Whitefish Bay National Guard Armory | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
![]() | |
Location | 1225 E. Henry Clay St. Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin |
---|---|
Architect | Herbert Tullgren |
NRHP reference No. | 02000650 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | June 6, 2002 |
Removed from NRHP | April 6, 2011 |
Whitefish Bay National Guard Armory was located at 1225 East Henry Clay Street, on six acres of land at the southwest corner of Henry Clay Street and Ardmore Avenue, in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. The red brick building with crenelated top and central tower was called "the finest armory in the state". Inside were well-lit classrooms off wide terrazzo corridors, double staircase with ornate ogee window, gymnasium, kitchen, and lounge with beamed ceiling and mammoth fireplace. Built in 1928, it was designed by prolific local architect Herbert W. Tullgren.
The land was part of a 19-acre plot purchased in 1870 by Friedrick Gustave Rabe, a German immigrant, who built a white frame farmhouse for his wife and two daughters. His land was bordered by Henry Clay Street on the north, Ardmore Avenue on the east, Fairmount Avenue on the south, and Marlborough Drive and Kimbark Place on the west. After Rabe's death, the property was purchased by Otto Falk, vice president of Falk Corporation, and a prominent Wisconsin National Guard officer.
Starting around 1909, the property was used as a summer camp by a National Guard artillery unit. The farmhouse was occupied by three different commanding officers and their families. Numerous Wisconsin National Guard units trained on this property for duty in the Mexican border war, World War I, World War II, and the Korean Conflict. It became home to the United States Army’s 32nd Infantry Division. Called “Red Arrow Division” to signify its tenacity in piercing the enemy line, their shoulder patch design forms a striking centerpiece to the site’s current memorial garden.
In 1927, 13 acres were sold to the village as a site for Whitefish Bay High School, which opened in 1932. Architect Tullgren was chosen to design the high school, as well as village hall, and elementary schools Cumberland, Richards, and Henry Clay (now Whitefish Bay Middle School).
In 1941, red brick garages were added to the west side of the armory. A two-story addition to the farmhouse provided offices, classroom, and a pine-paneled officers' club room, affectionately dubbed “the white house". Many important village events, such as weddings and proms, were held in the armory. For years, local 16-year old residents took their driver’s license exams in its classroom. In 1989, it was named a Milwaukee County Landmark.
In 1995, the village of Whitefish Bay bought the property. Public hearings were held to determine how the building should be used. Numerous suggestions were considered but, in 1998, a decision was made to raze the building, garages, and farmhouse for use as a park. Efforts were made to save the farmhouse, one of the oldest buildings in the village, but it was razed in 2000. The armory building and garages were demolished in 2004.
Now known as Armory Park, the site is home to Whitefish Bay Veterans Monument and Memorial Garden.
Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,646 at the 2020 Census. The city is well-known regionally for being the largest city of the Door Peninsula, after which the county is named.
Westphalia is a small unincorporated community in Falls County, Texas, United States located 35 mi (56 km) south of Waco on State Highway 320. Westphalia has a strong German and Catholic background. The Church of the Visitation was, until recently, the largest wooden church west of the Mississippi River. Westphalia is mainly noted for its historic church and convents, but also for its meat market and for its annual church picnic, which is one of the largest in the area. Westphalia is also known for the Westphalia Waltz.
Penn Valley is an unincorporated community located within Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. Penn Valley residents share a zip code with Merion, Narberth, or Wynnewood because the town does not have its own post office. However, Penn Valley is a distinct community whose civic association demarcates the town's boundaries with iconic signs featuring William Penn and a farmhouse in blue or red on white, dating from the town's incorporation in 1930.
Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory was a 52,000 sq. ft indoor arena located on the lakefront in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It was built in Streamline Moderne style in 1941 as a Works Progress Administration project. The building seated 3,974 with permanent balcony seating and bleacher seating on the floor level. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. It was razed in 2020.
Bay View is a neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, North America on the shores of Lake Michigan, south of the downtown area and north of the City of St. Francis. Bay View existed as an independent village for eight years, from 1879 to 1887.
Green Bay East High School is a public high school in the Green Bay Area Public School District serving the near-east side of Green Bay, Wisconsin and parts of Bellevue and Allouez. Founded in 1856, the school has occupied its current building since 1924.
Smith Cove is a body of water, the northern part of Seattle, Washington's Elliott Bay, immediately south of the area that has been known since 1894 as Interbay. More precisely, it is the part of the bay that lies north of a line running southeasterly from the west end of Elliott Bay Marina in the northwest to the far northwest tip of Myrtle Edwards Park in the southeast.
Boston Latin Academy (BLA) is a public exam school founded in 1878 in Boston, Massachusetts providing students in grades 7th through 12th a classical preparatory education.
Clinton and Russell was a well-known architectural firm founded in 1894 in New York City, United States. The firm was responsible for several New York City buildings, including some in Lower Manhattan.
The Kingsbridge Armory, also known as the Eighth Regiment Armory, is a decommissioned armory at Jerome Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. It was built in the 1910s, from a design by the firm of then-state architect Lewis Pilcher to house the New York National Guard's Eighth Coast Defense Command, a regiment-sized unit which relocated from Manhattan in 1917. It is possibly the largest armory in the world.
College Hill is a neighborhood of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. The name College Hill was given to this area because it was the location of the Saint Louis University College Farm. This area, bounded generally by Warne Ave., O'Fallon Park, I-70, Grand Boulevard, and W. Florissant Ave., was acquired by the University for garden and recreation purposes in 1836. It was subdivided in the early 1870s.
Whitefish Bay is an unincorporated community on the Lake Michigan shoreline in the town of Sevastopol, Door County, Wisconsin. Native Americans, likely the Menominee, called Whitefish Bay Ah-Quas-He-Ma-Ganing.
The Medina Armory is located on Pearl Street in Medina, New York, United States. It is a large stone building constructed at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Commandant's Quarters at the Dearborn Arsenal is a United States military structure located at 21950 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan. Built in 1834, it is the oldest building in Dearborn still located on its original site. It is considered to be one of the seven most significant buildings in Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1956 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
The Thorne Memorial School building is located at Franklin and Maple streets in Millbrook, New York, United States. It is a brick structure built at the end of the 19th century, considered the most distinctive public building in the village.
The 23rd Regiment Armory, also known as the Bedford Atlantic Armory, the Marcy Avenue Armory, and the Williamsburg Armory, is a historic National Guard armory building located at 1322 Bedford Avenue between Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The building is a brick and stone castle-like structure designed to be reminiscent of medieval military structures in Europe. It was built in 1891–95 and was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Fowler & Hough, local Brooklyn architects, and Isaac Perry, the New York state government's architect.
Herbert Wallace Tullgren was an American architect active throughout 1910s-1930s. He was centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but his work can be seen in different locations throughout Wisconsin such as Whitefish Bay, Waukesha, Shorewood, and Fond du Lac. His designs made use of Art Deco and Art Moderne, which was popular during the time.
The 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery is currently part of the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade that is based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Attached to the 1-121st is Battery A located in Hartford, Wisconsin; Battery B located in Plymouth, Wisconsin; 108th Forward Support Company located in Sussex, Wisconsin.
The David Adler Estate was the house and property of American architect David Adler in Libertyville, Illinois, United States. It is the house most closely associated with his life and career.