Exploring the Southside Artillery Armory
- Ed Fujawa
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Over the past few months I have been exploring more topics on the southside of Indianapolis, in an effort to diversify the topics covered on this blog, which admittedly skewed towards the northside. Aside from exploring newspaper and other documents for ideas, I have also spent time exploring areas around the northside via aerial imagery, Sanborn and Baist maps, Google Streetview, and in person driving and walking areas on the southside.
While reviewing a 1941 Baist map, I ran across a structure which was identified as an Indiana National Guard “artillery armory” located on Pennsylvania Street in between Meridian and Madison. I was aware of the National Guard building on Pennsylvania Street downtown near the Central Library, and the facilities at Stout Field on the southwest side of downtown.
Adjacent to the artillery armory is another building, which is labeled as a motor pool storage facility. The aerial of the same area as it appears today is below:
The artillery component dates back to the late 1930s when the armory building was constructed to house the 150th Artillery Battalion of the Indiana National Guard. The 150th's lineage can be traced back to the 1880s when a light artillery regiment was organized for the Indiana Legion, the precursor to the National Guard. Elements of the unit served in the Spanish-American War and then along the Mexican border in the lead up to World War I. During World War I the unit was designated the 150th Field Artillery Regiment, and was sent to France as a component of the 42nd “Rainbow” Division, which consisted of National Guard units from over 20 states and was the first National Guard units from the state to see combat in that war. The image below shows Company A of the 150th just back from France during World War I. The full size image from the Indiana Historical Society can be viewed here.
The armory in Indianapolis was constructed as part of a Works Projects Administration project in 1938 to house and support a component of the 150th, being organized by a Major Harry E. Willet, who commanded the second battalion of the 150th. An open house was held for the new armory on October 31, 1939, and five hundred former Guard artillerymen were invited to attend the festivities.
The location of the armory, and the adjacent motor pool building (which was built in the 1920s), were on the Belt Railroad, which rings ¾ of the city, and would allow easy transport of the unit's field artillery pieces, as well as Guard vehicles, via train.
Based on aerial images, it appeared that the armory building still stands, so I drove to the location to investigate. The building does indeed still stand, although it is part of a larger industrial area which lays along the Belt Railway. Google Street view is shown below (since I neglected to take a wide angle photo of the site):
On the western end of the building there is a carved stone panel which says “ING,” for Indiana National Guard, and “Artillery Armory.” Under this, there is a set of crossed cannons, an artillery insignia in the Army.
Further down towards the east side of the building there is another carved stone feature, an archway over a vehicle door, decorated with stars. I was unable to explore the northside of the building, which parallels the Belt Railroad, but from Google Earth images, it appears there are no indications of the building’s former military use.
While used as the base for the 150th, the Artillery Armory and the adjacent motor pool were used to support other Guard units, including those heading to training locations in Indiana and in other states. The image below, from January 1941, show soldiers preparing to leave for training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi.
With the outbreak of World War II, shortly after the armory was completed, the site was used as the Selective Service headquarters in the city. Even a few years after the war the staff at the armory reported that returning soldiers, or former servicemen, would stop by a few times a week seeking records related to their service, or because they were under the mistaken belief that they still needed to check in with the local draft board.
In the years after World War II, the 150th was reorganized into smaller units and stationed around the state. In the late 1950s, the 150th was reconstituted with two battalions, which was later reduced to one in the 1970s. The headquarters for the 150th is in Bloomington, with its various batteries (artillery units are divided into batteries with usually six gun each) located in cities around the state. As for the armory on the southside, in the 1950s it was being used as a motor pool facility in conjunction with the building next door.
The buildings continued to serve the National Guard until the late 1970s, when in 1978, both buildings were put up for sale for $225,000. The sale coincided with the opening of a new National Guard armory at Stout Field. As noted above, artillery building and adjacent motor pool building appear to now be used for some industrial purpose. Per property records, the buildings are owned by Conron Properties, LLC.
Sources
Indianapolis Star: October 28, 1939, March 8, 1948, March 18, 1978
Indianapolis News: January 22, 1941
150th Field Artillery Family Redinesss Group Website: https://frg-operationemploymentprogram.blogspot.com/p/150th-field-artillery-division-lineage.html
Indiana Military History Journal, 1976, Indiana Historical Society, https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/IHSPub/id/236/rec/3