{"nrhp_refnum":"07000945","name":"Concord Armory","other_names":["Concord Veterans Building","51 Walden"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"51 Walden St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Concord","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.458906994000074,"lon":-71.34892800999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Military","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A long, largely wood-frame Queen Anne building at 51 Walden Street in Concord, Massachusetts, built in 1887-1888 as the town armory for the Concord Artillery. It was expanded in 1896, 1922 and 1927 and is now a performing arts venue.","why_significant":"The building was constructed to house the historic Concord Artillery company and its cannon, and it later became a community theater and music venue. Its 1922 stage was designed by theater architect Clarence Blackall for the Concord Players and survives largely intact as a rare all-wood stage with fly space and wings. The form also notes its Queen Anne design by Concord architect John H. Chapman.","narrative":"Built in 1887-1888 at 51 Walden Street, the Concord Armory began as the home of the Concord Artillery, a militia company whose cannon the state had formally conferred on the town. Architect John H. Chapman designed the two-story headhouse in the Queen Anne style, with a round-arched entry, stick work and patterned hexagonal shingles, and carpenter Andrew S. Lowden built it. A drill shed extended behind it and was lengthened in 1896. In 1922 the drill shed became a theater, with a stage designed by Clarence Blackall for the Concord Players. A scene dock followed in 1927. The stage is a rare surviving all-wood example with fly space and wings. The building was saved from demolition in 1972 and renovated as a performing arts center. Today its double-ended auditorium serves theatrical, orchestral and band performances, and the old basement storage bays remain close to their early appearance.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John H. Chapman (architect, 1887); Andrew S. Lowden (principal builder); Clarence Blackall (1922 stage); Harry Little (1927 scene dock plans)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Queen Anne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Saved from demolition and renovated in 1972 as a performing arts center; currently used as a theater and concert hall.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.29652-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/7958/63795818/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/07000945.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000945/ba53c007c2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000945/ba53c007c2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concord_Armory,_October_2013,_Concord_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concord_Armory,_October_2013,_Concord_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795818","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concord_Armory","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5158774"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/concord-armory-07000945/"}