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About

About Arts at the Armory

The Center for Arts at the Armory is a non-profit organization that resides in a historic Armory building, serving Somerville and the Greater Boston community through arts, cultural and community events, exhibitions, markets, classes and more.

The mission of Arts at the Armory is to provide an inclusive and accessible venue that creates opportunities for artists and cultural workers, brings diverse audiences together, enriches and transforms lives, and promotes the creative economy. In addition to the many events that CAA hosts that are produced independently of CAA, CAA has five signature programs: The Spotlight Series, The Performance Opportunity Program (POP), The Somerville Winter Farmers Market, and ROOTED Armory Cafe Visual Arts Exhibitions.

The repurposed Armory opened its doors as a community arts center in 2008, and Arts at the Armory became the anchor tenant in the building, operating the Performance Hall and Cafe. Arts at the Armory hosts 750+ events each year in disciplines including music, dance, theater, literary arts, visual arts, film, circus, comedy and more. Arts at the Armory provides free and accessibly priced venues to performing arts, cultural and community groups of Greater Boston. The Arts at the Armory Performance Hall and Cafe also provide a vast and inspiring panorama of arts and cultural events to audiences throughout the year.  Arts at the Armory hosts dozens of markets each year, which promote the creative economy, local businesses and community economic development. Both the Cafe and the Hall are available for private rentals. 

Rooted Cafe & Farmstand

We also operate ROOTED Armory Cafe, a welcoming, inclusive and vibrant space that hosts a diverse array of events, and offers delicious menu items, including beer, wine, espresso drinks, smoothies, breakfast, sandwiches and salads, and sells speciality products that are sourced locally.

Want to stop by for a tour? 

Drop us a line at [email protected] so we can schedule an appointment with you.

Want to see what’s going on?

Check out the Events Calendar for the current program and event schedule.

We look forward to your visit!

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

The Center for Arts at the Armory (CAA) does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services.

We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, community, patrons, customers, volunteers, subcontractors and vendors. Violence, hate speech and/or discrimination will not be tolerated in the spaces operated by CAA. CAA will act to defend its staff and customers against acts of violence, hate speech and/or discrimination, and has the right to ask for the removal of any individual who does not comply with this policy. 

The Center for Arts at the Armory is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE

Please note that The City of Somerville owns the Armory and is responsible for complying with all of the City of Somerville’s safety and fire regulations to create a safe operating environment for all the Armory tenants. The City of Somerville is dedicated to being a good neighbor and measures are taken to ensure that noise, security and other community concerns such as trash and parking are successfully addressed. For any questions regarding how the facility is managed, contact Rachel Nadkarni, Director of Economic Development at [email protected]

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HISTORY

The Armory was built in 1903 by George A. Moore to house the Somerville Light Infantry of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia. For nearly seventy years after that, it also housed the Massachusetts National Guard. From approximately 1975-2004, the building was used for some community events but largely sat vacant until the State of Massachusetts decided to sell the building in 2004.

The historic armory was purchased by Joseph and Nabil Sater, in collaboration with Highland Realty Trust, in April 2004 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $2.6 million. Owners of the successful Middle East music club in Central Square and patrons of the arts, the Sater brothers successfully embarked upon a vision to create a community arts center for the City of Somerville. Joined later by partner Alan Carrier, they contracted with Single Speed Design who served as award winning architects for the project.

Since 2004, the Armory has been completely restored and brought up to code. Many of the Armory’s historic elements have been preserved such as the Armory’s drill hall, stairwells, turrets, and other important architectural elements. The repurposed Armory opened its doors as a community arts center in 2008, and Arts at the Armory became the anchor tenant in the building, renting and operating the main hall and Cafe.

The building was acquired by the City of Somerville through eminent domain in June 2021.

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The Center for the Arts at the Armory