Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Gaithersburg Campus Construction, 1960 – 1965 Finding Aid
Processing Information | Series Descriptions | Container List
Collection #002
Accession NIST-A-0006
Processed October 2023
Repository: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Archives, Gaithersburg MD
Creator: National Bureau of Standards, and various contractors for the National Bureau of Standards
Extent: 4.4 LF / 1.34112 Meters
Description: This collection documents the planning and building of the Gaithersburg
campus.
Scope: Specifications, Photographs
Language: English
Provenance: Transferred from NIST Records Manager, Donna Miller to NIST Archives in 2018. Returned from Federal Records Center at unknown date.
Access Restrictions: None
Processing Information: Tyler Love, 2023
Related Material:
Organization:
Series I: Specifications, 1960-1961
Series II: Photographs, 1962-1965
Arrangement: See Series description
Finding Aid: Folder Level
History
The National Bureau of Standards (renamed the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1988) Gaithersburg, Maryland campus began construction in the early 1960s to replace the cramped and outdated facilities of the original campus location in Washington, D.C.
Construction of the Gaithersburg campus began on July 19, 1961, and was completed in phases over the next ten years. The first building to be completed was the Engineering Mechanics Building (Bldg. 202), which was first occupied in 1963. The official opening dedication ceremony for the Gaithersburg campus took place in November 1966. Designed by the architectural firm Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith & Haines, the Gaithersburg campus features a mix of modernist and traditional elements, with the buildings arranged in a linear pattern that reflects the campus focus on research and development.
On August 5, 2021, the NIST Gaithersburg Campus was designated a Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its significance in the history of science and technology, its acclaimed mid-century modern architectural design, and its embodiment of post-WWII suburban campus planning principles.
Series Descriptions
Series I: Specifications
Accession NIST-A-0006
Dates: Nov 1960 – Jan 1961
Extent: .9 LF
Scope: Contract documents
Description:
Organization/Arrangement: Original Order (by contract section)
Series II: Photographs
Accession NIST-A-0006
Dates: July 1962 – October 1965
Extent: 3.7 LF; approx. 1,040 images
Scope: Photographs – prints and boards w/ prints on both sides
Description: Materials produced by various contractors for NBS
Organization/Arrangement: By phase, then building, then date
Container List
Series I: Specifications
Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 001 | Indexes | Nov. 1960 |
1 | 002 | Contract No. 1; Sections 1-28 | Nov-Dec 1960 |
1 | 003 | Contract No. 1; Sections 29-64 | Nov. 1960 |
1 | 004 | Contract No. 1; Sections 65-117 | Nov-Dec 1960 |
1 | 005 | Contract No. 1; Sections 118-206 | Nov '60-Jan '61 |
2 | 001 | Contract No. 1; Sections 207-255 | Nov-Dec 1960 |
2 | 002 | Contract No. 1; Sections 256-302 | Nov-Dec 1960 |
2 | 003 | Contract No. 1; Section 303 | Nov-Dec 1960 |
2 | 004 | Contract No. 1; Section 304-501 | Nov '60-Jan '61 |
Return to Series I Description.
Series II: Photographs
Box | Folder | Title | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
2 | 005 | Loose Photographs | Sept 1962 |
2 | 006 | PHASE I - Bldgs 202 & 302 | Nov. 1963 |
3 | 001 | PHASE II - Bldgs 101 & 245 | July 1962 - Oct 1964 |
4 | 001 | PHASE II - Bldgs 245 & 301 | August 1962 - Oct 1964 |
5 | 001 | PHASE II - Bldgs 303 & 304 | Nov 1962 - August 1964 |
6 | 001 | PHASE II - Bldg. 304 | June-October 1964 |
6 | 002 | PHASE IIIA - Bldgs 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225 | Nov 1962 - July 1963 |
7 | 001 | PHASE IIIA - Bldg. 226 | Jan-July 1963 |
7 | 002 | PHASE IIIB - Bldgs. 220 & 221 | June 1964 – Oct 1965 |
8 | 001 | PHASE IIIB - Bldgs. 221, 222 & 223 | June-Oct 1965 |
9 | 001 | PHASE IIIB - Bldgs. 223, 224 & 225 | June-Oct 1965 |
10 | 001 | PHASE IIIB - Bldgs. 225 & 226 | June-Oct 1965 |