Join FRIENDS for a special guided tour of the Park Avenue Armory on June 20th, to learn about the history of the building, its preservation, and ongoing campaigns to restore the bold, red brick edifice and its interior spaces. The Armory, designed by Charles W. Clinton and completed in 1881 to house the 7th National Guard Regiment, is among the most treasured examples of Gilded Age architecture in New York. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the structure combines a majestic brick and masonry head-house and the voluminous 55,000 square foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall, one of the largest unobstructed structures in New York with its sweeping, consecutive wrought iron arches, while the fort-like administrative wing houses a collection of rooms individually designed by leaders of the American Aesthetic movement including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Candace Wheeler, and the Herter Brothers.

The Armory is also invaluable as an example of sustainable preservation, maintaining its status as an important historic resource while facilitating a contemporary function. Excellently preserved at the initiative of the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, the restoration designed by Herzog & de Meuron and overseen by PBDW Architects has given the building a new lease of life. The once endangered structure is now a world class performing arts space and cultural center made idiosyncratic by the particular attention the project team have paid to preserving and restoring its incredible original features. The tour is limited to 25 guests so please register at the earliest opportunity by completing the form below.