San Francisco Armory: A Castle in the Mission

The San Francisco Armory, located in the Mission District, is a historic building with a unique and varied past. Constructed between 1912 and 1914 as an armory and arsenal for the National Guard, its design resembles a Moorish Revival-style castle, an imposing presence in the neighborhood. Originally built to replace the armory destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, the Armory served as the National Guard headquarters until the late 1970s. During this time, it also functioned as a public events space, most notably as a boxing venue known as the "Madison Square Garden of the West". After the National Guard moved out in 1976, the building remained largely vacant for three decades. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Interestingly, scenes from *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back* were filmed there. In 2006, the Armory was purchased by Kink.com, a BDSM adult film studio, sparking controversy but also leading to the restoration of the long-neglected building. Today, the Armory is owned by AJ Capital Partners and is used as a multi-purpose event space. It hosts concerts, corporate events, and large-scale exhibitions. The Drill Court, a 40,000-square-foot space with a capacity of 4,000 people, features the largest supergrid west of the Mississippi. Despite its controversial past, the San Francisco Armory remains a significant architectural and historical landmark in the city.