Huntingdon borough

The yellow brick armory on Standing Stone Avenue

On Standing Stone Avenue, on a sloped site along PA Route 26 near the edge of Huntingdon Borough, with Standing Stone Creek at the back of the lot, stands a one story yellow brick armory in the Moderne style. The National Register nomination, prepared by an intern at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in August 1989, describes a T plan building eight bays by three, with a running bond yellow brick veneer over structural tile walls on a concrete foundation. Flat roofs are ringed by parapet walls with small crenellations and stone coping. Four double door entrances are spaced evenly across the front, and the windows are metal casements.

The building went up in two stages. The administration section dates from 1930, when it was built for the 109th Motor Transport Company of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The drill hall beside it followed in 1937, funded in part by federal economic recovery programs. The full basement held a classroom, a locker room, a kitchen and a garage; the first floor held offices and the drill hall.

The architect was Joseph F. Kuntz of Pittsburgh, credited in the nomination with the design of at least eighteen armories in the western third of Pennsylvania. Kuntz began designing armories with the W. G. Wilkins Company just after the State Armory Board was created in 1905 and continued until 1930. Lutz Construction Company and Norman Hulme are also named on the form. The property covers 7.4 acres, its boundaries set out in Huntingdon County Deed Book D, Number 7, Page 80.

The armory was listed under Criteria A and C, for military and architecture, at the statewide level, as a member of the State Armory Building property type in the Pennsylvania National Guard Armories multiple property nomination. The nomination counts it as one of at least 37 T plan armories in Pennsylvania, and the cover sheet filed with it lists twenty armories from Bellefonte to York, Huntingdon eighth among them. In 1989 the state still owned the building and still used it for arms storage. The exterior and interior kept most of their original features, including windows and doors. One original garage door had been removed and the opening reduced for small metal doors, and the old garage had been reduced in size to make room for a day room, a classroom and storage.

It was built for the 109th Motor Transport Company of the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1930. It is one of at least 37 armories having a T plan type in Pennsylvania.National Register of Historic Places nomination, Huntingdon Armory (reference 89002075), 89002075, section 8, p6 · character 6,711 of the scanned text

Checked against the record. Checked against the National Register nomination text before publication; 6 claims the nomination did not support were removed or corrected.

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