Minneapolis Armory

The Minneapolis Armory is a former home of the U.S. National Guard in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. The building was completed in 1936 and located since 1985 on the National Register of Historic Places.

The construction of the Minneapolis Armory was a project of the Public Works Administration within the New Deal program of Franklin D. Roosevelt. With construction costs of just under $ 800,000, it was the most expensive PWA project in Minnesota. The 24 -meter-high building was designed by a native of St. Paul Architects PC Designed bed castle in the style of the Streamline Moderne. Apart from the use for storage purposes it was used at peak times of more than 27 units as a training and recreation center.

Since the late 1930s until the 1970s the building was used as a place for civil events such as concerts, party events and sports events. The Minneapolis Lakers wore 1948-1959 sporadically, in the season 1959/60 all of their home games at the Minneapolis Armory from.

The National Guard used the building until 1980. In 1989 it was purchased by the Hennepin County for 4.7 million U.S. dollars. There were plans to demolish the old building and there set up a new County Jail. The Minnesota Historical Society began in January 1993 before the Minnesota Supreme Court to stop the demolition of the historic building. After several plans on the further use had been discarded, the Hennepin County in 1998 sold the building for $ 2.6 million to a private company to set up in a parking garage. As support, the buyer had to agree that the historic fabric remains intact and the County Administration may establish a Veterans Memorial Garden.