The 61x96 ft (44 ft high) Art Deco facility was constructed as a $43,331 Works Projects Administration project[2] for the local National Guard unit (commanded by Lt Ralph C. Deitrick in 1933).[1][3]
The two-story building housed a garage and repair shop for military vehicles, a classroom, administrative space, and a drill hall.[4]
From the beginning, the Armory was used not only by the National Guard, but also by the local community, for sporting events and community meetings.[5] In 1944, the Gettysburg Armory was used as a temporary German Prisoner of War camp while the official camp was being constructed on the Gettysburg Battlefield.[6] Later the building was designated as a public fallout shelter by the National Fallout Shelter Survey.
In 2010, the building was vacated by Battery B, 1/108th Field Artillery after a new readiness center was constructed in South Mountain.[7] In 2013, the Armory was transferred to the private sector by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.[8]
