First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory

First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory, also known as the Leigh Street Armory, Monroe School, and Monroe Center, is a historic armory building located in Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1895, and is a two-story. Late Victorian style brick structure. It features four brick towers, two circular turrets, a rectangular tower over the center front entrance, and a square tower, with crenellation along the roof parapet. The interior was rebuilt after a fire in 1985, and a 1940s gymnasium removed in 1998. The building originally housed the armory for an African-American militia company until 1899. It then housed a school for African-American children until World War II, when it again was used as a reception center for servicemen of color. It returned as a school for Africa-American children until 1954 and desegregation. For a period it housed The Black History Museum of Richmond. It is the oldest of three identified African-American armories in the country. It is currently home to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, which finished construction in May 2016.[3]

First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory
First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory, March 2011
Location122 W. Leigh St., Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates37°33′0″N 77°26′30″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1895 (1895)
ArchitectCutshaw, Wilford Emory
Architectural styleLate Victorian
NRHP reference No.09001158[1]
VLR No.127-5676
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 23, 2009
Designated VLRSeptember 17, 2009[2]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. Selden Richardson (May 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Battalion Virginia Volunteers Armory" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying four photos


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