Our group took a field trip to the Park Avenue Armory in New York on Saturday, September 23, where we explored the “Gilded Age” interiors and the Drill Hall of this remarkable structure.

In 2007, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy was formed to support the preservation and restoration of the building, working with Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron.  The Veterans Room, designed by a host of outstanding architects, interior designers, and craftsmen, is the crown jewell of this process.

One of the remarkable aspects of the Park Ave. Armory is that the building accommodates a range of uses.  It is the home of a cutting-edge arts program while also hosting a homeless shelter on the 4th and 5th floors.  Some of the rooms are still used by the National Guard Companies of the 7th Regiment, for whom the Armory was built  in 1880.