Old National Guard Armory - Chandler, OK - WPA Projects on Waymarking.com

The Chandler Armory is an excellent example of Works Progress Administration (WPA) architecture. Bryan W. Nolan, an architect and major in the National Guard, served as the supervising architect for the WPA armory construction program in Oklahoma. Constructed of local sandstone, with five large overhead garage doors, the eastern half of the building contained offices, locker rooms, truck bays, an ammunition vault, and classrooms. The other half consisted of a large, open drill hall. The project began in 1935 and was completed in 1937.

The Chandler Armory depicts the quality and success of the WPA program. Native materials were used and local residents were employed. More than 250 men worked the local quarry to keep laborers at the jobsite supplied with material. Alternating crews of 14 men were employed on the jobsite, to offer as much employment as possible for workers in need of jobs. Workers dressed the stone and hoisted it into place by hand. The wooden floor of the drill hall required a great deal of hand labor, too. Workers cut more than 156,000 wood blocks on the jobsite and set them into place manually. During the Great Depression, the armory put Chandler to work.

When the job was finished in March of 1937, the community celebrated with a parade, a banquet, the laying of a cornerstone, an open house, and a dance with music provided by a WPA swing band from Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

In 1971, the National Guard constructed a modern facility to replace the historic armory and deeded the older building to the town. In time, the building fell into disrepair, until a local group of volunteers called the Old Armory Restorers (OAR) formed in 1998. Using a grant they received in 2002, OAR completed the restoration.

In 2007, the eastern half of the armory opened as the Chandler Route 66 Interpretive Center, a Route 66 museum and virtual Mother Road learning experience. The Ben T. Walkingstick Conference Center and Exhibition Hall is now open in the drill hall section of the building, providing conference space for events from Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

This WPA project can also be found on Berkeley's Living new Deal website database: (visit link)

Project type: Government building (non-park) Date built or created: 1937 Location: National Guard Armory, Chandler, OK City: Chandler Condition: Good upkeep with a little wear and tear Website for additional information: [Web Link]

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