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Building Conservation Associates

First Battery Armory

Location: New York, New York
Year Built: 1903
Original Architect: Horgan & Slattery

The 1903 former First Battery Armory at 56 West 66th Street, designed by architects Horgan & Slattery, is an individual New York City Landmark and is one of a few extant historic armories in New York City. From 1903 until 1977 the building served as a National Guard armory. From 1977 until 2010, it was used as a television studio and is often referred to as the Disney Armory. It currently holds ESPN cable company offices.

The project consisted of exterior and interior rehabilitation for the building's adaptive reuse as an office building. As preservation consultant, BCA secured a 20% Historic Tax Credit, lead the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approval process, designed interior and exterior restorative treatments approved by the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the National Park Service, and listed the building on the NYS and National Registers of Historic Places. BCA performed extensive archival research to understand the alteration chronology of the building, conducted a conditions survey, undertook an architectural feasibility study to determine the proposed project’s eligibility for tax credits, and reviewed the architect's proposed interior/exterior design for appropriateness under the NYC Landmarks Law and for adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.