“A light blanket of snow” takes down an Armory

The Hill Military Academy at Rocky Butte built a new Armory in 1931. It was built by The Austin Company, who also constructed other Portland buildings such as The Lane–Miles Standish Printing Plant (1526 NW 17th Ave) and the Sixth Church of Christ (935 SW Columbia).

The Armory was a very large space covered by a shallow arched roof composed of wood members. The roof was punctured by skylights in various places. Windows were arrayed in a ribbon around the perimeter of the ground story. Larger windows admitted light on the end walls.

The Hill Cadet, a periodical of the school, said of the Armory: “Officially listed among the largest military armories on the Pacific coast, the Hill Military Academy would be a credit to any regular army military post in America. Covered by a truss-less roof, one of the marvels of modern engineering, it boasts an interior length of 200 feet and and width of 100 feet. The floor area is sufficient to permit battalion maneuvers which are ordinarily reserved for field purposes. The floor of the structure was purposely left uncovered and the natural dirt surface provides an admirable area for indoor sports, such as track training and football practice when the inclement weather might ordinarily prohibit such practices.” (See “Interior of Armory,” Hill Cadet, 11: 1, 04/1932, 10.)

However, on February 4th 1937 despite a “light blanket of snow” the roof of the Armory crashed in! No one was injured, although the basketball squad had been practicing in the building a few hours previously.

After being repaired, the Armory used for another thirty or so years, as a basketball court, dining hall and also “midget race” course (aka go-carts). That is until 1965 when a fire destroyed it. By this time the Judson Baptist College owned the property and buildings however the Armory had never been used by them for years, because of the dilapidated state it was in. The price to replace the structure was estimated to be about $200,000. However, the structure was only insured for $20,000. You can do the math and come to see why arson was determined as the cause of the fire…

If you visit the location today, the dome structures of Mannahouse church occupy the footprint of where the old Armory once stood.