New-York tribune., 1907-11-17
ADDITION TO 18TH.
Brooklyn Armory No10 One of the
Largest an the Countru.

The 18th Regiment Armory Sumner and Put
nam avenues, with its new extension, will be
reopened for drill purposes on Thanksgiving
Day, according 10 the expectation of the archi-
tects, Parfitt Brothers, Of No. 26 Court street.
The extension is 100 feet by 200 feet. and makes
the entire length of the armory 585 feet. 1t
adds 100 feet TO the drill hall. making it one of
the two or three largest drill halls in the coun-
try. The cost of the extension was about $780,
600, and the ground upon which it was built
cost nearly 100000 more.
One Of the features Of the addition is the
shooting gallery. 1t consists Of four ranges
with four firing points for each range, making
it possible for sixteen men to practise at one
time The ranges 400 feet long. Major
Irving W. Taylor, of the regiment invented the
electric signalling apparatus which has been
installed in the ranges. The targets are divid-
ed into four sections These are the bulls eye,
the centre the inner circle and the outer circle.
The sections are movable. and when any one
OF them is HIT a puSh-button arrangement COM
pletes an electric circuit and a colored light re-
Veals TO the shooter and to the scorekeeper the
value OF the shot. In case Of a miss light Is
shown. The lights are on boards near each firing
point and the desks of the two scorekeepers.
The ranges cost S21,634. .
The entire appearance of the drill hail has
been changed. The rear of the hall has now two
galleries for spectators With the gallery that
runs around the hall, seats are now provided
for five thousand persons. The interior Of the
hail has been repainted a buff color, and an
entire new hoor-77O00 square feet IN area
has been relatd at a cost OF S24,S6S.
The work the addition began IN May OF
last year, but has been delayed by the ex-
tras-the rife ranges and the floor. The
addition is built stronger than the main build
ing. The giant truss which holds the gallery
weighs more than hundred tons and re-
Quired special machinery to put II in place. II
is supported concrete bases nearly II feet
long and feet wide. Another feature is that
the bEttresses are the outside instead of on
the inside. as in the rest of the structure. On
the Putnam avenue side of the addition a spe-
cial room, called the ordnance building was con-
structed 10 feet long and j feet wide Owing
to the extension OF the site a few feet beyond
the end OF the addition. the contractors were
able to provide windows in the rear of the
building which adds considerably to the light.
There are two exits in the addition and three
stairways leading up TO the galleries.
The 18th Regiment was organized the 64th
at the time of the Revolutionary War. 1t took
part IN that war and in the War Of 1872. In
1S47 it reorganized the 18th. It served
through the Rebellion.
In former days Henry Ward Beecher was
tho chaplain of the organization. The main
ermory building was built at a cost Of S600,OOO
by John GuilfoyIe in 1892. The ground cost
about S150,O00. In 1898 the regiment was
changed from infantry TO heavy artillery. At
present # has 1.2o0 members. Colonel David E.
Austen has been at the head Of the regiment
for most Of the last fifteen years.