Gaithersburg Campus

In June 2016 following a comprehensive historical assessment, as required by law, a final determination of eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places was made by the Keeper of the National Register who ruled that: 

“The entire NIST campus is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under both criterion A (History) and criterion C (Design) as an historic district. The boundary of the eligible historic district is the same as that shown as the "NIST Campus Boundary" in Figure 7.1 on page 70 of the "Historic Assessment" report.  See the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places: I.D. #20-47.

On August 5, 2021, following additional research and evaluation, the NIST Gaithersburg Campus was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) recognizes districts, buildings, structures, objects, and landscapes for their significance in American history, archeology, architecture, engineering, or culture, and identifies them as worthy of preservation. The National Register is a program of the U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, and is administered in Maryland by the Maryland Historical Trust or SHPO.

NIST’s Gaithersburg campus has been recognized for its association with both significant advances in the history of science and technology as well as for its acclaimed mid-century modern architectural design and the embodiment of post WWII Suburban campus planning principles.

The National Register Historic District consists of resources that include more than 62 structures and numerous landscape features located within the 579-acre setting. Resources have been classified as either Contributory and Non-Contributory.  Proposed changes to any resources, contributory and non-contributory alike must be planned and designed in accord with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards (SOI Stds.).

Furthermore, proposed changes must be approved in advance by the NIST Federal Preservation Officer (FPO), the SHPO, and in some cases the NIST Architectural Design Review Board as part of a legally required consultation process known of as Section 106 Review.  All communication with the SHPO is coordinated solely through the NIST Federal Preservation Officer (FPO). 

Many routine maintenance and operational activities; however, are governed by a Programmatic Agreement (PA) developed by NIST and the SHPO.  The PA, nonetheless, requires that the NIST FPO be apprised of any all such activities which in turn are documented and reported to the SHPO as part of an annual report.

Gaithersburg Resources:

• Campus Map depicting buildings by decade of construction
•  Archeological Survey and Map of the Campus, 2019
• Historical Assessment of the Gaithersburg Campus and NIST listing in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places
• List of Contributory and Non-Contributory Resources within the NIST Gaithersburg Historic District
• An extensive visual and narrative exhibition of the design, construction and significant events, discoveries, and personalities associated Building 245, also known of as the Radiation Physics Building can be found on-line.
• Many historic images of the campus are available on-line from the NIST website.
• For early images including some from the construction period see The Building 101 Condition Survey as well as the General Purpose Laboratories Historic Structures Report and Condition Assessment.