Built between 1901 and 1903 for the New York National Guard, the First Battery Armory is slated to become Hebrew Union College’s New York campus. It was the seventh of ten armories built by the city’s Armory Board, according to the Historic Districts Council; Commercial Observer also reports on the building’s original military use.
Landmark status
The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the First Battery Armory at 56 West 66th Street as a New York City landmark on August 1, 1989, according to its designation report.
The building later served as a television studio and then as offices, a history reported by Israel National News and New York Jewish Week. Hebrew Union College bought the property for $32 million after selling its Greenwich Village building to New York University, according to bizjournals.com.
A new use for the armory
In February 2025, the college announced that it planned to move its New York campus to the armory by 2027. Its plans include a library, a beit midrash, prayer areas, and space for community events and exhibitions, with technology for hybrid learning, according to Hebrew Union College.
The renderings assign the former drill hall to worship, library use and events, with classrooms overlooking the space. Faculty and staff offices are planned for the headhouse, and connecting stairs are part of the design. These plans are described by Shawmut, which is leading construction, and New York Real Estate Journal. Beyer Blinder Belle is the architect.
Shawmut says the project is intended to support clergy formation, in-person and hybrid instruction, public programs and communal activities. The college’s announcement places the campus at 56 West 66th Street, between Central Park and Lincoln Center. Hebrew Union College’s New York institutional history reaches back to the Jewish Institute of Religion, founded on West 68th Street in 1922; it merged with Hebrew Union College in 1950, according to the college’s announcement.
Move-in timing remains unclear
Published accounts give different target dates for occupancy. Beyer Blinder Belle says the college expects to occupy the facility fully in January 2027, while Shawmut reports a planned move after the winter/spring term of 2027. The two accounts do not resolve the difference: Beyer Blinder Belle and Shawmut.
