The world premiere production of Crazy Enough will not take place at the New Rochelle Center Stage at the Armory so it will not be weaving music and story into a ride through the darkest alleys and brightest vistas faced by the human mind. Instead, the Armory sits idle, awaiting Noam Bramson’s wrecking ball.
If we take a look at some stellar examples of the principles I spoke of earlier, we can use some imagination and apply some of their best ideas to the Armory. I often point to the Portland Center Stage Armory for many reasons but primarily for Portland’s approach to their project . At one point, the Portland Armory was to be demolished but it was saved at the last moment. In that particular case, salvation came in the form of a theater company looking for a home.
The engineering firm behind the reinvention of the Portland Armory as a theater space:
Its arched doorways and distinctive architectural style make it a magnet for visitors. To create new chapters in its rich history, it recently opened as a permanent home for Portland Center Stage. A sizable portion of the interior space was designed for the community to gather, learn, work and be entertained.
Portland Center Stage Armory space was larger than the New Rochelle Armory but the same principles apply.
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This place is not only a revenue success , it is a complete neighborhood success story. Moving forward with New Rochelle’s Armory will stimulate growth that is sustainable but not overdeveloped . Setting the tone for a neighborhood of scale and density that is relative to the area surrounding it . There would be no need to forcibly develop housing for 3000 people , overcrowding and saturating the serene nature of the surrounding blocks . This would be in keeping with the “seamless weaving” of the area as put forth by Jim Freer who described the concept of the latest Echo Bay development. The quality of life for Sutton Manor , Premium Point , the East End , and Sunhaven would be enhanced rather than encroached upon. There has already been talk of resident permit parking to control the overflow of traffic and the loss of parking on streets like Stephenson Blvd from the size of the Forest City plans. Is that a benefit for those around Echo Bay?
The state transferred the Armory to New Rochelle with the express condition it be maintained for public use unlike the sale of David’s Island which was not sold to the City of New Rochelle with any such provision. Public use means just that — the Armory as a site to engage the public whether that be through historical conservation, as a remembrance of the selfless contributions of New Rochelle’s generations, sparking the minds of thousands of children, a showcase for the best of what New Rochelle has to offer, a green/environmental showcase, a home for local performing arts groups like the New Rochelle Opera and more. Done right, the Amory can serve as a catalyst for growth in and around Echo Bay and make any Echo Bay development a more attractive place to live, work or play not less. To simply tear down a landmark facility so a real estate developer can increase density on a parcel of land is not just a failure of our local government but a failure of imagination all around.
Portland Armory
John D
I’m the Community Programs Manager for Portland Center Stage and thought you’d appreciate the irony that while you’re writing about Portland and the adaptive reuse of our lovely building, we’re presenting the musical of Ragtime which tackles the issue of change, progress, and the threats to status quo in a New Rochelle of 100 years ago.
Whether or not you choose to preserve your Armory, it’s a worthwhile process for the community to go through to ask themselves, how has this building been singular and iconic to your history, how might it help us imagine the future? One of the primary instincts for the renovation and programmatic vision of the Gerding Theater at the Armory was to use a Platinum-Leed historic renovation to leverage public space that might bridge conversations around sustainability, historic preservation, community engagement and the arts. This jibes with Robert Putnam’s idea that “arts spaces are, at root, civic spaces.”
Using the town square metaphor (like your blog)
was central to “de-eliticizing” (sorry bad word)the arts and thinking more about Community Institutions. . .more public libraries and town squares than multiplex or sports arena.
Doing so may require a difficult set of measures, including new funds, a reconfiguration of arts spaces, and changes in the way that institutions conceive of their mission. But an adaptive reuse that revisions arts spaces as public spaces is an example of “recycling” social capital that may well create new networks that will increase individuals’ participation in public affairs, volunteer activity, or religious life.
Richard Sennett says that, “rethinking the practices of urbanism is involved in creating a place in which people can talk to each other, and this is huge issue. You can’t have a public realm. . .if people don’t exchange with another and the element of exchange is talk.”
Then again, there’s also the argument that it’s simply not a durable strategy to tear down sustainable brick buildings.
With our production of Ragtime, we’re looking at comparisons between the Portland of that era – a vision of open-ended possibility coupled with mounting tension between progress, tradition and rapid cultural change that underpin moments of innovation and crisis. Let’s hope a civically ecological sense of progress prevails for your Armory.
Good luck.
Perspective on the Armory
Here’s an interesting quote about the significance of a similar place -“The Armory Annex has always figured prominently in the social and cultural fabric of the city, so it seems only fitting that Portland Center Stage brings that legacy of community involvement full circle. Here’s to the next chapter of a bright and exciting history!”
— Bob Kingston, from the Gerding Theater Opening Celebration Program
Designed FOR the community
…for the community to gather , learn , work , be entertained … AND to pay tribute to those who never reached their potential because of their sacrifice in serving our great nation . Rememberance and reflection . This city deserves nothing less
The Park Avenue Armory too
The Park Avenue Armory too was in the cross marks of developers. The area was up in arms for years and finally the pressure to save that treasure of a building won out.
http://www.armoryonpark.org/
It would take some real thought and a desire to spend some money to give our Armory tender loving care. It must be done. Our legacy is within our buildings. Here is another Armory being preserved and used for the Good of its Citizens.
http://www.redbankarmory.com/
Lets let Bramsons Legacy ride on the care and restoration of this gem or die on its destruction.
Here’s a few More
The more you look , the more you’ll see . Here’s a few more .
http://www.armoryart.org
http://www.armoryarts.org
http://www.armorysq.org
http://www.armorycenter.org
(Why would you save the Armory http://www.newrochelletalk.com/node/350 )
Don’t be fooled by the naysayers , development does NOT have to depend on tearing down OUR history. Factoring in the tens of millions of dollars we’re giving away in land and abatements , we’re already paying a hefty price to destroy the place . We don’t need 3000 people living in Echo Bay . we don’t need “large scale” retail (Forest City’s choice of words , not mine) in Echo Bay .
Thank you for your comments!
It’s YOUR Armory – USE it – DON’T LOSE it
Restore the Armory
Fourty years ago I played basketball there and it was falling down then. It will take alot of money to restore that building. But do not worry,our city will burden its tax payers with another tax, the Armory tax.Lets make sure that there are enought bike racks per square inch. Would not want to pay some kind of fine for not having enought.
An Armory tax would be far superior to 40mil in abatements
We ARE going to pay for whatever transpires at that site . Why wouldn’t support something that supports true growth for the city ? Do you really think 3000 people and 1000 units of living space ,coupled with the fact they will pay NO taxes for 20 years helps the city . Whatever you would pay for the Armory would be a pittance compared to what you pay to make up for the increased police and fire and services , not to mention your school tax doubling . Get the facts , the real facts , then see if you can support your own drivel .