^2 ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOR WAR 



building, in the event that war required an expansion of its activities, was 

 very sHght, 



The Carnegie Institution building at 1530 P Street, N.W., was less con- 

 veniently located relative to the War and Navy Departments, but more 

 space was available initially than was to be had at the Academy. Further- 

 more, if the NDRC offices were in the Carnegie Institution building where 

 Bush had his offices, he would be able to devote more time to the Committee's 

 business than if the offices were situated elsewhere. Of great importance 

 also was the fact that in the event of war more space rather than less would 

 be available at C.I.W. as members of the staff of the Institution would leave 

 their normal assignment for war work. 



Upon Stewart's recommendation the Committee accepted Bush's invita- 

 tion and established its central offices in 1530 P Street, N.W. As the activi- 

 ties of the NDRC and its successor OSRD continued to expand under the 

 pressure of impending and actual war, more and more space was surren- 

 dered to those activities by the Carnegie Institution. The Committee owes 

 a debt of gratitude to Walter M. Gilbert, Executive Officer of C.I.W., who 

 willingly volunteered successive contractions of the space available for 

 his operations in order that more space might be available for the NDRC; 

 and to Charles Smallwood, the building superintendent, who remained 

 cheerful under five years of constant demands made upon a building used 

 for purposes far different from those for which it was originally designed. 



Although Jewett's offer of space was not accepted for the central offices 

 of NDRC, at all times a considerable part of NDRC and OSRD operations 

 were housed in the Academy building. In particular, after the establish- 

 ment of the Committee on Medical Research, the Washington operations of 

 that Committee were carried on from the Academy building in space 

 willingly made available, though at considerable inconvenience to the 



Academy. 



The expanding operations of NDRC and of OSRD soon outran the space 

 available in the Carnegie Institution and Academy buildings. Harvard Uni- 

 versity came to the rescue by turning over, without charge to the Com- 

 mittee, a large part of the space at Dumbarton Oaks, a magnificent estate 

 in the heart of Washington given to the University by Robert Woods Bliss 

 and housing some of the Harvard collections. Even this addition was soon 

 outgrown and it became necessary for the Committee to set up parts of its 

 activities in different locations in Washington. For most of its life, the 

 Committee was carrying on its operations in inadequate space in areas too 

 widely separated for the most efficient operation. Even at that, however, 

 due largely to the generosity of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the 

 National Academy of Sciences, and Harvard University, the Committee 

 fared better in the matter of space than did many of the wartime agencies 

 in the Capital. 



