John T reminded me of one of the "pleasures" of having practices at the Chicago Avenue armory. (The North Avenue armory was cleaner and closer .. but smaller).

The Chicago Avenue armory had a DIRT floor, and because of this, was rented out to a group who had POLO matches there. Yep, polo matches use horses ... and horses leave souveniers. (No, they never had elephants in there .. but it might have seemed like it!)

Sometimes, we'd go downstairs during breaks and check out the National Guard tanks, jeeps and trucks down there!

They also kept a major stash of weapons there too .. well guarded.

The armory is gone now... valuable land. Replaced by condos I suppose!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I don't remember the having to deal with horse droppings. They seemed to do a good job of cleaning up before our Sunday practices. In addition to the polo matches I also recollect the armory was used for the Shriner's black horse troop.

What I do remember is the humidity which was a radical change coming into the armory on a cold January or February day. They likely would wet the field to keep the dust down when the horses were using the field.

Actually it was sort of like being in Florida. It was muggy and smelled like a swamp.

First of all, Florida does not smell like a swamp. It smells like old people...

I never practiced at the Chicago Armory, but I do remember the North Avenue one, with both the Cavaliers and Norwood (both tours of duty). Norwood also used the Glenview Naval Air Station on occasion, which was fun because we could go bowling during lunch breaks.

We were still using North Avenue as late as 1978 - don't remember being there in 79.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob,
You are correct... we stopped using the armory after the '78 season. I dont think we even started any drill practice (in '79) until May and by then we were outside at AB Dick.

Dave, the only time the elephants were there was when the circus (I think it was the Medinah Circus - since the Ringling Bros used to be at the Ampitheatre) was in town. The way to recognize the elephant souvenirs was that they were coffee can sized and had pleny of undigested straw imbedded in them. The '67 winter was particularly memorable.

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? '60-69

That reminds me of the Coliseum at the State Fair in 1972. It was raining for prelims, so they moved the shows from the race track to this covered exhibition area called the Coliseum. The problem was that the floor was made of cow manure - and it was unbearably hot. But it was a pretty strong incentive not to faint, considering what you'd be lying in if you did!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob, that would be one good time not to be a horn player. A drummer could at least hold his breath for a little bit!

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? \'60-69

I remember that Medina Temple in Chicago. It smelled bad even before the animals let go.

John T is right ..there were elephants at the Armory when the Medinah Circus came to town.

Ever been to the circus at the Medianah Temple? A small place but a great view of everything.

The Medinah Shriners were the people who helped the corps after the 1970 bus accident! Great people!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Does the Medinah temple still exist or has it been converted to a hotel or condos? As Dave said, the Chicago Avenue Armory has been replaced by a retail/office/condo building.

The area around the Armory was always upscale but it's really something now.

The corps played for the Shriners at the Medinah Temple several times after 1970, in appreciation for the help after the accident. I can remember going to watch, sitting through all those awful oboe bands waiting for the corps to come on! And I have a tape of one of those performances somewhere.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

I believe the old Medina Temple is now Bloomingdales

I assumed something like that happened with all the development and retail in that part of the City.

Wonder WHO got the money when the State sold that extremely valuable piece of land? Which politician profitted the most?

And, I wonder what happened to the National Guard Unit which was stationed there? Did they disband it? (Don't we need it anymore?) OR, did they move it to a new location?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

In another thread John T talked about an NFL championship being played in the armory. I got curious and did a Google search on the armory. Didn't find anything about an NFL game but it did indicate that a soccer team played there in the 1950s and 1960s. Team was named the Vikings.