The Third Floor
On the third floor, there is very little floor space in comparison to the rest of the building. This is due to the basketball court that is still referred to as the drill deck. However, the third floor tends to be the most remembered part of the armory. Once boasted as "the finest officers' mess in the land-locked Midwest," the ballroom and bar located on this floor was a popular location for parties, weddings and receptions, and gatherings for important Navy officers.
Naval tradition and decorations are very prominent on this floor. Above the faux fireplace in the ballroom is a very detailed, wooden carving of the U.S.S. Constitution, embedded within the very concrete of the building. Anchors surround her image, with light bulbs colored to signify port and starboard. Globe-formed fixtures, surrounded by metal waves and ships, and ship's wheels with lanterns light the ballroom.
Still in use in this room are ancient, wooden tables, likely built around the time of the commissioning of the armory. An empty display case may once have held tools and artifacts of naval history. Peeling paint, and the musty smell of long ago cooked food further give the visitor a sense of the age of this old place.
Even a decrepit poker table, chipped, worn, and torn to its core, remains visible and usable, save for some broken chip holders. How many games were played here? What money was lost?
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A recovered flag from the U.S.S. Fechteler is pinned on display to a wall, with a small sign to carry the memory of its
origin. The flag has fallen from one of its pins, and it has rested like this for untold years. Not many of the artifacts of the building have specific names of the donors. This is one of the few.
Just west of the ballroom is the bar, accessed through the hallway to the kitchen. The bar is a terrazzo structure,
inlaid with naval symbols. More elements are inlaid in the floor, including a large compass. The Marine Corps is proudly sponsored in this room by a large emblem mounted on the west wall of the bar.
