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Colorado National Guard Armory |
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Located at 1301 Arapahoe Street in Golden, Colorado, the cornerstone for the Colorado National Guard Armory Building was laid June 14, 1913. It was built to house Company A Engineers, of which twenty percent were Colorado School of Mines (CSM) students. It was also headquarters for the ROTC unit active at CSM during World War I and II. Designer James H. Gow, who also designed the Castle Rock Pavilion (an entertainment center on the summit of South Table Mountain), envisioned a home for the company reminiscent of a medieval castle. Gow is said to have chosen and collected 3,330 wagonloads of stone from nearby Clear Creek and Golden Gate Canyon to complete the Armory project. Supposedly, it is believed to be the largest cobblestone structure in the U.S. according to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. On the first level, facing 13th Street, the Armory once housed the Golden post office and retail space. Upper floors functioned as dormitories, drill space, and training space for Company A. The 65-foot tower, with its grand entrance inscribed "A 1913" was for "observation," providing a wide view of Golden. Gow was clearly enchanted with medieval design, as he originally proposed battlements on corners of the Castle Rock Pavilion as well as cannons surrounding the dance hall. In order to ease a local houseing shortage after WWII, it was converted into a dormitory for Colorado School of Mines students. The building functioned as an armory from 1913-1971. In 1971, the State of Colorado sold it to a private owner, the Armory Limited Partnership. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In a separate note attached to a reproduction photograph of a postcard depicting the armory, this information was typed: "The Golden Armory. The Golden Armory was built by the Colorado National Guard in 1912-1914. The architect was Albert Bryan and Charles Buckman, the contractor. James H. Gow was the influence behind the use of cobblestones and was responsible for collecting 3300 wagonloads of them. It housed Company A of the Engineering Corps of the National Guard, as well as the Golden Post Office. Since 1971, it has been privately owned and is occupied by shops and offices." |
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