Art Moderne in style, the two story armory building is 148 feet wide and 153 feet deep, built to create storage for 70 army trucks, army supplies and a rifle range. On the main floor were a 73 foot X 102 foot drill hall, lockers and storage rooms, offices, club rooms and custodian's quarters. The second floor was built to house offices for the Adjutant General, United States Purchasing and Disbursing Officer, Army Officers and instructors, and a lecture room.
The 1935 earthquake had destroyed the Helena Armory and, by 1939, with the prospect of war looming on the horizon, it became clear that a new Helena Armory was a pressing need. At the time the WPA was already building armories and other government buildings across Montana as part of the Depression era New Deal project, so it fell to the WPA, as well as Armory Board bond sales, to provide funding for the project.
Designed by the only Helena architect of the time, Norman DeKay, the Armory cost $273,704 and was completed in 1942, with the Montana State National Guard moving in that fall.
Thereafter, until 2001 the building was used extensively for
unit formations, drills and ceremonies, equipment training, arms maintenance, physical fitness training and community events in the gymnasium and drill hall, small arms training and firing in the basement firing range, supply functions in the basement vaulted arms room, and administration functions and classroom training throughout the office areas.
Since the national guard's departure the building had remained in the possession of the military, being sold into private hands in 2013. A renovation was completed in 2018, with the building scheduled to reopen in the fall of that year. The following news article recounts that recent aspect of the building's history.
Historic Helena buildings to be renovated,
used for office space
ERIN LORANGER | Jun 19, 2017
The Helena Armory building is slated to reopen in fall 2018 after the completion of a $16 million rehabilitation project to make renovations and remove lead contamination.
D&M Development, LLC, owned by Dick Anderson and Mark Esponda, acquired the buildings through a state land swap in 2016. They announced a partnership with Valley Bank of Helena and the Montana and Idaho Community Development Corporation to renovate the buildings on Thursday. MICDC provides funding to businesses and developers for projects ineligible for conventional financing. Esponda declined to provide details on how much funding each partner contributed to reach a total of $16 million.
The financing is through a federal program, the New Market Tax Credits. In November 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department awarded MICDC $90 million in New Market Tax Credits. Other projects completed around the state through the program include the Crowley Fleck building in Helena, the Great Falls Rescue Mission’s Cameron Family Center and the Copper King Hotel in Butte.
The Helena Armory was built in 1942 and is one of three standing Art Deco building in Helena, according to the National Register of Historic Places. The armory was vacated in 2013 and officials detected lead contamination from a shooting range in the basement.
Esponda said they brought in a contractor from Billings who specializes in lead abatement. Although the developers aren’t required to preserve historic parts of the building, Esponda said they’re keeping what they can while making safety updates.
“We are keeping the gym floor in the armory,” he said. “Basically anything that we can do to keep the outside of the building looking historic. But it is fairly difficult because of the new codes.”
From the Helena Independent Record
MONTANA STATE ARSENAL, ARMORY AND DRILL HALL
In 1885, the Montana Territorial Legislature authorized the organization of a National Guard. Within three years its nine companies were headquartered in the territorial capital at Helena. Since that time Montana Guard personnel have been called up for State Active Duty to assist with riots, strikes, natural disasters, law enforcement, search and rescue, and other emergencies. Montana citizen soldiers mustered into federal service for military actions including the Spanish American War in 1898, the Philippine Insurrection in 1899, World War I France, throughout World War II's Pacific Theatre, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia and Kuwait, and for Homeland Security Operations following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
After earthquakes destroyed the old 1890s armory, Helena architect Norman DeKay designed this handsome facility of poured concrete and steel. Completed in 1942 with Works Progress Administration (WPA) labor, its clean lines and squared pilasters in a stepped motif are classic Art Moderne style elements.
The interior included garage space for 70 trucks, U.S. Army supplies storage areas, a rifle range, and a 73-by-102-foot drill hall. The unique drill hall floor was constructed of hand-laid two-by-fours set on end 18 inches deep in a contrasting design so that vehicles could be driven on its surface. Since World War II, the drill hall has served as a community social center, dance hall, and sports facility. In December 2001, the Montana National Guard headquarters relocated from this site, but the landmark building continues to be a bold reminder of the Montana National Guard's contributions both at home and abroad.
From the NRHP plaque at the building