The California National Guard is part of the US National Guard. Established on July 27, 1849, the California National Guard is deployed by either the California Governor or the US President to “provide trained and disciplined forces for domestic emergencies or as otherwise provided by state law.”
In San Francisco, the National Guard was organized in 1855 and housed in an Armory originally located in the Western Addition. This building was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake[1]. A second Armory and Arsenal, made of concrete with a brick façade, was opened in the Mission District[2] at the site of the former Woodward’s Garden[3] between Mission/Valencia/13th/15th in 1914. It remained in operation until 1976 when operations were moved to Fort Funston[4]. The one and only time it was activated was for the 1934 Longshoremen’s Strike[5].
From the 1920s-1940s, the Armory was also used as a sports venue: at one point it hosted multiple prize fights each week.
In 1976, George Lucas rented the Armory. Several spaceship scenes seen in The Empire Strikes Back were filmed there. It was also rented by the San Francisco Opera for set construction and rehearsals. The front stairs became a popular skateboarding site.
In 2006, the Armory was bought by Kink.com, an internet porn production company specializing in BDSM. Residents, and even Mayor Gavin Newsom[6], voiced concern about the studio being located in the heart of a residential area, surrounded by schools and close to a woman’s shelter. Concerned citizens established the Mission Armory Community Collective, but Kink.com was allowed to stay, and was later praised for its restoration work of the Armory building. The story goes that when knocking down a wall, the owner of Kink.com found an empty bottle of scotch that was signed by the builders who drank it, and the date when the bottle was finished. Kink.com operated out of the Armory until 2017, when the building was sold to a developer. The current plan is to convert the top two floors into office space and lease the rest for manufacturing[7].
[1] 1906 Earthquake: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849
[2] Mission District: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3831
[3] Woodward’s Gardens: see story coming January 19th
[4] Fort Funston: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3821
[5] 1934 Longshoremen’s Strike: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3513
[6] Gavin Newsom: see story coming January 7th
[7] Visit them at www.sfarmory.com
