Teaneck Armory at 1799 Teaneack Road is an armory and arena located on a 13.66 acre (55,300 m2) site in Teaneck, New Jersey. A facility of the New Jersey National Guard, it is home to the Soccer Coliseum.
History[]
The facility was completed in 1936 at a cost of $1 million.[1] It was designed by Louis S. Kaplan (1896–1964), who as a young architect won a competition to design the Trenton War Memorial and after its dedication became the leading state architect until the early 1960s, designing or adapting many of its armories.[2]
From 1967–68, the arena was the home of the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association, the team that later became today's Brooklyn Nets. In 1968, the Americans were forced to forfeit a playoff game against the Kentucky Colonels because a circus group had rented the space that week and the alternate location selected for the game, Commack Arena, had a playing floor in such poor condition that it was ruled to be was unplayable.[3]
In 1997, the armory was renovated to an arena designed for indoor soccer known as the Soccer Coliseum.[4][5]
Over the years the expansive floor and high-ceilinged space has been used for numerous film shoots, including Sweet and Lowdown, You've Got Mail,[1][6] Bogus, and Stonewall.[7] The armory has also hosted concerts, rallies (including a November 6, 1960 campaign rally by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy[8]), circuses, indoor soccer and various military uses. It has also been used for ceremonies and celebrations commemorating Eid ul-Adha.[9]
National Guard[]
The Teaneck Armory can be distinguished by the M42 Duster anti-aircraft vehicle and the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle facing Teaneck Road. During 2005, the major units of the 50th Main Support Battalion assigned to drill at the Armory were deployed for service in Iraq and Kuwait, along with many other units of the New Jersey National Guard. Other elements of the New Jersey National Guard based at the Teaneck Armory have been deployed to Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Kosovo, among other places. Additionally, a squadron of the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is located at the Armory.
Flag[]
In 2010, the armory unfurled its first garrsion flag since 1936. Received as donation, the flag had hung over Wall Street office building for 21 days after the September 2001 attacks. Fifteen feet wide and 20 feet long, it weighs fifty pounds.[10]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Davis, Tom. A Place For Troops, Troupes, Hoops: Teaneck Armory Still Vital, copy of article from The Record (Bergen County), January 2, 2002. Accessed June 6, 2007.
- ↑ Template:Citation
- ↑ Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Twenty-five years later, Boe makes up for mistake", ESPN.com, June 3, 2003. Accessed June 5, 2007. "They were supposed to host a one-game playoff at the Armory on March 23, 1968, but the circus chased the Americans to the Commack Arena on Long Island. Trouble was, nobody bothered to check out the court ... Mikan declared the court unplayable, New Jersey had to forfeit the game, Kentucky advanced to the playoffs and New Jersey never played another game in Teaneck Armory."
- ↑ http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/small_business/119380459_The_Soccer_Colliseum_at_Teaneck_Armory_-_Ultimate_indoor_soccer_experience.html
- ↑ http://www.soccercoliseum.com/ Soccer Coliseum
- ↑ Ivry, Bob. "FILMMAKERS DESCENDING ON NEW JERSEY", The Record (Bergen County), June 17, 1998. Accessed June 6, 2007. "When Randy Sokol Sweeney was asked to find a New York-area spot in which to shoot the indoor scenes of "You've Got Mail," a romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, she tried the usual studios in Queens, but they were booked. Then she checked out Teaneck."
- ↑ "NEW JERSEY A STUDIO CENTER? TEMPORARILY AND PERMANENTLY!". New Jersey Television and Movie Commission. http://www.njfilm.org/news2.html. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ↑ Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy, Teaneck Armory Teterboro, NJ (sic), American Presidency Project, November 6, 1960. Accessed June 5, 2007.
- ↑ Template:Citation
- ↑ Template:Citation
External links[]
- Teaneck Virtual Village - links to articles about the Armory
- Soccer Coliseum - indoor sports programs. Web site features interior shot of facility
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| Preceded by first arena |
Home of the New Jersey Americans 1967 – 1968 |
Succeeded by Long Island Arena |
| This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors). |