Biologics Regulation and ResearchThe People and Work of Buildings 29 & 29A

Building 29 Overview

Building 29 Front (north) Elevation Rob Tucher Photography

Dedication Ceremony

The Division of Biologics Standards (DBS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) celebrated its Fifth Anniversary on June 30, 1960, with the dedication of its new home, Building 29. The building was not ready for occupancy, but the first floor was open for visitors to see after the ceremony.

“Today, medicine and medical research offer the one great opportunity for cooperation and understanding among the nations of the world. Medicine speaks a universal language—it speaks to all peoples in all lands—and a victory in medicine by any nations is a victory shared by all nations and all mankind.”
—Senator Lister Hill

Photograph from the Building 29 Dedication Ceremony Office of NIH History & Stetten Museum

Dr. Roderick Murray, at right, greets the King and Queen of Thailand. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (DHEW) Secretary Arthur Flemming at center. Office of NIH History & Stetten Museum

The King and Queen of Thailand, Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, were invited to attend and His Majesty officially dedicated the building because of his active role in the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) Cholera Research Project.

“The presence here today of Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Thailand, emphasizes the international tradition of science, particularly medical science, and the promise it holds for the destiny of the human race.”
—Dr. Roderick Murray, Director of DBS, given during the principal speech during the ceremony while speaking about the King and Queen of Thailand

The Surgeon General, Dr. Leroy E. Burney, and the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Arthur Flemming, were also in attendance.

The ceremony was held in the afternoon on lawn on the north side of Building 29, after a luncheon held at the Stone House.

Queen, King, HEW Secretary Flemming, Dr. Roderick Murray tour Building 29 Office of NIH History & Stetten Museum

HEW Secretary Arthur Flemming, Queen, King, Dr. Roderick Murray looking at equipment in Building 29 lab Office of NIH History & Stetten Museum

“I am confident that this new building and its modern facilities – coupled with the most important resource of the Division of Biologics Standards, its highly trained and competent staff – will help enable the Public Health Service to achieve even greater heights in its goal to improve the health of the people.”
—Representative John Fogarty, from the concluding remarks of the dedication ceremony

The new building would bring together more than 190 staff who were previously working in at least 5 different buildings on the NIH campus.

a photo of the limestone cornerstone of Building 29 that reads United States of America Dwight D. Eisenhower President 1958

Limestone Cornerstone of Building 29, North Elevation, Right (west) Entrance Jam. Katie Watts

Dr. Ed Tabor, who worked in Biologics with the FDA from 1975-1983 and 1995-2005, also grew up on the NIH campus, the son of two illustrious scientist parents who served in the Public Health Service and lived on the NIH campus. Tabor attended the dedication ceremony as a child in 1960 and reported on it in his neighborhood newsletter.

Construction

Building 29, the NIH Division of Biologics Standards (DBS) Laboratory, is nationally significant to the history of medicine and public health because within the laboratories of Building 29, scientific investigators conquered some of the deadliest infectious diseases that scourged America and the world. Some of the most well-known scientists and administrators of the 20th century worked in this building, first for the NIH and then for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Building 29 was purpose-built in 1960 to house the newly established Division of Biologics Standards, which had been formed in 1955 as the continuation of a biologics regulatory function that had existed in what is now the NIH since 1902. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office when funding for the new building was made available for the DBS.

Building 29 was designed to be functional and safe for the Division of Biologics Standards. The building does not have much exterior ornament and does not contain the Georgian Revival style features that are present on the historic core of the NIH campus. Compared to construction drawings, the floor plan of Building 29 has not changed much since it opened in 1960. When the building was vacated in 2014, most of the laboratory equipment was removed. Asbestos abatement has led to partial demolition in some areas, but the exterior of the building remains intact, and some interior spaces do as well, conveying the significance of the laboratory space.

a 1960s photo of Building 29 taken from the NE corner

Building 29 in the early 1960s, before Building 29A had been constructed. National Library of Medicine

First floor plan of Building 29 with color-coded fill showing pedestrian circulation in yellow, and utility shafts in red. NIH Office of Research Facilities

Architect: Ted Englehardt, AIA (Silver Spring, MD)

Builder, contractor, suppliers: The Norair Engineering Corporation constructed the building and Public Building Services of the General Services Administration (GSA) administered the contracts. John A. Cofrancesco, Research Facilities Planning Branch, DRS, was the NIH project engineer.