Hunt Armory (also known as Pittsburgh Armory) is a former armory located at 324 Emerson Street in the Shadyside neighborhood of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. It was designed by Pittsburgh architects W.G. Wilkins Co. Announced on August 29, 1909 and budgeted at $450,000 ($ in present-day terms) it was completed by 1916. The armory was named after

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

hero, metallurgist, and industrialist Captain Alfred E. Hunt (1855–1899), best known for founding the company that would eventually become

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

, the world's largest producer and distributor of aluminum. The Hunt Armory occupies an entire city block covering an area of , also reported as 1.84 acres. For many years, it was used (along with the Syria Mosque) as the city's main

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

. Until the Pittsburgh Civic Arena was completed in 1961, the Hunt Armory was the largest auditorium in Pittsburgh and was frequently the host for

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s and political events including: *October 20, 1944: Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey. *October 23, 1948: President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

with a crowd of over 25,000. *September 7 - October 4, 1952: Billy Graham's Pittsburgh crusade. *October 27, 1952: Presidential candidate

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. *October 30, 1952: Presidential candidate

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

. *October 9, 1956: President Eisenhower. *October 31, 1956: Presidential candidate

speaks to 12,000. The Armory is closed for military use, but continues to be used for other purposes. In 2008, it hosted the Handmade Arcade. By 2015, historically appropriate redevelopment was being planned under the City's

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...

(URA). In November 2021, the site opened as a public skating rink, becoming the first indoor community ice rink opened within the city of Pittsburgh in 25 years. Hunt Armory has been listed in 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 ...

since November 14, 1991. It received City of Pittsburgh historic landmark status on February 27, 2014.

References

External links

* {{Pittsburgh Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania National Guard Indoor arenas in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Pittsburgh Military installations established in 1916 National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

See also

References

External links