Fort Homer W. Hesterly National Guard Armory (Shanna and Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center)

This armory (and adjacent buildings) was built in the 1930s through FDR's New Deal program in order to house U.S. Army Reserve and Florida National Guard soldiers. It was used for over 60 years before the Reserve Centers and National Guard armories were constructed between 2001-2005. It is now the Shanna and Bryan Glazer Jewish Community Center, which offers opportunities for recreation, fitness, arts, and entertainment. The armory is named after Lt. Col. Homer W. Hesterly, who served as the commanding officer of the 116th Field Artillery Battalion, which was stationed at the armory between 1934 to 1954, and played a key role in reorganizing the Florida National Guard after World War I.

The property on which the armory stands was part of larger tract of land owned by orange grower, developer, city councilman, businessman, and West Tampa's second mayor George Nelson Benjamin, who did much to develop West Tampa. In June 1898, the property became the site of a camp for Rough Riders before they were sent to Cuba to fight in the Spanish-American War. During World War I it became the site of Benjamin Air Field. After the war, the National Guard established a base here while maintaining the air field. However, most of the buildings were constructed out of wood. This changed when the New Deal and Works Progress Administration (one of the federal jobs agencies established during the Great Depression) brought the manpower and funds to construct more permanent structures while expanding the Guard base and armory. 

Dedicated after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, the armory proudly served the Tampa area and the National Guard-Army Reserve for 60 years. It was named after Tampa resident (from Georgia) who was a civil engineer and WW1 veteran and was a ranking officer of the Florida National Guard. While a military army and housing facility, the armory was home to many concerts featuring famous musicians and bands as well as many politicians and civil rights leaders. These include, but not limited to: Elvis Presley, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tom Jones, The Animals, James Brown, Buddy Holly, Andy Griffith, Allman Brothers, Tempests, Pink Floyd, the Doors and The Ramones. Graduations were also held at the armory, as well as many wrestling championships. 

In 2005 the National Guard closed the fort. From 2005 to 2007 there were plans to turn the armory into a film studio, ice rink, creative industries incubator, commercial/residential development and sports complex. A plan for a luxury development, fell through in 2010. In 2015 plans were approved to turn the armory into the community center and to name if after former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Bryan Glazer. It opened in 2016.

"'Back to square one' for redevelopment of Hesterly Armory; Plans for hotel, restaurants, market fall through." March 1, 2010 Tampa Bay Times.

Hein, Charlette. "Fort Homer W. Hesterly National Guard Armory." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 23, 2013. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/13000852.

"Tampa Jewish Community Center and Federation plans new campus at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory." Tampa Jewish Community Center & Federation.