Jersey City Armory

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Jersey City Armory
678 Montgomery Street
Jersey City, New Jersey
Facade on Montgomery Street from corner of Summit Avenue[1]
TypeArmory
Site information
Controlled byNew Jersey National Guard
Site history
Built1934–1936[2]
ArchitectKelly & Gruzen
In use1937–present
MaterialsGranite and brick[3]

The Jersey City Armory is an armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 678 Montgomery Street in the McGinley Square neighborhood in Jersey City, New Jersey. Completed in 1937, the armory was designed by chief architect General Hugh A. Kelly of the Jersey City firm of Kelly and Gruzen in the Beaux-Arts style.[3] In addition to being a military training and mustering facility of the New Jersey National Guard (New Jersey National Guard 2/113 Infantry 250 Jersey City), the WPA era armory has long been used as a sports arena, particularly for boxing, basketball, and track and field events, and more recently mixed martial arts.

Under the auspices of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the armory is leased to the city for community and political events and extracurricular sports programs. It has also been used as a film studio.

History and architecture[edit]

The current armory was built to replace the previous Fourth Regiment Armory which was located on McGinley Square at Bergen Avenue, Mercer Street, and Tuers Avenue, the current site of Hudson Catholic Regional High School. It had been built in 1895 and was designed in the Richardson Romanesque style which was popular at the time for commercial, industrial and educational institutions. In the early hours of June 17, 1927, a large three-alarm fire swept through the entire facility and destroyed the structure.[4][5] In 1941, the large archway and towers that served as a portion of the entrance façade from the previous armory was erected at Pershing Field park in the Jersey City Heights.

Features[edit]

Opening in 1937, the armory was constructed between 1934–1936 as a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression along with the city's other premier sports venue, the since demolished Roosevelt Stadium.[6] The armory was designed by General Hugh A. Kelly, who was a friend of former Jersey City mayor Frank Hague. Kelly appointed Hugh Clark, a graduate of Cooper Union and a Jersey City resident, to carry out the project with J.K. Harris-Smith, a fellow Jersey City architect.

The exterior of the three-story Beaux-Arts structure features English Renaissance details with a granite base, brick exterior wall, and terra cotta trim. There are three decorative terra cotta panels with military insignia on the second floor of each of the three projecting pavilions. On the Montgomery Street façade, there is a large stone strip engraved with "New Jersey National Guard." The main entryway fronts Jordan Avenue and features a large retractable iron gate. The roof of the armory spans the 175,000 square-feet interior.[3]

The interior of the armory was designed to provide quarters for one battalion of infantry, one battalion of engineers, two medical units and one division of the naval militia. The large drill hall is at street level and contains banks of seats on two sides. In the basement are eight company rooms and equipment storage rooms. Additionally, there are two mezzanine floors with four more company rooms and capacity for more.[2]

Construction was completed in February 1936 at a construction cost of $1,038,276 and a total project cost of $1,098,330.[2]

Renovations[edit]

In 1987 and 1998, the armory underwent renovations to share its space with the Jersey City Youth Center as part of an effort for to sponsor more youth services. These renovation helped include an array of educational and self-development programs in a drug-free environment.[3]

Between 2005 and 2009 the armory underwent a two-phase $5.7 million renovation funded by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to turn the facility into a modern sports arena. The first phase included a state-of-the-art running surface, a new basketball court, new lighting and a four-sided scoreboard. The second phase included the installation of new restrooms on the ground floor and upper tier, two new locker rooms and mechanical windows on the Montgomery Street side of the armory.[7][8] In 2010, the State of New Jersey spent $105,000 to repair the sidewalks around the armory.[9]

Notable events[edit]

The New Jersey National Guard maintains 64 armories within 46 communities as part of New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs.[10] Some are used for non-military activities, such as the Teaneck Armory, which was home to the former New Jersey Nets in their first season.[11]

Sports[edit]

Both the former and current armories in Jersey City have played an important role in Hudson County and New Jersey's pugilist past, which includes the 1921 Dempsey – Carpentier world heavyweight championship at Boyle's Thirty Acres. The current armory has hosted many bouts, including those with James J. Braddock, Sonny Liston, and Chuck Wepner, aka Bayonne Bleeder. In a 1979 fund raiser for the Jersey City Medical Center then Mayor of Jersey City Thomas F. X. Smith challenged Muhammad Ali to an exhibition bout, and went three rounds before a crowd of 8,000.[12][13][14] In 2010, the first fight card in three decades returned to the Armory with the mixed martial arts Urban Conflict Championship.[15] Trials for the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup 2011 took place in February 2011. Professional wrestling events produced by Jersey All Pro Wrestling have taken place in the arena as well.

