George Nelson Benjamin, a native of Indiana, was the 2nd mayor of West Tampa, serving from 1897-1901 after West Tampa's first mayor, Fernando Figueredo. Benjamin came to Tampa in 1875 and was a leading West Tampa developer, bringing in cigar factories and donating land for a park which became the eventual site for Fort Homer Hesterly Armory.

 

Benjamin donated land to the city of West Tampa in 1896 for use as a park. During the summer of 1898, Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders used Benjamin's open land as their campsite in the days leading up to the Spanish-American War. The space later came to be known as Benjamin Field. In the early 1910s, Benjamin Field became an airfield. Aviation was still in its infancy, and pioneering pilots like Lincoln Beachey participated in several air meets at the field — and accomplished one of the first night flights in aviation history at that site.

During the 1920s, a wooden boxing arena was constructed at Benjamin Field. Matches were held there on a regular basis.

L to R:  Mess hall, Officers quarters & guard house of the Florida National Guard at Benjamin Field, 1920

Florida National Guard at Benjamin Field, Howard Ave. at Cass St, 1922
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In 1922, the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County donated the land to the Florida National Guard. The 116th Field Artillery unit of the Florida National Guard used Benjamin Field as its home base, but the need for a large facility to house the men and armaments continued to grow. Construction of two brick buildings, through the Civil Works Administration (CWA), provided some room for the 116th, but a larger structure proved necessary.

On Aug. 26, 1938, funding through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the amount of $270,730 was approved for the construction of the main armory building, followed by another allotment of $91,150 on Dec. 23, 1940

Construction of the armory began in 1938. The armory was completed in 1941, dedicated and named for Lt. Col. Homer Wynne Hesterly on Dec. 8, 1941 (the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor) and served the 116th Field Artillery Battalion of the National Guard. It was also the headquarters of the 53rd Infantry Brigade from the late 1960s to 2004, when the brigade moved to Pinellas Park. Tactical Air Command established its first headquarters in Tampa at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in 1946, but soon moved to its permanent base to Langley Field, Virginia. 

Construction of the 116th Field Artillery Armory (Ft. Homer Hesterly Armory), July 25, 1940

In addition to providing arms storage, operations and drill space for the National Guard, the Armory served Tampa’s community as a venue for sporting events, social gatherings, speaking engagements and political events for over five decades. Continuing in the practice of a modern, community-centered national guard, the Armory hosted company dinners, community dances, and school recitals from the 1940s through the 1960s. The armory was a place for servicemen to bond; World War II veterans who remained active in the Guard often returned to the armory to share their war stories. Vacated by the national guard, plans were to redevelop the site with a hotel, day spa, farmers' market, restaurants, office space, artists' studios, and 5-acre park. The historic building will remain intact.

See photos of events pertaining to the armory and an excellent detail of the armory's history at:  http://www.scottymoore.net/FtHomer.html

Wrestling matches were also frequently held events at the Armory through the 1980s, and local legend states that professional wrestling in Florida was born at Fort Homer W. Hesterly.  Music concerts were another common event at the armory.

Elvis Presley performed there four times from 1955 to 1956. Billed as “Country Music’s Mr. Rhythm,” he appeared as the final act in country star Hank Snow’s All-Star Jamboree tour in 1955, starring Faron Young, the Carter Sisters, Slim Whitman, Bill & Scotty, and the Davis Sisters. Others who have performed here include Nat King Cole, Andy Griffith, Ferlin Husky and Marty Robbins.  In 1972, Pink Floyd, Spirit, Blue Oyster Cult, Big Brother And The Holding Company, and REO Speedwagon held concerts there.  Jim Morrison's "The Doors" performed there in 1974. President John F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. have given speeches there.

                The Armory is Hot Property      Dream For Armory Has Faded

Photos of the armory from the 1950s and 1960s show the inverted bell-like decoration that sat upon the central tower.  It appeared to be constructed of iron bars and at night it was lit up from the inside.

At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, this area, a sand flat without a tree, but surrounded by forest, was the camp site of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders, the most unusual regiment in the history of the U.S. Army.

The Rough Riders (1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment), 1,200 strong, included cowboys, Indians, polo players, ranchers, hunters, socialites, lawmen, trappers, et al.  This hodge-podge group left Tampa to fight in the hills of Cuba for their belief that "All Men Should Be Free."  Teddy and his horsemen became a legend in their own time.

Hesterly was a prominent Tampa citizen, recognized for his long and distinguished military career, business interests and civic involvement. He was proprietor and President of the Turner Marble and Granite Company from the 1930s to 1950, (founded in 1908 by H.G. Turner an his brother, A.O. Turner) and president of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association. The Turner Marble and Granite Company was a well-established supplier of marble, granite, building stone and mosaic tiles. They provided the materials for many monuments and mausoleums in the Tampa Bay area, throughout Florida and in other parts of the country.

Hesterly passed away in Tampa on Dec. 15, 1957 and was buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Tampa.  Though he and his wife Claire had no children, he still has kin in the Tampa area who are descendants of his sister, Addie Hesterly Turner.