The Fifth Regiment Armory was dedicated on May 11, 1901. During the dedication ceremony, a great polished granite cornerstone was laid into place. The inscription on this stone bears the date of May 10, 1867, which represents the date when the Fifth Regiment became the successor organization of the Old Maryland Guard, a military unit in Baltimore in 1859. As was the custom at the turn of the last century, Governor John Walter Smith and former Governor Frank Brown used golden trowels to cement the cornerstone into place. These same trowels were used previously in a ceremony to complete the construction of the Washington Monument at Mt. Vernon Place in Baltimore. By the time the facility opened in 1903, it represented the largest single construction effort of the National Guard up to that time in the entire country. In 1904, the armory rented space to businesses burnt out by the Great Baltimore Fire. Currently home to the Headquarters of the MDNG, these walls have seen some of history's most important and influential figures and events.

The Fifth Regiment Armory was the site of the 1912 Democratic National Convention—an intensely contested event—which took 46 ballots to reach the required two-thirds majority of delegate voting to nominate Woodrow Wilson, a former Johns Hopkins graduate student and then governor of New Jersey. Four years later after taking the oath as the 26th President of the United States, Wilson activated the military, which incorporated units of the MDNG, to fight in the First World War. On Armistice Day, November 11, 1925, a memorial bronze sculpture entitled "To the Glory of Maryland" and created by Hans Schuler, a renowned Baltimore sculptor, was dedicated and added directly above the main entrance of the building in commemoration of the participation of the MDNG's Fifth Regiment. The memorial and accompanying plaques recently underwent restoration.

Through the years, the Fifth Regiment Armory has been a frequent venue for leading national politicians. In 1928, Alfred E. Smith of New York spoke to an energetic crowd of more than 20,000 in his unsuccessful quest for the presidency. During the fall of 1932, President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke at a massive post-election rally in celebration of his victory over Herbert Hoover. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F Kennedy also made appearances at the Fifth Regiment Armory during their respective White House administrations.

The blazes of 1927 and 1932 (12 alarms, $100,000 damage) precluded the most extensive damage to the armory on the night of January 13, 1933, when the whole wood-roofed interior was destroyed in an 11-alarm fire. From approximately 1:50 a.m. until it was extinguished several hours later, the flames caused more than $1 million in damages. The authorities, seeking a cause afterwards, settled on "defective wiring" The fire was a civic calamity, alleviated by successful efforts to save the most important National Guard trophies. The Civil Works administration and President Roosevelt's Public Works Administration underwrote the reconstruction of the armory.

If the original armory had taken two-and-one-half years of extended labor to build, the refurbished one, rededicated on the 121st anniversary of the Star Spangled Banner in 1935, also saw completion within two-and-one-half years. Actually, the restoration was expedited by the decision to forgo a massive leveling of the structure. The original castle walls, made of native granite and Indiana limestone, withstood the intense heat and flames, however, a reconfigured and more fire-resistant roof was installed. Moreover, a pillared basement replaced the cellar underlay and tunnel throughways. The fires of 1945 and 1959 were of a lesser magnitude as a result of the structural improvements added in 1935.

A 1937 wrestling show (Jimmy Londos and George Penchoff) and a 1952 ice show with Sonja Henie were upstaged by bleacher collapses that received widespread publicity. However, as with the fire incidents, there were no fatalities.

From 1924 through 1927, the Fifth Regiment Armory garnered a wider presence in the community when the Officers Association of the Fifth Regiment secured the license for radio station WFBR, which represents the "World's First Broadcasting Regiment." The radio station operated in the office space currently used by the State Finance Office in Room 8 on the balcony.

The Fifth Regiment Armory has continued to evolve as headquarters of the Military Department of Maryland and the MDNG. Prior to the opening of the Baltimore Civic Center in 1962, the Fifth hosted the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circuses. Its interior was the largest indoor space in the state at one time. Over the years, the armory, considered a prime space for community events, has served as the site for numerous cultural events such as Octoberfest and the Irish Festival. It has opened its doors for all types of activities, from marketing and career expositions to the support of Artscape and private receptions. The annual Maryland National Guard Indoor Scholastic Games, which will conduct its 40th event here in 2002, attract more than 2500 student athletes from 85 area high schools in individual and team competition in track and field exercises.

The Fifth Regiment Armory also has been a key site for emergency operations during major snowstorms and civil unrest as a command operations site—most recently in support of a Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91. In addition, the Fifth's recently renovated Governor William Donald Schaefer Dining Hall hosted a welcome home ceremony for the 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment on its return from Bosnia in 1996.

The Fifth Regiment Armory is also home to the 75th Infantry (5th Maryland) Veteran Corps, an organization that exists to perpetuate the historical tradition of this military organization. The 175th traces its lineage to 1774. MDNG lineage goes back to the founding of the state in 1634. Located at the armory is the MDNG Museum, the only military museum in Baltimore City.

The opening of a Distance Education Center in 2000 has allowed Guard members and local residents to enroll in college courses offered by participating area institutions of higher learning. The Military Ball is a festive occasion, which focuses on the all-important fellowship between the military, public officials and community leaders.

The Fifth Regiment Armory of 2001 is undergoing a series of renovations to meet safety requirements and to provide efficient use of office space with an emphasis on productivity. Education and training and continued quality improvement initiatives have become top priorities as the MDNG strives to meet the changing needs of society—and all within the confines of a 100-year-old historic site.