Armory of the 7th Regiment, New York State Militia

This cast-iron Neo-Renaissance building, designed by James Bogardus, opened in 1861 on Third Avenue, between 6th and 7th Streets. The 7th Regiment of the National Guard occupied the second and third floors over an upscale food market. In 1880 the regiment moved uptown to their now famous Gothic Revival, red-brick headquarters on Park Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets and the 69th Regiment took over their space in the building shown here. Today the site is occupied by the Cooper Union building at 41 Cooper Square.

Austin Augustus Turner, who created this image, worked as a photographer in Boston, New York and Virginia before establishing a photolithographic business in New York in 1860. He produced cartes-de-visites for D. Appleton & Co. and published "Villas on the Hudson," the first book in the United States to be illustrated with photolithographs. This print was produced around that time and demonstrates the technique's ability to capture fine architectural detail.