Teaneck Armory

Teaneck Armory at 1799 Teaneck Road is an armory and arena located on a 13.66-acre (55,300 m2) site in Teaneck, New Jersey. A facility of the New Jersey National Guard, it is home to the Soccer Coliseum.[1]

West front On the right: An M42 Duster Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Vehicle

History

The facility was completed in 1936 at a cost of $1 million.[2] It was designed by Louis S. Kaplan (1896–1964), who as a young architect won a competition to design the Trenton War Memorial and after its dedication became the leading state architect until the early 1960s, designing or adapting many of its armories.[3]

From 1967–68, the arena was the home of the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association, the team that later became today's Brooklyn Nets.[4] In 1968, the Americans were forced to forfeit a playoff game against the Kentucky Colonels because a circus group had rented the armory that week and the circus group could not be moved to the Cherry Hill Arena cause it only seated a few people, The Cliffside Park was unavailable as the stadium was too small and could not be expanded due to costs and another reason was a lack of seats, The roof was open and could not add a dome because it was poorly designed. and the alternate location selected for the game, Long Island Arena in Commack, New York, had a floor in such poor condition that it was deemed unplayable.[5]

In 1997, the armory was renovated to an arena designed for indoor soccer known as the Soccer Coliseum.[1]

Over the years the expansive floor and high-ceilinged space has been used for numerous film shoots, including Sweet and Lowdown, You've Got Mail,[2][6] Bogus, and Stonewall.[7] For three weeks in February 1990, the armory was rented by David Bowie for rehearsals of his Sound+Vision Tour. The armory has also hosted concerts, three-quarter midget car races, Boy Scout jamborees, professional wrestling, rallies (including a November 6, 1960 campaign rally by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy[8]), circuses, indoor soccer and various military uses. It has also been used for ceremonies and celebrations commemorating Eid ul-Adha.[9]

National Guard

The Teaneck Armory can be distinguished by the M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle and the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle facing Teaneck Road. During 2005, the major units of the 50th Main Support Battalion assigned to drill at the Armory were deployed for service in Iraq and Kuwait, along with many other units of the New Jersey National Guard. Other elements of the New Jersey National Guard based at the Teaneck Armory have been deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and Kosovo, among other places. Additionally, a squadron of the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is located at the Armory.

Flag

In 2010, the armory unfurled its first garrison flag since 1936. Received as donation, the flag had hung over Wall Street office building for 21 days after the September 2001 attacks. 15 feet wide and 20 feet long, it weighs 50 pounds.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Soccer Coliseum". SoccerColiseum.com. August 9, 2017.
  2. Davis, Tom. A Place For Troops, Troupes, Hoops: Teaneck Armory Still Vital, copy of article from The Record (Bergen County), January 2, 2002. Accessed June 6, 2007.
  3. Myers, William Starr (2000), Prominent Families of New Jersey Two Volumes, Volume 1, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, ISBN 0-8063-5037-7
  4. "New Jersey Americans". remembertheaba.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  5. Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Twenty-five years later, Boe makes up for mistake", ESPN.com, June 3, 2003. Accessed June 5, 2007. "They were supposed to host a one-game playoff at the Armory on March 23, 1968, but the circus chased the Americans to the Commack Arena on Long Island. Trouble was, nobody bothered to check out the court.... Mikan declared the court unplayable, New Jersey had to forfeit the game, Kentucky advanced to the playoffs and New Jersey never played another game in Teaneck Armory."
  6. Ivry, Bob. "FILMMAKERS DESCENDING ON NEW JERSEY", The Record (Bergen County), June 17, 1998. Accessed June 6, 2007. "When Randy Sokol Sweeney was asked to find a New York-area spot in which to shoot the indoor scenes of "You've Got Mail", a romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, she tried the usual studios in Queens, but they were booked. Then she checked out Teaneck."
  7. "NEW JERSEY A STUDIO CENTER? TEMPORARILY AND PERMANENTLY!". New Jersey Television and Movie Commission. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  8. Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy, Teaneck Armory Teterboro, NJ (sic), American Presidency Project, November 6, 1960. Accessed June 5, 2007.
  9. "North Jersey Muslims gather to celebrate Eid ul-Adha.", The Record, November 27, 2009, retrieved 2011-09-23
  10. Bautista, Justo (September 2010), "Teaneck armory gets new garrison-size flag", The Record, retrieved 2011-09-2011 Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Preceded by
first arena		 Home of the
New Jersey Americans
1967 – 1968		 Succeeded by
Long Island Arena
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