On May 24, 1968, 100 or so of the grooviest St. Louisans walked into the National Guard Armory to see a young band called The Grateful Dead. It was the Dead’s first St. Louis show, and the group was so up-and-coming, it would end up rocking to only a sparse crowd in the cavernous assembly hall. More than 50 years later, Phil Hulse, founder and CEO of local developer Green Street, stands in The Armory, which is set to reopen this month as one of the largest indoor entertainment venues in the region. Hulse points to a 60-foot stage under construction. He pictures a band on the level of The Dead—in today’s terms—jamming to a packed house. For a long time, such a thought felt out of reach. That’s because the road to getting the Armory’s doors reopened has been anything but straightforward.
The Armory, dedicated in 1938, was once the home of the 138th Infantry of the Missouri National Guard. Most recently, the building at 3660 Market was an empty husk on a patch of land hiding under Interstate 64. When Green Street announced plans to renovate the building, in 2016, the developer envisioned turning more than half of the structure into office space. The implosion of prospective anchor tenant WeWork and other co-working-space companies, combined with a pandemic, derailed those plans.
Rendering by O’Toole Design
Walk inside this month and instead of offices, you’ll see some of the Armory’s history brought back to life. You’ll find six bars, several large screens showing sporting events, and even a two-story slide. “We’re calling it the living room of St. Louis,” says Ali Lamb, the Armory’s director of marketing. “Maybe you’re there for a concert one night. Then, a couple of weeks later, you could be there because you’re playing in a cornhole tournament with your buddies.”
Visit The Armory
On December 15, The Armory will host a VIP pre-opening party. It will open to the public December 16.
Green Street’s project hasn’t unfolded without resistance. 17th Ward Alderman Tina Pihl, whose district houses the 84-year-old building has been the most vocal critic. Pihl took issue with a tax increment financing package that includes $4.7 million for Phase 1. She wanted Green Street to make a nearly half-million-dollar contribution that would benefit city schools and the neighborhood. Although it appeared that the Armory’s financing bill would pass without the contribution, the St. Louis Development Corporation told aldermen in a letter in October that Green Street is working on a $470,000 commitment to public schools and nearby communities. Green Street declined to comment on the negotiations.
“I’m all for growth and development, but it has to be equitable,” Pihl says. “Schools are the taxing districts that lose the most, regarding these incentives. We cannot take back the years that school children are losing out in education because the resources aren’t there. That’s big.”
Hulse argues the city, as a whole, will benefit from the 400 jobs created by the Armory’s restoration. He also believes its activation will spur more interest in the area. Despite the resistance, he sees The Armory as a place where St. Louisans will want to be. “This will be the catalyst that brings excitement and entertainment to a district that’s been kind of quiet for about 40-plus years,” he says.
MORE TO KNOW
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GROWING THE GAME
THE ST. LOUIS TENNIS HALL OF FAME, COMING TO THE ARMORY, WILL PAY HOMAGE TO THE GAME’S GREATS.
Over the coming months, several new phases of The Armory project will roll out, including a rooftop dining area that presents sweeping views of downtown, additional entertainment space in the basement, a residential complex, and a local tennis hall of fame that pays homage to the Armory’s history as a tennis training ground. Tucked into a corner on the Armory’s mezzanine level, the St. Louis Tennis Hall of Fame will trace the history of the city’s contributions to the sport. The Armory itself played a significant role in developing the skills of some of tennis’ top players, including Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Dwight Davis, Butch Buchholz, and Ken Flach. Ashe, the first and only Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title, credited the slick, varnished hardwood floor of the Armory for transforming his game after he moved to St. Louis to train during the winter of 1961. “That winter in the Armory remade my whole game,” Ashe once said, according to Raymond Arsenault’s 2018 biography, Arthur Ashe: A Life. “Wood is a fast surface, so I had to build the big serve-and-volley game.” Additional details will be announced soon.
