Fort Homer W. Hesterly is a historic building at 522 North Howard Avenue in the

West Tampa West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporation (municipal government), incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Ta ...

section of

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The building and adjacent support structures were originally constructed as a U.S. military facility to house units of both the

Florida Army National Guard The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces ...

and the U.S. Army Reserve. The armory was built in the 1930s under

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

and dedicated the day after the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

. The National Guard used the armory until 2005. After sixty years of service, and with the facility becoming obsolete for military purposes,

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and st ...

and U.S. Army Reserve officials announced plans to replace the armory on December 1, 2001. A new joint reserve facility to be built at Gateway Center in

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. The city is the fourth largest city in Pinellas County. The City of Pinellas Park was incorporated in 1914. It is part of the ...

was planned as a replacement of three existing outdated and overcrowded facilities, including Fort Hesterly, the J.F. Campbell National Guard Armory in Clearwater, and the Lovejoy U.S. Army Reserve Center in Tampa. Construction of the new $53.5 million project began in 2002, with the House Appropriations Committee originally allocating $45 million for the project. The new facility, eventually named the C.W. "Bill" Young Armed Forces Reserve Center, opened in February 2005. On October 23, 2013, the armory was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Entertainment and sports uses

During the time that the armory was used by the National Guard and the Army Reserve, it was also used as an entertainment and sports venue. In 1955 Elvis Presley performed at the armory as part of the "Country Music's Mr. Rhythm" show, the final act in country star

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts betw ...

's All-Star Jamboree tour. The cover of Presley's debut album features a photo from his 1955 performance at the armory. Other performers at the armory included

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

The Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, singer, and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characters with a folksy ...

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Greg ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

and

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

. The armory was used by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

for an address to the

Florida Chamber of Commerce The Florida Chamber of Commerce is an organization devoted to the advocacy of private businesses in the state of Florida. This Chamber originated in 1912, and included its first continuing group in 1916, the ''Florida Tick Eradication Committee''.h ...

in 1963, four days before his assassination in Dallas. The Rev.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

also spoke at the armory. The

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a n ...

men's basketball team played home games at the armory sporadically throughout the 1970s. The armory held

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

matches during the era of

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur wrestler and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship ...

and announcer

Gordon Solie Gordon Solie (born Francis Jonard Labiak, later Jonard Pierre Sjoblom, January 26, 1929July 27, 2000) was an American professional wrestling play-by-play announcer. He is best known for working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wr ...

. Billy Fives and Pepe Prado represented NWA Florida at the armory in a tag team match against Mike Sullivan and

Scoot Andrews Andrew Warner (born June 1, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "the Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews. After debuting in 1994, Andrew competed for numerous independent professional wrestling promotio ...

during an interpromotional event between IPW Hardcore vs. NWA Florida. In addition, many graduations and weddings have been held at the Fort.

Redevelopment

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style building, it took ten years to find an occupant for the Hesterly Armory, once a premiere entertainment venue in addition to its military role. Plans for the former armory included a film studio and creative industries incubator, an ice rink and sports complex, and mixed-use commercial/residential development. In 2007, a $98 million hotel and spa project won the selection process, but later dropped. A plan to redevelop the 75,000 square foot armory into a luxury development fell through in 2010.'Back to square one' for redevelopment of Hesterly Armory
Plans for hotel, restaurants, market fall through March 1, 2010 Tampa Bay Times In 2016, it underwent a $30 million renovation and was converted into the Bryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center in honor of

Bryan Glazer Bryan Glazer (born October 27, 1964) is an American businessman. Together with his brothers, Joel Glazer and Edward Glazer, he owns part of the First Allied Corporation, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League (NFL) franchise, and the ...

(son of

Malcolm Glazer Malcolm Glazer (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American businessman and sports team owner. He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, and own ...

) who contributed $4 million to the project. It is now home to the Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation.Amy Scherze
Tampa Jewish Federation announces plan to transform part of historic Homer Hesterly Armory
January 30, 2012 Tampa Bay TimesTampa Jewish Community Center and Federation plans new campus at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory
Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation

References

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External links

Tampa Jewish Community Center & FederationBryan Glazer Family Jewish Community Center
1941 establishments in Florida Armories in Florida Buildings and structures in Tampa, Florida Military installations in Florida Military installations closed in the 2000s Event venues established in 1941

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Installations of the United States Army National Guard Government buildings completed in 1941 National Register of Historic Places in Tampa, Florida Works Progress Administration in Florida