I’m doing some work for Nielsen IAG this week at an office located on Park Avenue South at 26th Street. We’re on the western half of the block; on the east, as I discovered today, is the 69th Regiment Armory, home of New York’s Fighting 69th, and these days, the 165th Infantry 
Regiment of the New York National Guard
. The Armory, which was built in 1904, housed the Armory Show in 1913, a watershed event where America was introduced to Modern Art; at least 17 Roller Derby matches; several Knick games between 1946 and the 2003 and 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. The 69th first earned distinction during the Civil War, when it was famously known as the Irish Brigade under the leadership of the gallant Brigadier General Thomas Meagher. During the First World War, the 69th was part of the Rainbow Division. Among its veterans are William Joseph Donovan, who won a Medal of Honor and later founded the OSS, the author Richard O’Neill, also a Medal of Honor recipient, and Fighting Father Duffy.
