The Museum was originally located in a building on the eastern end of Armory Square. Since 1968, it has been house din the Main Arsenal Building [blt. circa 1848] on the western side of Armory Square.
In the early 20th Century, the Musuem was moved to larger quarters and the bladed weapons no longer hung from the ceiling, as seen in this photograph showing the gun racks, found in the earlier images, still used in the Museum's rifle storage room. These racks were constructed by the Armory for use at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.
Here are seen the 1876 gun racks holding US Model 1903 rifles in today's Musuem storage room. In the foreground may be seen US M1903 serial number 2 followed by a number of early US M1903 rifles, so-called "rod bayonet" rifles. US M1903 rifle #2 was unigue in possessing a muzzle brake forged onto the barrel during manufacture, as may be seen in this image. Unlike US M1903 #1, which was altered by up-dating, US M1903 is entirely original. |
Last updated: February 26, 2015