Slice of History - Building 111 Then & Now

Building 111 has been standing on Lab for over 70 years! When this photo was taken in June 1952, you could find a plethora of resources in Building 111, including: the mail room; the laboratory personnel office; conference rooms, where meetings, basic chemistry classes, and sessions for the JPL Motorsport Club were held; the Employee Recreation Club (ERC); Lab-Oratory’s editor and office; and much more. It even housed Dr. Pickering’s office during his tenure as Director of the Lab. Facilities maintained the original wood paneling that lined the back wall of his office - which was until recently part of the Records Management and Archives group’s (319G) offices – where a portrait of Dr. Pickering at his desk and an accompanying label hung (which now resides in the Archives office, 111-112, if you’d like to see it!).

This same year, Building 111 underwent construction that included extension and enlargement, adding an additional 3200 square feet to the space, as well as a one-story addition of 2800 square feet. These alterations to the building were meant to accommodate the growing Administration, Reports, and Design and Development sections that occupied this space.

Today, Building 111 houses the ManTech Help Desk, the JPL Library, offices for ITSD, the JPL Photo Lab, Property Accountability, and many more - even the JPL Records Management and Archives group – which you can see in this photo taken in January 2023. CL#23-0373