The arena has also hosted numerous basketball games, including those played by the former St. Anthony High School, ten-time winners of New Jersey's Tournament of Champions and considered the winningest high school basketball program with the most championships in United States history.[13][14][16] The school's long-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach, Bob Hurley, was instrumental in bringing about the renewal of the basketball court and other renovations to the armory.[8]

Since 2005, the annual Dan Finn Classic, a day long tournament of high school basketball games, has taken place at the armory. The event is in memory of Dan Finn, a St. Peter's Preparatory School and Fordham University graduate who died in an accident and, as organ donor, was able to assist four other people after his death.[17][18]

Prior to the opening of the Yanitelli Center on its campus nearby in 1975, Saint Peter's University hosted its home games at the armory and still occasionally use the venue for high-profile games.[13][19]

The armory is host to several local, regional, and state (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association) track meets annually.[20]

Community[edit]

In 2004, the armory was the site of memorial service for deceased Jersey City mayor Glenn Dale Cunningham attended by 5,000,[21] and where in 2007 his wife Sandra Bolden Cunningham launched her political career.[22]

In 2006, a funeral attended by thousands took place at the armory for Jersey City Police officer Robert Nguyen. He and his partner, Shawn Carson, had died on December 25 after their patrol car plunged in the Hackensack River from the Lincoln Highway Hackensack River Bridge which they were not informed had been opened. Along with traditional bagpipes, Buddhist monks participated in the ceremony, reflecting Nguyen's Vietnamese-American background. [23]

In November of 2022, the armory hosted Art Fair 14C, the largest visual arts event in New Jersey.[24]

Film studio[edit]

The floor space and height of the Armory has led to it being used as a temporary studio for many projects, including Robert De Niro's A Bronx Tale, the Faye Dunaway thriller Eyes Of Laura Mars, Laura Brannigan's music video "Self-Control",[25] Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry,[26] Terry Kinney's Diminished Capacity,[27] A Perfect Murder by Andrew Davis.,[28] and Jim Jarmusch's,Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).

Location and transportation[edit]

The armory is located in the McGinley Square neighborhood of the Journal Square district in Jersey City. Nearby landmarks include the Art Deco Beacon complex, Hudson Catholic Regional High School, Saint Peter's University and Old Bergen Church.

The nearby Journal Square Transportation Center provides direct connections via the PATH rapid transit system to Newark, Harrison, Downtown Jersey City, Hoboken and Manhattan. Bus connections to points in Hudson County and to the Port Authority Bus Terminal are available on local streets or at the transit center. The armory is directly served by the 9 NJ Transit Bus route outside the main entrance on Montgomery Street. On-site parking is not available, but numerous lots are within walking distance.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ NJ National Guard Armory
  2. ^ a b c "NEW JERSEY NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY – JERSEY CITY NJ". livingnewdeal.org. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "New Jersey National Guard Armory". njcu.libguides.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Fourth Regiment Armory". New Jersey City University. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "GREAT FIRE SWEEPS JERSEY CITY ARMORY; Building a Roaring Furnace as Grills on Windows Bar Firemen From Entering". The New York Times. June 17, 1927. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Karnoutsos, Carmela; Shalhoub, Patrick (2007). "Roosevelt Stadium". Jersey City Past and Present. New Jersey City University. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  7. ^ Thorbourne, Ken (July 29, 2008). "Jersey City Armory renovations continue". Jersey Journal. Jersey City. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  8. ^ a b Hague, Jim (January 15, 2006). "Historic sports palace restored Jersey City Armory enjoys grand re-opening after 4-million facelift". Hudson Reporter. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  9. ^ Arrue, Karina L. (October 4, 2010). "State responds to gripes about Armory with $105,000 to fix sidewalks". Jersey Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  10. ^ "New Jersey National Guard". Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 3, 2003). "Twenty-five years later, Boe makes up for mistake". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 5, 2007. They were supposed to host a one-game playoff at the Armory on March 23, 1968, but the circus chased the Americans to the Commack Arena on Long Island. Trouble was, nobody bothered to check out the court.... Mikan declared the court unplayable, New Jersey had to forfeit the game, Kentucky advanced to the playoffs and New Jersey never played another game in Teaneck Armory.
  12. ^ Hague, Jim (March 22, 2007). "Ringside Jersey City's pugilistic past". Hudson Reporter. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  13. ^ a b c "TASTY TIDBITS Armory a sight to behold; Borowski signs with Marlins". Hudson Reporter. January 17, 2006. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
  14. ^ a b Curry, Jack (March 3, 1991). "School Basketball; Flying Toward His Future". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  15. ^ Cohen, P. (March 22, 2010). "Mixed martial arts makes fast, feisty debut at Jersey City Armory". Jersey Journal. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  16. ^ Anderson, Dave (February 22, 2007). "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; A Coach Who Likes Just Being In the Present". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  17. ^ Dan Finn Classic Archived 2011-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Boys Basketball: Dan Finn Classic set for 16th edition". The Jersey Journal. January 16, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  19. ^ "Rutgers Falls at St. Peter's 65-58". Rutgers University. November 25, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  20. ^ NJ Runners.com
  21. ^ Smothers, Ronald (2004-06-02). "Before 5000 Mayor of Jersey is Eulogized for a Life Well Lived". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  22. ^ Smothers, Ronald (February 4, 2007). "Rekindling a Fight, Widow Seeks Senate Seat". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  23. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (January 6, 2006). "At Funeral for Drowned Officer in Jersey City, Mourners Remember a Go-Getter". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  24. ^ "Drama, Anxiety and Beauty at Art Fair 14C". jcitytimes.com. November 11, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  25. ^ "NEW JERSEY A STUDIO CENTER? TEMPORARILY AND PERMANENTLY!". New Jersey Television and Movie Commission. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  26. ^ Kannapell, Andrea (1998-10-04). "Getting the Big Picture; The Film Industry Started Here and Left. Now It's Back, and the State Says the Sequel Is Huge". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  27. ^ "Diminished Capacity". Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  28. ^ Shooting the Apple. A Perfect Murder. Warner Brothers. 1998.

External links[edit]

40°43′29″N 74°3′55″W / 40.72472°N 74.06528°W / 40.72472; -74.06528

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