The Center for Arts at the Armory (Arts at the Armory) is a non-profit organization that resides in a historic Armory building, serving Somerville and the Greater Boston community and beyond as an accessible and inclusive venue for arts, cultural and community events, exhibitions, classes, and more. 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 mission of Arts at the Armory is to provide free and affordably-priced space for arts, cultural and community events and programming, and thereby bring diverse audiences together, enrich and transform lives, and promote the creative economy. Arts at the Armory hosts 750+ events each year in disciplines including music, dance, theater, literary arts, visual arts, film, circus, comedy and more. If an event is free to the public, the Armory Cafe provides space at no charge to event organizers. The Armory’s Performance Hall provides an accessibly priced option to performing arts and cultural and community groups of Greater Boston. The Armory Cafe and Hall 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 including the Somerville Winter Farmers Market, which promote the creative economy, local businesses and community economic development. In addition, the Arts at the Armory Cafe features between 6-8 visual arts exhibitions showcasing local artists each year. The MBTA Green Line Extension to Somerville/Medford was completed in 2022. Visitors and patrons of Arts at the Armory can take the Green Line to the new Magoun Square stop. Learn more at: https://www.mbta.com/projects/green-line-extension-glx
UPDATED Cafe Hours, starting July 9, 2023:
Mondays & Tuesdays: Closed
Wednesdays-Fridays: 12:00PM - 7:30PM
Saturdays: 9:00AM-7:30PM
Sundays: 9:00AM-5:00PM
Want to hold your next event at the Center for Arts at the Armory? Fill out the Event Contact Form to get started: https://artsatthearmory.org/spaces/event-contact-form/
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 it was built, the Armory also housed the Massachusetts National Guard. During the last quarter of the 20th century, 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 Armory Realty Trust (HART), in April 2004 from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $2.6 million. The building was acquired by the City of Somerville through eminent domain in June 2021. Sign up for our newsletter here: https://artsatthearmory.org/about/monthly-newsletter/
