Willimantic Armory (1913)

Completed in 1913, the Willimantic Armory is an excellent example of the castellated architectural style, also called the medieval castle revival style, which was typical of armories built in Connecticut during the first fifteen years of the twentieth century. The state legislature granted the community’s request for an armory in 1911, although some felt that military construction at the time already exceeded the state’s needs. The Willimantic request had already been postponed in 1909 due to the large number of requests for armories at the time. The Willimantic Armory, located at 255 Pleasant Street, was designed by Whiton and MacMahon of Hartford (the same firm designed such buildings as the Corning Building and St. Justin Church, both in Hartford). After World War II, Willimantic’s military company, by then designated Company B, 169th Infantry, continued to use the armory until the early 1960s. It was then used by the 248th Engineering company until 1980, when the company was moved to a new facility in Norwich and the Willimantic site was deactivated. The Armory was converted into apartments in the 1980s.