Enid Armory

The Enid Armory was located in Enid, Oklahoma and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988. The two-story building was constructed in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project. It was the third largest Armory in Oklahoma.[2]

A historical marker in front of the armory notes that it was built on August 17, 1936 by the Works Progress Administration placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1988.
Enid Armory
Location600 E. Elm, Enid, Oklahoma
Coordinates36°24′0″N 97°52′12″W
Area3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built1936
Architectural styleArt Deco, Vernacular Art Deco
MPSWPA Public Bldgs., Recreational Facilities and Water Quality Improvements in Northwestern Oklahoma, 1935--1943 TR
NRHP reference No.88001370[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 08, 1988

Of the WPA-built armories in Oklahoma, the Enid Armory was the only one utilizing red brick in its construction.[2] The Oklahoma National Guard trained soldiers for combat in World War II and Korea. In 2005, the BRAC Commission voted to close 53 state armories and build Armed Forces Reserve Centers, including one at Vance Air Force Base.[3][4] The Enid Armory location was approved by city commissioners as a new site for Garfield Elementary School, and was demolished by the Enid Public School system, following the opening of the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Vance, and the removal of lead and asbestos from the site by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.[5][6][7]

A front view of the Enid Armory.

The first Enid Armory was constructed in 1925 at Phillips University. The 189th Field Artillery Regiment of the Oklahoma National Guard was stationed at Phillips from 1921 to 1936.[8] On July 7, 1933,[9] Clyde and Buck Barrow [10] broke into the armory, stealing a cache of weapons and ammunition and a pair of binoculars.[9] Their take was so large it filled their car, causing seating difficulty,[10] and overflowed from the bathtub they'd used as storage.[9]

Insignia for Oklahoma 45th on the front of the building.
A plaque adorns the side of the entrance featuring two crossed cannons, and reads "Colonel William A. Graves, Commanding."
The cornerstone for the Enid Armory reads: "State Armory, built by Works Progress Administration 1936, W.S. Key, State Administrator.

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination for Enid Armory, #88001370 (PDF), National Park Service, 1988, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-25
  3. "Bush endorses BRAC recommendations; Congress must act within 45 days", Enid News & Eagle, September 15, 2005
  4. Mullin, Jeff, "Armed Forces Reserve Center tops the construction list at Vance AFB", Enid News & Eagle February 13, 2010
  5. Barron, Robert, "City, school to swap properties" Enid News & Eagle, November 3, 2010
  6. Allen, Cindy, "Hime: Bond issue would provide room for rise in student population" Enid News & Eagle, January 26, 2010
  7. Zorn, Phyllis, "Prairie View Principal Named" Enid News & Eagle, January 16, 2012
  8. "The Roaring Twenties", In Reverence We Stand: Memories of Phillips University" pp. 41-44
  9. Guinn, Jeff, Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, 2009, pg 206-207
  10. Phillips, John Neal, "They think we're just school kids", Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults, 2002, pg 139
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