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 Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Gaithersburg, Maryland campus was constructed in the early 1960s to address the cramped and outdated facilities of NIST's original location in Washington, D.C. 

Construction of the NIST Gaithersburg campus commenced in 1961 and was completed in phases over the next decade. The first building to be completed was the Administration Building, dedicated in 1963. The other campus buildings were completed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The NIST Gaithersburg campus was officially opened in 1971.

Designed by a team of architects led by Voorhees, Walker, Smith, Smith & Haines, the NIST Gaithersburg campus features a mix of modernist and traditional elements, with the buildings arranged in a linear pattern that reflects the campus's 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.

Additional Information

• The NIST Gaithersburg Campus received the first Smart Growth Excellence, Best of Maryland award by Preservation Maryland on May 16, 2019, for the Gaithersburg Campus Master Plan.
• The NIST Gaithersburg Master Plan was recognized in April 2020 with the 2019 Honor Award for the Federal Planning Project of the Year by the Federal Planning Division of the American Planning Association.

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

Return to Series I Description.

Series II: Photographs

Return to Series II Description.

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