Biologics - Buildings

Buildings Page

Buildings 29 and 29A are nationally significant to the history of medicine and public health because within the laboratories of Buildings 29 and 29A, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and then the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff helped to conquer some of the deadliest infectious diseases. In their regulatory role they had the national responsibility to license vaccines, antitoxins, blood products, and other biologics to ensure their safety and effectiveness. To support this mission, they did scientific research which resulted in the development of important standards and even new vaccines. Some of the most well-known scientists of the 20th century worked in these buildings, as well as the key administrators and others who supported their work and the mission of biologics regulation and 22 of them are profiled in the biographies section.

Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) architectural documentation of Buildings 29 and 29A at the NIH is part of the efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the planned demolition of the buildings. The survey and fieldwork were completed July 12–14, 2021. The HABS materials will be available in full on the Library of Congress website in addition to portions of them being presented here.

The FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) moved from the NIH to the FDA White Oak Campus in 2014. This move completely vacated Buildings 29, 29A, and the circa-1994 Building 29B. Building 29B has been reoccupied by NIH staff, following moderate renovation. NIH completed feasibility studies and determined in 2020 that it is not viable to reuse Buildings 29 and 29A, and demolition is planned. As these are historic buildings on Federal property, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR §800) must be followed. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was entered into between the NIH and the State Historic Preservation Office, the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT), since demolition of buildings is an adverse effect to historic properties. While the buildings are no longer in use, their legendary staff and their important work lives on.