The armory was first proposed in 1927, when the New Jersey Army National Guard identified a need for a permanent home for Headquarters Company of the 44th Division in Plainfield. It was built between 1931 and 1932 — in the depths of the Great Depression, using federal and state funds that put construction workers to work on public buildings across the country. The building reflects the design philosophy of the State Architect's Office in the 1920s and early 1930s: compact, dignified, built for a single company rather than the grand multi-company armories that had characterized the late 19th century. Two stories of Flemish bond brick sit on a raised basement. Bay windows distinguish the administrative offices at the front; a small drill hall occupies the rear, flanked by classrooms that were added over the years. In the lobby, a box office hinted at the building's dual community and military purpose from the beginning.

The 44th Infantry Division had deep New Jersey roots. It was formed in 1921 from National Guard units in New York and New Jersey and served in both World War II and Korea. The Plainfield armory served as the home base for the Headquarters Company — the administrative and command element that kept the division's local operations running. Armories like this one were central to National Guard life in the interwar period: they housed equipment, hosted drills, provided a community gathering point, and served as the face of the military in civilian towns. The box office in the lobby reflected the armory's use by the surrounding community for events ranging from public meetings to performances. The building was only slightly altered from its original construction through the decades of active military use, preserving what the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office later deemed significant architectural integrity.

The armory fell out of active National Guard use in the early 1990s, when the end of the Cold War triggered a round of military consolidations and base closures. The building was rented to veterans groups, which provided a kind of institutional continuity without a path to sustainable long-term use. The New Jersey Naval Militia Foundation made its headquarters there — an unusual tenant, the foundation being an advocacy organization seeking the restoration of New Jersey's naval militia, a type of state military force separate from the Army and Air National Guard. The foundation was a genuine proponent of the building's historic designation and pushed for its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite the Historic Preservation Office's determination that the armory was eligible for listing, the formal designation never came.

In 2005, the state formally offered the armory for sale. The city of Plainfield did not make an offer — the price was considered too high, and the renovations required to make the building suitable for general use, including the installation of a complete HVAC system, added further cost. Community advocates called for purchase and conversion to public use; the city hesitated. The building sat. In December 2012, the legislature finally approved the sale as surplus property at $926,000, and the transaction closed in 2013. What the new owners planned for the two-story brick building — drill hall, bay windows, box office lobby, raised basement, Flemish bond facade — was not yet decided when the state handed over the keys. The armory had survived the Depression that built it, the Cold War that eventually made it obsolete, and a decade of institutional indecision. What came next would be up to its new owners.