New York's state architect at that time, William Haugaard, used the Art Deco architectural style for the exterior of the building and the Tudorbethan mode for the interior.

The armory is on a one-way extension of Washington Avenue just north of its interchange with Interstate 890 and just south of Schenectady County Community College's Elston Hall opposite, the former Hotel Van Curler.

It has a projecting entrance pavilion on the west (front) elevation, with a segmented arch over its sally port, filled with two heavy oak doors with medieval-inspired hardware.

[1] Projecting perpendicularly to the main administration building on the east is the drill shed, a gable-roofed wing with its windows spaced by buttresses with stone caps.

The offices elsewhere in the wing have generally been subdivided and modernized, although the second-story corridor's barrel vault, accentuated by spandrels supported by brick piers, is intact.

[1] In the drill shed, the ceiling is wainscoted, with steel trusses, exposed brick walls and an intact balcony at the west end.

A three-member commission including Furman chose the hill in Crescent Park overlooking the city as the site for a three-story red brick building with a polychrome slate roof.

[1] By the 21st century the armory had again grown outdated, and the state's Division of Military and Naval Affairs closed it down on November 10, 2008, to save heating costs.

It now operates as Armory Studios NY, armorystudiosny.com the region's largest, dedicated, qualified New York State soundstage and a major entertainment destination.

Large production companies have utilized its 30,000 sq ft Studio A, the former Drill Hall, for sets and or as a location, as well as many of the other spaces throughout the facility.

In 2022 HBO MAX taped PRETTY LITTLE LIARS ORIGINAL SIN Pretty Little Liars Original Sin turning Studio A into an indoor amusement park using both bespoke elements and a full complement of full sized, actual amusement park rides including a ferris wheel.