The historic San Francisco Armory is 200,000 square foot reproduction Moorish Castle was completed in 1914 and was used as a National Guard facility until 1976. It is full of period detail including cavernous dungeon-like basements, stone staircases, sweeping corridors, and a gigantic drill court spanning almost an acre. The Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and has been out of official use since this time. The current owners plan to revive this historic building in consideration of gentrification, and social and environmental concerns while restoring and renovating The Armory to its original splendor, style and beauty.

The Mission Armory Community Center is located at 1800 Mission Street, San Francisco 94103, at the corner of 14th Street and Mission. The main entrance is located on 14th Street. An ADA accessible entrance is located on 14th Street.

DRILL COURT:
The Drill Court is one of the most significant interior spaces in the Mission Armory. It is reputed to be the largest unsupported enclosed volume in San Francisco, featuring a dramatic exposed roof structure composed of curved steel open-web trusses. A reinforced-concrete balcony accessible from the third floor of the Administration Building runs around the perimeter of the Drill Court, sixteen feet above the floor. This was added in 1925 to provide a base for bleachers for boxing matches. The 170-foot-long roof trusses support the entire width of the barrel vaulted wood roof without intermediary vertical supports. The San Francisco National Guard Armory and Arsenal, as it is listed, was nominated to the National Register in 1978 for three areas of significance: architecture, engineering and military; for the period of significance 1900-1912. As an exceptional example of the work of the architectural firm of Woollett & Woollett (led by State Architect John F. Woollett), the building originally housed the California National Coast Guard Artillery, the naval Militia, and later acted as a social center for the City’s national guardsmen.

RECENT HISTORY:
In 1980, the Mission Armory was declared surplus property by the State Services Administration and put up for sale. The Drill Court was still used occasionally by the San Francisco police Department (SFPD) for boxing matches and by the San Francisco Opera for building sets. In 1980 the City began a long journey of struggling to see the structure brought. In 1986, a private developer purchased the Mission Armory but plans for market rate housing and movie production facility never received enough support to move forward. In 1996, a taskforce, lead by City Supervisor Susan Leal recommended that the City purchase the Mission Armory, but by this point the State was already in negotiations with a private developer. Following failed plans for dot.com space and luxury view condos rising above the drill court the building remained empty until January 2007 when Armory Studios, LLC