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Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory
The Fort Homer W. Hesterly National Guard Armory at 522 North Howard Avenue in Tampa, Florida is located in the west area of the city in an urbanized, mixed residential and commercial area, approximately one mile west of downtown. It is a reinforced concrete, stucco covered building constructed with Works Progress Administration allocations totaling $361,880 during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal program in 1938. The Armory, built for the 116th Field Artillery Battalion was completed in 1941and on December 8 dedicated Fort Homer W. Hesterly in honor of Colonel Homer Wynne Hesterly, the commanding officer of the Battalion from 1934 to 1954. The Colonel was instrumental in reorganizing the Florida National Guard in Tampa after the First World War and continually lobbied the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County to sponsor a modern armory for his battalion.1
The site of the Armory was originally part of a tract of land belonging to George Nelson Benjamin, an orange grower and West Tampa developer, city councilman, and businessman who donated the land to West Tampa for use as a public park. Originally called "Benjamin Park" it was later renamed "Benjamin Field" and in June of 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish American War, this area, a sand flat without a tree but surrounded by an extensive forest, was the camp site for Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, the most unusual regiment in the history of the U.S. Army. The Rough Riders (1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment) 1200 strong included cowboys, indians, polo players, ranchers, hunters, socialites, lawmen, trappers, et al. 2 In 1921, the City of Tampa leased the land to the Armory Board for use as a National Guard drill facility.
In addition to providing arms storage, operations and drill space for the Guardsmen, the Armory also served Tampa’s community as a central venue for sporting events, social gatherings, speaking engagements and political events for over five decades. Continuing in the practice of a modern, community-centered national guard, the Armory hosted company dinners, community dances, and school recitals from the 1940s through the 1960s. Wrestling matches were also frequently held events at the Armory through the 1980s, and local legend states that professional wrestling in Florida was born at Fort Homer W. Hesterly. Music concerts were another common event at the armory.1
Elvis, Scotty and Bill performed there on four occasions, the first on May 8, 1955 just five days before their appearance in Jacksonville where at the conclusion of the performance, Elvis announces to a good portion of the audience of 14,000: "Girls, I'll see you backstage." The response was a full--scale riot, with fans pursuing Elvis into the dressing room and tearing off his clothes and shoes. In the opinion of the Colonel's advance man, Oscar Davis, this was the point at which Colonel Parker was irrevocably sold on the growth potential of Elvis Presley.3
They returned to the Armory again on July 31, 1955 on the bill with Andy Griffith, Ferlin Huskey and Marty Robbins. Andy Griffith had recently made his mark in the Broadway production of "No Time for Sergeants", for which he was nominated for a Tony award. It was a reprisal of the role he portrayed in Ira Levin's play on Television the year before and in 1958 would again reprise it in the film version.
During their appearance at the Armory on July 31st the Colonel (Parker) hired local photographer William V. "Red" Robertson to shoot a series of photos. One, commonly referred to as the "Tonsil" photo, in a cropped version would later be used as the cover of Elvis' first LP from RCA in 1956 and used extensively in newspaper and print to promote future shows. It also became a famous Hatch show print.
By the time of their final two appearances at the Armory on February 19 and August 5, 1956, each of which followed recent television appearances (The Dorsey Bros.' Stage Show and The Steve Allen Show), they had gone from supporting act to headliner. DJ was now a regular member of the band and performed there with them also. The August 5 appearance was photographed by Tampa photographer Bob Moreland for the St. Petersburg Times and depicted in the photo book "The Cool King" by Ger Rijff. Elvis' popularity though was not without controversy. Just days after their final appearance at the Armory a local Juvenile Court judge in Jacksonville, Florida called Elvis a "savage" and threatened to arrest him if he shook his body while performing at Jacksonville's Florida Theatre, justifying the restrictions by saying his music was undermining the youth of America. Throughout the performance, Elvis stood still as ordered but poked fun at the judge by wiggling a finger.4
The interior of the Armory consists of a drill hall surrounded by storage rooms, offices, and open spaces. Significant interior features are arched doorways, projecting metal guard stands attached to the east upper wall of the drill hall, and clerestory windows lining the drill hall. Most of the interior doors in the offices surrounding the drill hall appear to have been replaced with newer metal or particle board doors; however, a few of the original, solid wood doors still exist. During segregation in Tampa, the Armory was used for many African-American social events. Fort Homer W. Hesterly also hosted many famous speakers, including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s speech at the Armory to the Florida State Chamber of Commerce businessmen occurred only four days before his assassination in Dallas.1
Alterations to the Armory are relatively minor. In 1959, a one-story concrete addition was added to the structure’s rear (west) façade. Glazed metal doors replaced the original wooden doors in each of the entrances, circa 1960s. Interior modifications include an acoustical tile dropped ceiling in both the drill hall and several offices, and industrial vinyl flooring throughout. Photographs show that the drill hall originally contained a wood plank basketball court and that the steel bowstring roof trusses were exposed. Although the steel trusses are now covered by the acoustical ceiling, they remain intact.1 During the '50s and early '60s at least there appears to have been balcony like bleacher style seating on both of the upper sides of the drill hall, but they have since been removed.
The building was home to the National Guard from 1941 until October 2004, when the guardsmen moved to a new facility in Pinellas County. However, the National Guard continues to occupy the northern half of the original site.1 Sadly to say, since the tragic events on September 11, 2001, like all the Armories and many other structures across the country, steel reinforced concrete jersey barriers now surround the site. In recent years there have been various plans for re-use of the Armory and the site (see article) but because of its rich history the city isn't taking lightly plans to redevelop the site. Officials insist that any new use enhance the area and spark redevelopment in West Tampa.5
page added October 10, 2007 1 City of
Tampa, Florida Historic Preservation Commission Local
Landmark Designation Report June 13, 2006
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All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
