Buffalo Soldiers museum sets sights on old armory

The Houston Light Guard Armory, 3816 Caroline, is one of Houstonist's favorite buildings in town, with its brick and limestone facade, arched windows, relief panels and imposing main entrance. Unfortunately, the building has been abandoned since we can remember — which means its street facade is overgrown, its windows have been smashed and its front doors are boarded up. But that won't be the case for much longer if the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum has its way: The museum's founder, Paul Matthews, wants to restore the armory as a new home for the institution.

The Buffalo Soldiers Museum's current home at 1834 Southmore, which has about 6,000 square feet of space, is getting too small for the museum's collection — the largest in the nation dedicated to black military memorabilia. Last year, museum officials announced plans to raise $4 million to build a new museum on the Southmore site, but Matthews said the old armory would be a better choice. "We don't have to create a legacy; the legacy is already there," he told the Chronicle. "This is a fort. It's not doing anybody any good sitting empty." Under the musuem's plan, about 6,000 square feet of the armory would be leased to a tenant, and the building would be made available for community events and national conventions.

The question, of course, is how much it'll cost to rehab the 1925 structure. The Houston Hispanic Forum was the last group with restoration plans: It had planned a cultural and educational center there, but the Forum's board decided last year that the project would be too costly. Forum board member Ray Gonzales said the group put nearly half a million dollars into drainage, plumbing and roof improvements, but it estimated that a full overhaul would cost at least $2 million or $3 million — and that was more than the group had planned for when it began the project in 1999. "When we put a pencil to it, it was no longer the same good numbers we started with," Gonzales said. "We were grateful for the opportunity to restore a historic building that needs to be restored. Sometimes time is not on your side."

Frank Michel, a spokesman for Mayor Bill White, said the city had talked with Buffalo Soldiers officials and other community and private groups interested in the building, though he wouldn't specify who else might be interested in the armory. Michel said the building has been appraised at $1 million, which means the city can't give it away: "It's a wonderful building, with a wonderful history. The mayor doesn't want to see it continue to sit idle and deteriorate," he said. "We can't turn the building over as a gift. We're a long way from anything."

- Learn about the Houston Light Guards in the Handbook of Texas