Lost structure, Detroit, 1886 to 1957
Light Infantry Armory
Demolished in 1957
- Opened
- 1886
- Style
- Richardsonian Romanesque
- Torn down
- 1957
Designed by H.H. Richardson
The Light Infantry Armory stood in Detroit from 1886 until 1957. Here is what it was, who made it and where to find the spot today.
Then and now
What stands there now
A parking garage
7 stories, Mapped as Ally Detroit Center Garage
Detroit's Light Infantry Armory, designed by H.H. Richardson, stood on this spot for 71 years. It came down 69 years ago. Today the spot is a parking garage, mapped as Ally Detroit Center Garage.
- 1886 Opens Light Infantry Armory
- 1956 Closes Light Infantry Armory
- 1957 Comes down Light Infantry Armory
- 2026 Today Parking garage
What is there now
A parking garage
- Today 7 stories, Mapped as Ally Detroit Center Garage Source: OpenStreetMap
- Light Infantry Armory came down Source: Historic Detroit
We checked Wikidata, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Rebuild Detroit's landmark records and the county parcel records on October 25, 2026.
The story
In 1886, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone, the Light Infantry Armory went up.
The design came from H.H. Richardson, working in Richardsonian Romanesque.
It is gone now, demolished in 1957, and the map pin below marks where it stood.
Timeline
- 1886 Built Designed by H.H. Richardson
- 1956 Closed
- 1957 Demolished
- 2026 Today 69 years since it came down
Where it is
132-142 E. Congress St.
On this map
- 1 Light Infantry Armory This place
- 2 Gayety Theatre 130 ft
- 3 Greyhound Terminal (second) 160 ft
- 4 William Cotter Maybury Monument 170 ft
- 5 Reid Building 210 ft
- 6 Bagley Memorial Fountain 350 ft
- 7 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center 370 ft
- 8 Pontchartrain Hotel 370 ft
- 9 First National Building 370 ft
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
Who made it
Bagley Memorial Fountain, by H.H. Richardson. Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Architect
H.H. RichardsonAmerican architect, 1838 to 1886. Sculpted the Bagley Memorial Fountain (1887) and the Light Infantry Armory
Also by H.H. Richardson
More from Detroit in the 1880s
-
St. Albertus Catholic Church
House of worship, built 1885, Gothic Revival, by Henry Engelbert
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
![Cadillac Hotel, [Hotel Cadillac and Washington Boulevard, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4323-2196-thumb-ce55ea75dc.jpg)
Cadillac Hotel
Hotel, built 1888, Italian, by John Scott, demolished 1923
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
![Detroit Museum of Art, Art museum [Detroit Museum of Art], Detroit, Mich.](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4407-2249-thumb-f19f2910c9.jpg)
Detroit Museum of Art
Building, built 1888, Richardsonian Romanesque, by James Balfour, demolished 1960
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
Engine House No. 11
Building, built 1884, Queen Anne, by William Scott & Co.
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Grace Hospital
Building, built 1888, by Gordon W. Lloyd, demolished 1979
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
House of worship, built 1883, Romanesque Revival, by Malcomson & Higginbotham
Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Around the block
- Gayety Theatre Theater, built 1912, by William H. McElfatrick, demolished 1958 130 ft
- Greyhound Terminal (second) Building, built 1958, Mid-Century Modern, by Arrasmith & Tyler, demolished 1990 160 ft
- William Cotter Maybury Monument Monument, built 1912, Classic Revival 170 ft
- Reid Building Building, built 1896, Romanesque Revival, by Donaldson & Meier 210 ft
-
Bagley Memorial Fountain
Monument, built 1887, Romanesque
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
350 ft
-
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Skyscraper, built 1955, International, by Harley, Ellington & Day
Photo: 42-BRT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
370 ft
-
![Pontchartrain Hotel, [Hotel Pontchartrain, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4735-2385-thumb-2233859995.jpg)
Pontchartrain Hotel
Hotel, built 1907, by George D. Mason, demolished 1920
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
370 ft
-
First National Building
Skyscraper, built 1922, by Albert Kahn
Photo: Mikerussell at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
370 ft
Sources
Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.