It was built in 1914 and 1915 and was originally designed as a drill hall for the Department of Military Science. Upon its completion it was often referred to as the "New Armory", as opposed to the Old Armory, a building on the now Engineering Quadrangle that has since been demolished and replaced by Hollister Hall. In January 1940, it was named for Col. Frank A. Barton, Class of 1891. Colonel Barton was one of the first two Cornell students to receive an army commission in Cornell's Military Science Program, and was the first ROTC commandant at Cornell from 1904 to 1908. During World War I, Barton Hall functioned as an airplane hangar and it served the ROTC as an armory during World War II.