Evening star., 1941-04-03
District Will Accept
Armory Drill Hall
Within Two Weeks
Commissioner McCouch
Also lnspects Wing Of
Municipal Center


Coach. jr., said today the District
officially will accept the gigantic
drill hall of the new National Guard
Armory within the next two weeks
and expects completion of the first
unit of the Municipal Center by
May l.
Commissioner McCoach made the
announcement after inspecting the
armory project at the end of East
Capital street, and the east wing Of
the Municipal Center development
on Indiana avenue.
Expressing himself as highly
pleased by progress made on con-
struction of these major develop
mentS. Col. McCoach said:
These will be two fine additions
to the city, and we are hopeful that
we will be able to start the second
unit of the municipal center in the
not too distant future
Find Everything Satisfactory.
Col. McCoach and Capt. John L.
Person, Assistant Engineer Commits
sioner. who also made the inspec-
ton tour, said they had found
everything perfectly satisfactory"
| Capt. Person said municipal
agencies which will occupy the first
unit of the center will begin moving
in late in June.
He announced the complete list of
departments to be housed in the
east wing as follows:
Police, Health, Welfare Gncluding
the public assistance division. which
is now housed in several locations).
Vehicles and Traffic, Weights and
Measures, Fire Department, Parole
Board, City Refuse Division. Mini
mum Wage Board, Insurance De-
partment, Community Center and
Fairgrounds Department, Board of
Barber Examiners and the Cosme-
tology Board.
The armory drill hall, which the
Commissioners are planning to use
as a sports center for basket ball,
boxing and other sports when it Is
not being used by the National
Guard, looks big enough to serve as
a hangar for a dirigible.
1t is 100 feet high and has floor
space 1856 feet long and 1856 feet
wide. A 10O-yard- rifle range
will be provided in the basement.
$4,000 Could Be Seated.
Capt. Pearson said the balconies
along both sides of the hall will &C
commodate about $500 people For
such events as a boxing match, as
many as $4,000 or more can be seated
in the huge hall.
The city heads disclosed some time
ago that they were planning to ask
Congress for authority to stage
sports events in the drill hall when
it is not being used by guardsmen.
Commissioner McCoach said he
hoped to do this soon.
The Police Department, accus-
toned to the cramped quarters of
its present building on Indiana ave-
nue., probably will be lost at first in
the new Municipal Center structure.
The government has provided a
rifle range, gymnasium, modern,
well-lighted Offices and one of the
most elaborate roll-call and lineup
rooms available to any police de-
partment.
The stage of the lineup room is
equipped with foodlights above and
footlights below and a public ad-
dress system. It is about IS feet
long and As feet wide.
Elevator for Prisoners.
The police administrative Offices
are on the third floor, and the de-
partment. has even been provided
with special elevator for prisoners.
1t has only two outlets-one in the
basement and the other on the third
floor.
The first unit Of the Municipal
Center will cost about $1,000 900.
The armory drill hall project is
being built at cost of about ST.
175,O00, but the entire armory
project is expected to cost about
So, 100000.
Although it will be completed in
about two weeks, the drill hall will
not be used until the construction
of troop quarters and other build
ings is further along. The whole
project is expected to be completed
by the spring of 1912.