THE GUIDE

Park Avenue Armory
(Seventh Regiment Armory)

The Seventh Regiment of the National Guard, also known as the “Silk Stocking Regiment”, was the first voluntary militia to respond to President Lincoln’s troops’ request in 1861 and its members included members from some prestigious New York families such as the Vanderbilts, Van Rensselaers, Roosevelts, Stewarts, Livingstons and Harrimans. The building was built in neo-Gothic style and built between 1877 and 1981 to a design by the veteran of the Regiment, the architect Charles W. Clinton and is characterized by the large hall of the arsenal (Drill Hall) which has an area of over 5,000 square meters and recalls the Grand Central Depot and the major European railway stations. It was designed both as a military structure and as a social club and includes reception rooms on the first floor and troop rooms on the second floor that were built and decorated by the most important designers and artists of the time including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Stanford White, Herter Brothers and Pottier & Stymus.
Today it is run by a nonprofit organization that offers exhibitions of unconventional works of art, including performing and visual arts.

References

Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood. The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press, 2010. pp. 1172-1173
Building History (Park Avenue Armory)
PAA Interior Guide (Park Avenue Armory)
Seventh Regiment Armory (Wikipedia)