What are/were armories for?

Our local armories where I live are perfect examples of that. Our city and an adjacent city have armories built in the 1950s and 1960s (and justified the proximity of one of them by calling it a Guard armory and Reserve center). Thirty years ago, the armories actually had equipment there; these days, they’re more likely to be used as winter shelters for the homeless or for events like outreach for homeless veterans (aka Veterans Stand Down).