Evening star., 1939-07-24
Armory Plans
Being Studied
After Tour
D. c. Guard Leaders
Make Inspection Of
Baltimore Building

Tangible plans for the Districts
new National Guard Armory, based
on Yesterdays official inspection Of
Baltimores Fifth Regiment Armory
and other studies, will be ready for
consideration within the next two
months, Col. John w. Oehmann,
commander of the 121st Engineer
Regiment, announced today.
Headed by Brig. Gen. Albert L..
Cox, Guard commander, and Col.
Oehmann, Guard leader made a
complete tour of the new and mod
ern Baltimore military plant, which
houses the Maryland metropolis
163-year-old regiment
They were greatly impressed by
individual quarters for each COM
pany of the Baltimore unit, equip
ment and storage facilities, regi-
mental offices and clubrooms for
officers and noncommissioned Off
GERS, officers assembly hall, an open
deck for dancing, trophy room and
other features.
Plans Here to Differ.
Plans for the Washington Armory
will have to be quite bit different
from the Fifth Regiment Armory,
as well as much larger, Col. Och
mann pointed out. The District
Armory must be designed to accom-
modate two full regiments, the l2lst
Engineers and the 260th Coast Ar
tlllery as we'll as other smaller units.
The Washington structure, for which
Congress authorized a total appro-
priation of S2,700,000, may serve as
municipal auditorium in addition
to an Armory.
Col. Oehmann said plans for the
local armory would include the
individual company quarter feature
which he also had conceived in a
tentative armory plan of several
years ago. This would give each
of the District Guards 80 companies
a two-story suite containing day
room and officers desks, with a
private stairway leading to locker
and equipment rooms.
Land on the East Capitol street
site selected for the District Armory
will allow for a three-story building
with entrances on two street levels,
Col. Oehmann said, with a public
entrance on the drill floor level, a
semi i-basement for the heavy guns
of the 260th and a 100-yard rifle
range under the drill hall.
Plans also call for regimental
kitchens where cooks will be trained
for mess duty at summer camp,
a dining room for officers and regi-
mental storage rooms.
Other Features to Be Added.
To these features will be added
several others secured from studies
Gen. Cox and Col. Oehmann have
made of other armories. The con-
gressional appropriation should be
adequate for the building, Col. Och
mann said, with the hope of a fu-
ture allotment to equip and fur
nish it.
Capt Barnes c. Graham, adju-
tant of the Baltimore regiment,
acted as guide for the tour of the
District Guard officers. Gen. Cox
and Col. Oehmann were accom-
panied by Col. Walter w. Burns,
commander of the 26Oth Coast Artil-
lery, and Maj. William T. Roy, COM
mander, Goth Division Special
Troops.
The next task is to lay out plans
for the new armory and see if every
thing we want will come within the
cost limit" Col Oehmann said. I'VE
will have to determine whether it
will be a single building or central
structure with several wings Some
tangible plans should be ready for
discussion within the next two
months"
Final plans must be approved by
the District Commissioners. Under
the congressional act authorizing
the armory appropriation, they will
let the contract for its construction.
The question of community and
civic use of the new armory will be
considered tomorrow at a meeting
of the Co-ordinating Committee,
composed of representatives of the
District, Park and Planning Com
mission, National Park Service. Fine
Arts Commission and Army Engi-
neer Corps.
In previous statement, Gen. Cox
said he hoped the new armory
could be adapted, by means of an
auditorium and other features, to
serve secondarily as a community
activity center.