National Guard Armories

National Guard Armories were some of the first projects of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), due in part that the first director of the WPA for Oklahoma was William S. Key who prior to accepting the position as director was the Commanding General of the Oklahoma National Guard and Warren of Prisons. During the years of the Work Progress Administration, 1935-1943, there were 126 National Guard Armories built within the United States, in Oklahoma there were 56 built.

There are 39 of these armories listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 5 armories being used as a museum, and 5 demolished. Most of the others are used as City Property or storage. The Department of Environmental Quality and the Oklahoma National Guard perform hazardous waste materials and cleanup on all these armories and afterward either gave or sold the properties to local communities or to private industry.