22. Manor Road Armory, Staten Island, 101st Cavalry Squadron

Year Built: 1884

Where: 170 Amity St. (now Roosevelt Ave.)

Complete with turrets and 3-story towers, the Staten Island castellated armory is still owned by the military: it’s now home to the 42nd Infantry Division of the National Guard.

The NYC armories and arsenals remind us in their beautiful, imposing way of a history that we often forget: that of volunteer militia participating in war much closer to home than we often imagine them to have been. These powerful structures with huge interior spaces are now being reused in a multitude of new ways around New York. From apartments, to homeless shelters, to indoor tracks, the city has quite successfully repurposed these armories and arsenals.

Next, check out 18 of NYC’s former forts.