans, while the upper level is machicolated. The roof of the drill hall rises above the parapet.^[4]

The Richmond Light Infantry Blues existed from 1789. They were called in 1800 to deal with Gabriel's Rebellion, led by the slave Gabriel. During the American Civil War the unit was part of the Army of Northern Virginia. From 1894 the Blues were a battalion, then a regiment after World War II. A 1968 reorganization of the National Guard disestablished the Blues and the armory fell into disuse. By the 1990s the lower level was incorporated into the Sixth Street Market development. The upper floor offices and first floor food court closed in 2002.

The Blues Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 17, 1976.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
^ Harris, Mike (July 11, 1999). "Remember when...?". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Virginia State Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (December 1975). "Blues Armory" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 17 October 2011.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[register-2] "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.

[Spiders-3] Harris, Mike (July 11, 1999). "Remember when...?". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.

[nrhpinv1-4] Virginia State Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (December 1975). "Blues Armory" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 17 October 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Lists by county	Accomack Albemarle Alleghany Amelia Amherst Appomattox Arlington Augusta Bath Bedford Bland Botetourt Brunswick Buchanan Buckingham Campbell Caroline Carroll Charles City Charlotte Chesterfield Clarke Craig Culpeper Cumberland Dickenson Dinwiddie Essex Fairfax Fauquier Floyd Fluvanna Franklin Frederick Giles Gloucester Goochland Grayson Greene Greensville Halifax Hanover Henrico Henry Highland Isle Of Wight James City King and Queen King George King William Lancaster Lee Loudoun Louisa Lunenburg Madison Mathews Mecklenburg Middlesex Montgomery Nelson New Kent Northampton Northumberland Nottoway Orange Page Patrick Pittsylvania Powhatan Prince Edward Prince George Prince William Pulaski Rappahannock Richmond Roanoke Rockbridge Rockingham Russell Scott Shenandoah Smyth Southampton Spotsylvania Stafford Surry Sussex Tazewell Warren Washington Westmoreland Wise Wythe York
Lists by city	Alexandria Bristol Buena Vista Charlottesville Chesapeake Colonial Heights Covington Danville Emporia Fairfax Falls Church Franklin Fredericksburg Galax Hampton Harrisonburg Hopewell Lexington Lynchburg Manassas Manassas Park Martinsville Newport News Norfolk Norton Petersburg Poquoson (no listings) Portsmouth Radford Richmond Roanoke Salem Staunton Suffolk Virginia Beach Waynesboro Williamsburg Winchester
Other lists	Bridges National Historic Landmarks
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

v t e Richmond Spiders men's basketball
Venues	Millhiser Gymnasium (1922–1947) Blues Armory (1947–1950) Grays Armory (1950–1951) Benedictine High School Gymnasium (1951–1954) Richmond Arena (1954–1971) Richmond Coliseum (1971–1972) Robins Center (1972–present)
Rivalries	VCU
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1942–43 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Blues Armory

References

Premium Membership

€4.95

Create a Premium Account quick and easy

Save your Favourite Pages

Listen to any page in Audio

Colour Night Mode