The DC Armory was built in 1941 and is the Joint Force Headquarters of both the Air and Army National Guard. It was designed by noted New York architect Electus D. Litchfield.
During World War II, the Armory was used by the FBI Identification Division to house fingerprint records for the purposes of clearance needs of the armed services
By 1942 the FBI was adding 400,000 file cards a month to its archives, and were receiving 110,000 requests for “name checks” per month.
By 1944 the agency contained some 23 million card records, as well as 10 million fingerprint records.
Today, the building serves as a sports and entertainment complex.
