The Smart Set Athletic Club used the old 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn as its home court for basketball during the 1910s. The 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn opened in 1895. In March 1910 they staged an ambitious indoor athletic event there on a scale that had never before been attempted or seen among African [...]
The Smart Set Athletic Club used the old 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn as its home court for basketball during the 1910s.
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In March 1910 they staged an ambitious indoor athletic event there on a scale that had never before been attempted or seen among African American sports fans, or, for that matter, perhaps anyone.
It was promoted as an “athletic carnival, basketball tournament, and assembly.”
The basketball game was between the Smart Set Athletic Club and the Washington 12 Streeters, led by Edwin Henderson.
In addition to basketball, the carnival included a one mile relay, a one mile run, a 440-yard dash, and entertainment. Track teams from around New York City included the Stroller Athletic Club, the Owl Field Club, and the Century Club.
The entertainment was provided by the Excelsior Brass Band, which “dispensed enlivening music” throughout the event.
Over 3,000 onlookers watched the 12 Streeters defeat the Smart Set, 20-17. “Never in the history of Brooklyn,” the New York Age reported, “has such a galaxy of colored persons assembled under one roof.”
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I’ve always wondered how they could have pulled off something this big. Since I knew that this building is still standing, I decided to go down there myself to take a look around.
What I found was astonishing.
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First, as you can see, the structure is virtually unchanged from how it was depicted on a vintage postcard from the period when its construction was completed, in 1895.
The 14th Regiment was a Civil War unit representing Brooklyn. So the cornerstone — as is typical for armories — includes a garrison in the front and a drill hall in the back.
The cornerstone, laid in 1894, is a 3-foot square granite block brought from the battlefield at Gettysburg where the regiment fought. Its inscription reads:
GETTYSBURG.
Part of Which I Was; All of Which I Saw.
Presented by the Fourteenth Regiment War Veterans.
1894.
“The armory is to contain a drill room, company rooms, officers’ rooms, a library, a gymnasium, squad drill rooms, banquet halls, and staff officers’ and veterans’ rooms,” the New York Times reported.
Today, instead of officers, the garrison contains a homeless shelter for women, complete with security guards and metal detectors. (Photography of the front of the building, or its inhabitants is, understandably, prohibited.)
I mentioned the drill hall.
To appreciate its immense size, take a look at the view along the side of the armory structure.
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The drill hall was where soldiers practiced marching, formations, and maneuvers. So it was big. Big enough to enclose a quarter-mile running track. In fact, it contains an immense 70,000 square feet of space.
So, what are they doing with it?
According to the The Real Deal, a New York real estate magazine:
After nearly three years, the Fourteenth Regiment Armory located at 1402 Eighth Avenue between 14th and 15th streets in Park Slope, which currently houses a small women’s shelter, is close to the end of a $16 million project to transform the building into a long-awaited modernized athletic complex. The building will accommodate a long list of sports, including basketball, gymnastics, tennis, weightlifting and track and field.
That’s great news for many Park Slope residents. Even better, according to reports, is that the local Prospect Park Y.M.C.A. is going to run the new facility.
Now, here’s the astonishing part. The inside.
I had a rare, privileged opportunity to check it out. All I can say is, “Wow.” As far as vintage gymnasiums go, this must now rank among the best. As I walked inside, I just felt the sacredness of the place. I was tip-toeing around, looking for the holy water. It has to be one of the most magnificent, stunning, and complete restorations ever. They essentially restored every detail to how it was at the turn of the last century, including the antique iron-work and the original clock.
Here are highlights of what I saw:
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Are there any predictions for how this state-of-the-art athletic center will be used?
How about as a basketball practice facility for the New Jersey Nets when they move to Brooklyn?
I know, it’s a stretch.
But, seriously, how will Brooklyn receive this lovely new jewel of a renovation?
Maybe the best prediction about its future can be found from the past.
Let’s go back to comments made in the New York Age in 1910 about the Smart Set Athletic Club’s sports carnival at the armory:
The successful manner in which the program was conducted, the interest shown by the onlookers, as well as the high character of the events argue well for big meets between colored athletic clubs in and about Greater New York in the future. There is no doubt that the public will loyally support athletics when conducted under the proper auspices.
The Age continues with this:
After the athletic program had been carried out dancing was indulged in until an early hour Friday morning. The Fourteenth Armory is certainly a spacious edifice, in fact, so large that many of the dancers upon leaving for their homes were heard at the door to say good evening and good to one another in the same breath. Reports are still coming in regarding “among those present.”
