Special Troops Armory
Also known as: Philadelphia Armory
Why it's listed
Built in 1938 in Philadelphia for the city's Special Troops of the Pennsylvania National Guard, the armory sits back from Ogontz Avenue on a flat lot near Wister Woods Park and Wakefield Park, fronted by a broad lawn. The brick main building is designed in the Moderne style on an I-plan, with a two-story front administrative wing, a drill hall that appears as two stories, and a one-story rear storage wing. Its features include a parapet with stone coping, sixteen-light casement windows, stone belt courses, and a recessed central entrance framed in stone. The drill hall has a wood floor and brick walls, and its roof supports are concealed by a drop ceiling. Special troops included medical units, engineering battalions, and cavalry troops. The armory is one of seventeen Pennsylvania armories built in 1938 and is significant as a representative example of the state's armory building type and its National Guard function. The rear maintenance shop is not counted toward significance.
Significance in brief: The armory is significant under criteria A and C as a member of the State Armory Building property type within the Pennsylvania National Guard Armories multiple property nomination. It is one of seventeen armories built in Pennsylvania in 1938 and reflects the common function of armories as storage, meeting, and training spaces for the state National Guard. Its I-plan layout, with a drill hall between front administrative and rear storage sections, is identified as a typical armory type.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 91001702, listed November 14, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5350 Ogontz Ave., Philadelphia |
|---|---|
| County | Philadelphia |
| Listed | November 14, 1991 |
| Reference number | 91001702 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1938-1939 |
| Architectural style | Moderne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Military, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Acreage | 2.8 |
| Coordinates | 40.03545, -75.15105 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 91001702.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7574758
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.