Often when we consider buildings or locations as historic in Pennsylvania, we immediately think of events such as the Revolutionary War and the Civil War or time periods such as the Colonial era. However, there are some historic places that are more modern. They could have been built during your lifetime or that of a parent's or grandparent's. One such example is the Gen. Thomas J. Stewart Memorial Armory. As far as General Thomas J. Stewart is concerned, we have written about him previously when we had his sword on display. Feel free to revisit that article here: https://hsmcpa.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/thomas-a-stewart/
The armory, sometimes referred to as the Norristown Armory, was built between 1927-1928 and is located at 340 Harding Blvd in Norristown. The architects were Philip H. Johnson and Frank R. Herong. Presently the building houses the Greater Norristown Police Athletic League (EDIT 2023-06-09: thanks to some of our followers on Facebook we confirmed that it is no longer owned by PAL but is instead owned by Norristown and functions as a recreation center. This just goes to show you that you should always double check your sources and nobody is perfect!). During its early years it served as an armory for the National Guard, including the years of the second world war.
On July 12, 1991, the Gen. Thomas J. Stewart Memorial Armory garnered a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
Are there other, more modern, buildings that deserve a spot on the National Register? In our almost 250 years as a county, we certainly have a lot of history and continue to make more of it everyday. Maybe one day a place you have often visited will be considered historic. It could even be within your lifetime.
