The Armory occupies the entire city block bordered by 66th and 67th streets and Park and Lexington Avenues. Its significance is both historical and cultural. Built with private funds to house the Seventh Regiment, the structure was completed in 1879. Prominent designers such as Tiffany, Stanford White and the Herter Brothers contributed to the interior design, which features the drill hall's 80-foot-high barrel-vault ceiling. The room was heralded an engineering masterpiece when it was built and is one of the city's largest unobstructed interiors.

Gallucci echoed the sentiments of preservationists the world over, lamenting the decay of the building's "remarkable rooms, some designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Everything is antiquated, from the gorgeous design of the rooms to the electricity and heat. And there's no air conditioning, which is why the shows stop in summer."

Indeed, the Armory is consistently among the buildings on the World Monuments Watch annual list of 100 endangered sites. Damage, especially to the interior of the building, is severe. Collapsed ceilings and water seepage have destroyed stenciled walls and wood floors. Furnishings, including oriental rugs and valuable paintings, are slowly decaying.

Over the last two decades, the Armory has also become a haven for many homeless New Yorkers and two floors are used as a women's shelter. While social activists have protested the pending eviction of the shelter, Gallucci has said that the city is committed to finding alternative space for the women.The Conservancy was formed by the Municipal Arts Society of New York. Neither organization was available for comment.