Editing Armory (section)

== RPI's Acquisition ==
Rensselaer purchased the Armory in 1971 to support the development of its Naval ROTC program. The Institute had sought to acquire the building since 1944 as it was in urgent need of training space for its Naval ROTC program caused by a need for educated officers in World War II. Due to the unwillingness of the state to sell the armory, as well as a lack of federal funding for the construction of a replacement building for the military, an agreement was reached by where the University would pay rent to the state to have access to the space to utilize it as a training ground. This agreement held until 1951, when the need for renting the space was lost, as the Houston Field House could handle such activities. However, the Armory had become a large part of an expansion plan for the Institute, due to it being adjacent to lands it had already purchased, so another attempt was made to purchase it in 1955. However, the same lack of federal funding persisted, delaying the deal until 1957, when funding was opened up for the new construction. The institute contributed 20 acres of land in East Greenbush of the original 50 acres of land on Oakwood Ave it had purchased to use as leverage in the deal, as well as 1.6 million dollars towards the construction of the Glenmore Road Armory as a part of the purchasing agreement. This construction would conclude in 1970, and in 1971, the Armory was officially passed into the hands of RPI. It was also around this time that Naval ROTC returned to the Armory, after being removed from their old offices that were located within the Greene Building.