National Guard Armory – Perry

Current Usage:

City Property

Description:

The Perry National Guard Armory is a rectangular (210′ x 120′) structure constructed of rusticated and cut, multi-colored native stone arranged in a random coursed ashier pattern. Over the central drill floor the roof is arched, while over the wings on either side of the central unit it is flat. Parapets rise from all three segments of the building. Nine garage doors are located on the east side in addition to two single entryways framed by stone piers. Pilasters, vertical insets, and stepped cornices decorate the walls. Elongated fixed metal windows with stone lintels and concrete sills are single spaced.
The Perry National Guard Armory is significant as an example of the WPA involvement in national defense projects. First Lt. E. Q. Brengle reported that the armory replaced an inadequate facility located on impassable roads during bad weather and that “it would have been impossible to construct this building without the aid of the Federal Government and needy employables.” In all, construction of the facility employed one hundred and twenty jobless laborers during the Depression, infused wages for 90,000 man-hours of labor into the local economy, provided a building for public gatherings and entertainment, and created a headquarters for Battery C, 158th Field Artillery, Oklahoma National Guard. Architecturally, the structure is notable in terms of its scale, type, style, workmanship, and materials.[1]

VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION: Location of nominated property is as follows: from point of beginning located at the intersection of Delaware and Fourteenth Streets, 120 feet south, 125 feet west, 240 feet north, 125 feet south to point of beginning in Blocks 73 and 74, North Second West Perry original.

Bryan W. Nolan – Architect

Entered in National Register of Historic Places 

Sources:

1. Oklahoma Landmarks Inventory Nomination
2. The Living New Deal 
3. Waymarking.com
4. Public Release of Transfer of Perry Army National Guard Armory

Supported Documents:

1. WPA Properties Noble County – Perry Armory
2. National Register of Historic Places Support Document
3. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
4. Department of Environmental Quality
5. Transfer of Perry Army National Guard Armory

Photos: