The Blues Armory is a large brick armory in downtown

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Housing the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, the castle-like structure originally served multiple purposes, with a food market on the ground floor and a drill hall for the

National Guard of the United States National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

on the top floor. The level between housed suites of offices for each individual National Guard company. The

Richmond Spiders The Richmond Spiders represent the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. The Spider ...

played their home basketball games at the site for a period of time. In 1985, the ground floor was converted to retail and restaurant space, part of the 6th Street Marketplace. The composite steel-reinforced structure is clad with brick and heavily rusticated stone masonry. Completed in 1910, it was designed by the Washington, D.C. firm of Averill and Hall. The castellated design was not entirely whimsical, as the structure was designed to withstand attack during riots. The ground floor was entirely separated from the military upper floors. The structure extends over the sidewalks, forming an arcade at ground level, with five bays on the Marshall Street side and seven bays on Sixth Street. The corners are marked with projecting turrets or

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging turret projecting from the walls of late-medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th c ...

s, while the upper level is

machicolated In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key poi ...

. The roof of the drill hall rises above the parapet. The Richmond Light Infantry Blues existed from 1789. They were called in 1800 to deal with Gabriel's Rebellion, led by the slave

Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

the unit was part of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

. From 1894 the Blues were a battalion, then a regiment after World War II. A 1968 reorganization of the National Guard disestablished the Blues and the armory fell into disuse. By the 1990s the lower level was incorporated into the Sixth Street Market development. The upper floor offices and first floor food court closed in 2002. The Blues Armory was listed on 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 ...

on May 17, 1976.

References

{{commons category, Blues Armory Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Government buildings completed in 1910 Buildings and structures in Richmond, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, Virginia Richmond Spiders basketball Brick buildings and structures in Virginia