George W. Lattimore, J. Hoffman Woods and other Brooklynites having the affair in charge deserve much credit for “pulling off” the most successful public affair ever given in Brooklyn.
After seeing and sensing the inside, I can definitely call the new armory drill room interior “breathless” … and it seems to me that this new spot will have a very bright future.
The 14th Regiment Armory in Brooklyn opened in 1895.
The armory today, here showing the front (or garrison) view.
Side view of the armory, showing the length of the drill hall.
The magnificent inside of the newly renovated 14th Regiment Armory.
The vintage iron-work and radiators were kept beautifully intact.
The original clock, a loving touch.
The view from the court.
Could this be heaven?
[...] « Brooklyn’s Magnificently Renovated 14th Regiment Armory Was Home Court To Early Black Basketba… 02 07 2008 [...]
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Looks amazing!
Can’t wait to see it first hand, thanks for the sneak peak.
Opens in September?
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wow! i mean, wow! i’d love to play in there, claude! if you ever get the keys to the gym, let a brother know!
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Claude, once again, your insight and mix of historical fact with predictions for present and future use of sports as a teaching tool are unparrelled!! My friend, what Blackfives and You are doing is essential knowledge and information for scholars and worldwide sports fans. I salute your scholarship and your business acumen. Keep doing it the correct way baby! Once again, let me get on the Blackfives Train and help you in any way I can. Peace and Balance, Brother Zach.
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This really goes back to the beginning of competitive basketball between African Americans. To bring up the name of George Latimore and other pioneers is a real revelation which calls for some historical note. Thank you Claude for your avid investigative work. If and when you have an event there, I am interested in coming up for that.
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Magnificent
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[...] So it was an honor for me when they linked to The Black Fives Blog last week. They saw what I wrote promoting the newly renovated Park Slope Armory. If you live in Brooklyn, or are interested in [...]
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Hi Claude,
Fantastic site and interesting info. A dream come true in terms of a stellar sports with old character. Certainly visually charged. And to think I lived around the corner on Eastern Parkway in front of the botanical garden entrance. Park Slope will always rock! Your details should make the Evening news for all to know. Our kids run track…if they run on that track, the medals will be the cake but the icing is the facility…
Thanks
gwen
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[...] newly renovated Park Slope Armory I wrote about recently (a.k.a. 14th Regiment Armory) in Brooklyn is so magnificent that a lot of people wanted to see more [...]
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This place looks awesome from the inside. Has anyone heard when it will actually open up?
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[...] Johnson, author of the Black Fives Blog has an outstanding entry/story on the Armory yesterday and today. The inside looks [...]
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Claude,
Good stuff – I grew up a couple of blocks from the Armory.
Keep up the good work.
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Forgive me for being very late on this, because I never saw anything at all about the renovation of the Park Slope Armory at the ArmoryTrack.com site (representing the banked track at the 168th Street Armory). I can see why some people feel that they were left in the dark about this.
Is it still the case that no one has been awarded a contract to run the place? I thought I read that the Park Slope Y was a candidate. Why not let the Armory Track Foundation, the PSAL or the Police Athletic League run the place?
How big is the track, anyway? If it’s 160 or 200 meters around, it would be a perfect alternate location to hold the PSAL Brooklyn Borough Championships, or perhaps for minor meets where a banked track is not much of a priority.
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Better yet, why not let USATF Metropolitan run the place? They could hold weekly races there at night.
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Very nice place.
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[...] you’ve seen in my posts this week, the Smart Set Athletic Club and its members were basketball [...]
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Thanks Zach, those words of yours mean everything, man. I’ll be in touch! By the way, why don’t they just call the new N.B.A. team the Brooklyn Smart Set?
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You thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’? :-)
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I’m not sure when it’s supposed to open because I guess from the press releases and articles I’ve seen it was supposed to already be up and running by now. I’ll bet the Prospect Y would know, but I haven’t contacted them about it.
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Hey gwen, thank you! We’re old neighbors, maybe! I used to live on Sterling Place, corner of Washington. Remember Tom’s for breakfast? I proposed to my wife inside Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, so I have great memories of that neighborhood.
The Smart Set Athletic Club also had a well known and very successful track team in the 1910s and early 1920s that was written up in the New York Times once or twice. Yes, that facility is sweet, but keep your focus on those medals too if that’s what brings joy to your kids and you!! :-)
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