Armory Hall — Built 1883

Armory Hall — Built 1883. . , Lake City is to have an opera house!, Those exciting words echoed up and down Silver Street in June, 1883, when it was announced that a select group of Lake City businessmen and capitalists had formed the Lake City Building Association with the express purpose of providing the city with a large public hall which could be used for meetings, assemblies, and theatrical events. , Directors of the Lake City Building Association were John S. Hough, Alfred Schiffer, H.A. Avery, Frank A. Taylor, J.K. Mullin, A.E. Reynolds and E.I. Stirman, each of whom was heavily invested in Lake City area businesses or mines. Funds for the facility were raised by selling stock in the association at a price of $10 per share, totaling $15,000 for the building and $5,000 for theatrical stage and furnishings; Daniel Hurd was in charge of constructing the 16"-thick brick walls, painting was done by J.J. Mayers, and J.W. Kraft installed the tin roof. , The main hall of the building, measuring an enormous 50' x 98', was entered by two single doors on Bluff Street and three spacious double doors which opened onto Third Street. It was estimated that the main hall could comfortably accommodate up to 400 dancers for a single event. The east end of the structure was two stories measuring 27' x 50'. , As originally built, the Armory had a board ceiling which was suspended 16' above the floor of the main hall. Strain on the truss roof, however, caused the ceiling to be removed in 1885. That was not enough, however: following a heavy snow on February 1, 1886, the entire roof of the building collapsed. Local contractor Thomas L. Beam was hired to replace the roof, the result being the dramatic ceiling joists and beams which may be seen on the interior today. , The building was almost immediately known as Armory Hall due to the fact Lake City's Pitkin Guards took a long-term lease on the building; the main hall was used for the Guards' drill room, while rooms in the east end of the building were fitted up for battalion headquarters, including a meeting area, gun room and closets for the storage of uniforms. , Upstairs rooms were occupied by the elite Hinsdale Club, a men-only social organization which provided rooms for billiards, writing desks, and cozy chairs where club members could relax while reading newspapers and literary journals from throughout the world. Gambling in the club rooms was forbidden. , Lake City's Pitkin Guards and their Armory were the pride of the region in the late 19th Century. The Guards, officially known as Company A, Second Regiment, of the Colorado National Guard, were an off-shoot of the original Lake City Guards which were formed in 1876 due to threatened hostilities with the Ute Indians. Named in honor of Colorado Governor Frederick W. Pitkin, the Guards were initially trained and organized by their first captain, Lt. Col. George J. Richards. , Local hostilities with the Utes never developed, although the Guards did respond to the White River Agency in 1879 when Indian Agent Nathan C. Meeker and nine of his agency employees were massacred. , In their prime the Pitkin Guards were known as the best drilled and equipped national guard unit in the state. The unit saw relatively little action, however, the exceptions being in 1894 when its members responded to Cripple Creek during the labor union strikes, and 1898 when they were called to a strike in Leadville. Thirty-eight members of the Pitkin Guard enlisted for duty in the Spanish-American War in 1898. , The Guards were also involved in a local conflict in 1899 when Italians at the Ute-Ulay Mine on Henson Creek took over the mine. The strike commenced after several of the striking miners broke into the Armory and stole 25 of the Guards' Snyder rifles. The conflict was resolved after mediation from the Italian consul who came to Lake City with other units of the national guard. , The Pitkin Guards were finally disbanded in 1903. , The Guards were perhaps best known for their public entertainments which were held in the Armory at intervals throughout the year. These included the Pitkin Guards Band of the 1880's, which consisted of alumni from the celebrated “Dodge City Cowboy Band”, and the annual Washington's Birthday Masquerade Ball which was sponsored by the J.S. Hough Fire Co. , The masquerades started in February, 1883, and continued uninterrupted into the 1940's. Each of those attending arrived in masked costume and was requested to confirm his or her identity before being allowed to enter the hall: in this way the masquerade committee was assured of eliminating bawdy house women or gamblers who attempted to sneak into the event. , Armory Hall was also used for a variety of sporting events through the years: in 1883 and 1884 it was the scene of a roller skating craze when R.S. Graham and Henry Cornforth operated a skating rink in the building. The proprietors advised “baby carriages and dogs shall not be allowed in the hall while skating is in progress.” , Lake City's “Greens” basketball team trained and held exhibition games in the Armory after the turn of the century. The “Greens” also travelled to other Western Slope communities to play basketball, and were awarded the Western Slope Championship in 1921 for a victorious season. , Writing in 1980, Ann Ewart Davidson recalled sentiments about the Armory which have been felt for generations:

”After a week or two of cold and snow, it was a genuine thrill to crunch and slide up through those icy, star-lit streets on a Friday night with the high hopes of cheering a winning team in the Armory. How those old rafters rang! On cold, clear, star-lit nights when the snow is crunching underfoot, I like to think they are still ringing.”

The Armory continues to be used today for community meetings and celebrations.