St. Louis, MO (June 23, 2023)—Originally constructed in 1938, St. Louis’ The Armory STL has had an interesting life…and it’s getting a new lease on one, thanks to a massive renovation that has turned it into a 250,000-square-foot venue complex that includes a 5,200-capacity concert hall.
Originally constructed in 1938 as an Armory for the Missouri National Guard—part of the New Deal after the Great Recession—it later became a US tennis HQ before transforming into a concert venue in the 1960s and 1970s that hosted shows by Ike & Tina Turner and the Grateful Dead, among others. The venue eventually shuttered, however, and fell into disrepair for decades until local developers Green Street Real Estate Ventures took it over. Now it’s a revived place to hang out, socialize and have fun, offering everything from concerts to cornhole. The main attraction is The Commons, a huge 85,000-square-foot, 5,200-capacity main concert hall, though additional spaces in the building will open up to the public in phased openings.
Integrator AVI Systems, who had worked with some of the facility’s operational staff over the previous six years, specified Martin Audio’s WPL line array for the space. The Commons sound reinforcement system was designed by AVI’s John VanStipdonk. His FOH system comprises 20 WPL (10 per side), with 12 of the smaller footprint WPS as outfills (six per side). They have flown 12 SXCF118 subwoofers, with a further four SXH218 ground subs. These are all powered and processed in Martin Audio’s dedicated iKON iK42 and iK81 multichannel amplifiers.
Explaining the subwoofer design philosophy, VanStipdonk said, “We decided to use the cardioid subs for rejection on the stage. There are two hangs of 6-deep behind each main array. Additional SXH ground stack subs are brought in for national artists and most larger shows.
VanStipdonk noted, “This is a mostly concrete building with a long reverb time. Wavefront Precision’s ability to ‘Hard Avoid’ the rear wall and other highly reflective areas was critical. The main room is basically a long concrete box, with a 300-foot throw from the main stage to the rear coverage areas—the rear wall is a concrete elevator shaft. Optimization with Martin Audio’s DISPLAY software was key in taming the space, and while some acoustic treatment was done in that area, it was the Hard Avoid function that really brought it all home.”
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AVI’s work at the Armory isn’t done, however; there’s more venues in the complex to outfit with systems—an EDM dance hall and a nightclub. The basement EDM space will be more of a challenge, as the ceiling clearance is 15 feet instead of 80 feet and there are more highly reflective surfaces. Martin systems will be used in both rooms, with four TORUS arrays destined for the EDM room and eight CDD15 and four SX218 subs hung in the other space. ADORN speakers also feature in the ancillary areas, including the restrooms.
