Park Avenue Armory

The Park Avenue Armory is the only armory in New York City that was entirely privately funded by its members. When the Seventh Regiment of the National Guard commissioned the building in the late nineteenth century, they were known as the Silk Stocking Regiment because their ranks were filled with the most prominent families of the Gilded Age, including the Vanderbilts, Roosevelts, and Morgans. These wealthy members treated the armory as a private social clubhouse, hiring the era's most prestigious designers to create interiors that rivaled their own lavish mansions. This elite group demanded a space that reflected their status, resulting in a fortress that functioned just as much as a high-society lounge as a military headquarters.