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We recently shared our favorite secrets of The Park Slope Armory, of which one of them is the abandoned shooting range a couple levels down into the basement. Today, we have more photos to share of this incredible space. The Park Slope Armory was originally built for the 14th Regiment of the New York State militia and opened in 1893. A long shooting gallery allowed for short range and long range target practice, but has been left fallow for many years.
There is a waiting room, pictured above that retains its tin walls and ceilings, green tinted paint job, and wooden wraparound bench. There was also once a wooden railing here, but it has been moved to the first floor of the armory, next to the Veterans Museum, an equally unknown spot. The words “EASTERN DISTRICT” printed on the left refer to the militia’s district within New York State.
Through a storage space, you descend down a wooden staircase with decorative bannisters:
You enter the rest of the shooting gallery area through a brick arched hallway:
There are some unused spaces en route and the short range shooting gallery is alongside. There are small staircases in the hallway that lead to a sort of half floor, from which the targets would be raised into the shooting galleries.
Further along, the ceilings of the brick arched hallway gets lower and you actually have to duck through an opening to get to this spot:
In this portion of the hallway, there’s a heavy, metal door that could have easily led to a sort of holding cell. Scenes from Goodfellas (where Paulie is in prison), were filmed down herein the abandoned shooting gallery area.
Then you get to the long range gallery, barely lit except for the electrical lighting from the hallway:
You can still see bullet holes in the metal:
It’s an incredible place, silent from years of abandonment but aching for future use. Given the history of rebirth in the Park Slope Armory, from adaptive reuse into a YMCA and its still existing usage as a women’s shelter, we hope there will be a future for this historical space.
Next, read about the other secrets of the Park Slope Armory, including a tunnel that once led into Prospect Park.
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