Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/16/1975
NRHP Listing Date 05/17/1976
NRHP Reference Number 76002229
The castellated Blues Armory, in the heart of downtown Richmond, is a memorable example of the massive urban armories erected from the 1870s to the 1920s. It was designed by the Washington, D.C., firm of Averill and Hall and was completed in 1910. The building had a ground-floor arcaded market, a large drill hall on an upper level, a rifle range, and related facilities. Built to withstand siege, the armory was until the early 1960s the headquarters of the now disbanded Richmond Light Infantry Blues. Formed in 1789, the Blues served in every major conflict from the War of 1812 to World War II. The exterior and portions of the ground floor were restored in the 1980s as part of the Sixth Street Market Place, a festival market complex. The west side of the Blues Armory building was incorporated at that time into a vast glass-covered hall containing food courts.
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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: May 1, 2023
