Detroit Naval Armory (Brodhead Naval Armory), MI
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S5280ft
N 42° 20.949 W 082° 59.874
17T E 335443 N 4690476
Located on the river side of East Jefferson Avenue at Baldwin Street. Parking is available nearby.
Waymark Code: WM1351
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2006
Views: 124
From the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office website:
Description:
The Detroit Naval (Brodhead) Armory is a Modernistic limestone structure at the northeast corner of Gabriel Richard Park on Detroit's riverfront near the Belle Isle Bridge. The building is comprised of four main sections: a vestibule, the main drill hall, an office and penthouse section, and a company drill hall. It contains a large array of Depression-era WPA art, including wood and plaster carvings and murals. Its location is at the intersection of East Jefferson and Baldwin Avenues. Between the front of the building and East Jefferson Avenue is a semicircular driveway and lawn. Centered within the lawn is a flagpole erected in 1943 and a large, white Navy stock anchor, which tradition and photographic evidence support as having come from the USS Yantic, a Civil War gunboat whose hull is buried in a filled-in boat slip in Richard Park. The buildings front facade faces East Jefferson. A fifty-car parking lot runs adjacent to the west side of the drill hall portion of the armory. Another parking area extends from the rear (south) end of the building's fenced vehicle compound to the Detroit River.
Statement of Significance:
The Detroit Naval Armory (R. Thornton Brodhead) Armory has been a conspicuous reminder of Detroit's sea service heritage since 1930. Located on East Jefferson Avenue on the city's river front, Brodhead Armory has served in countless capacities for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and their reserve and militia components. This building and its history are significant for several reasons. Influential members of Detroit's Naval Militia community pushed for its creation after having proved the need and value of such a training facility by their service in the Spanish American War and World War I. The armory is Michigan's quintessential example of Art Deco/Modernistic architecture in a military facility. Its expansive drill deck was the site of boxer Joe Louis's first amateur bout. It is also significant for having the largest collection of federally-funded Depression-era artwork of any building in the state.
Era: WW I
General Comments: Not listed
Related web site: Not listed
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