This Halloween, we鈥檙e casting our jack-o-lantern light on five of CSHL鈥檚 oldest buildings. So, come join us as we cross the threshold into the past.
Jones Laboratory
Tales tell of a Welsh privateer who, after a life of high-seas adventure, settled on the south shore of Long Island. In time, his family would come to own thousands of acres stretching from Massapequa to Oyster Bay. His name lives on long after his passing. You may have heard of Jones Beach. Though the famous state park was named for Major Thomas Jones, it鈥檚 his great-great-grandson whose name graces CSHL鈥檚 oldest science building.
Jones Laboratory is the longest continuously operating research laboratory in the United States. This National Historic Landmark has stood virtually unchanged for over 130 years鈥攁t least on the outside. What began as the second home of CSHL鈥檚 earliest courses and education programs now houses the Lippman lab鈥檚 revolutionary plant genetics research. Over the years, Jones has withstood hurricanes, blizzards, floods, and more. But its bones are strong and today, this old soul remains as resilient as ever.
Carnegie Library
From 1890-1904, the Brooklyn Institute鈥檚 Biological Laboratory held the sole claim to science on the shores of Cold Spring Harbor. That changed at noon on . Just south of Jones Laboratory, a new building and research organization opened along the shore. The Carnegie Institution of Washington鈥檚 Station for Experimental Evolution was 鈥渄estined to be the leading center of biological research in the world,鈥� according to the Brooklyn Institute鈥檚 W.H. Hooper.
Unlike the Biological Laboratory, the Station for Experimental Evolution primarily focused on research. Outside the building, botanist George Shull planted the crops he would later use to develop the first strains of 鈥渉ybrid vigor鈥� corn. Inside, the three-story building boasted rooms for breeding insects, birds, and aquatic animals, as well as research labs and a library.
Over the years, the Station鈥檚 main building would undergo several rounds of renovations. The breeding rooms were gone by 1911. In 1953, the research laboratories would follow. All that remained was the library. Since then, what was once a small collection of research texts has evolved into CSHL鈥檚 Library and Archives. The treasure trove of science history now contained within its walls includes, among other things, the personal collections of no fewer than five Nobel laureates.
Wawepex
Layers of history lurk beneath the unassuming facade of the . Perhaps no other CSHL building can claim as many connections to the area. Its name comes from the original Native American settlement that stood at Cold Spring Harbor. Loose translations include 鈥渁t the place of the good spring water鈥� and 鈥済ood little water place.鈥� The Jones family鈥檚 constructed the building in the early 19th century to store barrels of whale oil. While in storage, these barrels would be plugged with bungs. Hence, even today the street passing through CSHL鈥檚 main campus bears the name Bungtown Road. Alas, all things must pass. The death of the whaling industry in the 1860s brought Jones鈥� company down with it.
In 1893, John D. Jones鈥� Wawepex Society leased the old storage building to the Biological Laboratory. Renovations replaced the warehouse with a dark room, lecture hall, operating room, and additional storage space. Wawepex has worn several masks since then. It鈥檚 been a dormitory, research building, administration offices, and even the headquarters of a children鈥檚 nature program. Today, it鈥檚 home to CSHL鈥檚 Office of Sponsored Programs. The Office plays a key role in facilitating and managing the grants and other funding avenues that make CSHL鈥檚 groundbreaking research possible.
Blackford Hall
By 1906, the Biological Laboratory鈥檚 curriculum included 10 courses and several specimen-collecting excursions. As useful as they were, Jones Laboratory and the Wawepex Building could no longer contain it all. As fate would have it, the widow of the Laboratory鈥檚 earliest benefactor, Eugene C. Blackford, would come to the rescue. Francis Blackford approached the Biological Laboratory that year with a 鈥渄esire to erect a substantial building on the lands of the Laboratory 鈥� to provide a comfortable home for the faculty of the school and their families, and the young women pursuing courses of instruction or scientific research.鈥�
Mrs. Blackford鈥檚 $25,000 donation鈥攁bout $875,836 today鈥攆unded the design, construction, and furnishing of the new building. Blackford Hall, then the tallest building on campus, was dedicated in Eugene C. Blackford鈥檚 memory on June 1, 1907 (pdf). It was one of the first residential buildings built entirely of reinforced concrete. The main floor featured a dining room, meeting hall, and serving room. The second floor served as a women鈥檚 dormitory, and the basement contained a kitchen, laundry room, storage, and servants鈥� quarters. The first Symposiums on Quantitative Biology were held in Blackford before moving to Bush Lecture Hall in 1953 and then to Grace Auditorium in 1986.
Much has changed within since 1907. Renovations have added more dining space and a basement bar. To this day, CSHL faculty, staff, students, and visitors continue to meet there to enjoy meals and talk science.
McClintock Laboratory
Today, this CSHL landmark bears the name of 1983 Nobel laureate Barbara McClintock. But McClintock was only 12 years old when the building opened in 1914. Before she walked its halls, and until it was renamed in her honor at the 1973 Symposium, the building was called the
No, not that kind of animal house. You鈥檇 find no out-of-control frat parties there. Its original purpose was to be an animal breeding facility and, according to the 1911 Carnegie Institution annual report (pdf), to 鈥渞elieve the main building (Carnegie Library) of the dirt that is inseparable from [its] culture.鈥� By McClintock鈥檚 arrival in 1941, the breeding pens had been replaced by experimental labs. It was here that two of CSHL鈥檚 eight Nobel laureates鈥擬cClintock and 1969 winner Alfred Hershey鈥攃onducted their genetics research.
Today, the brick and stucco building is home to three CSHL Cancer Center members. Assistant Professor Katherine Alexander studies nuclear speckles and their role in gene regulation. Assistant Professor Corina Amor Vegas鈥� anti-aging research focuses on cellular senescence鈥攚hen cells stop dividing but don鈥檛 die. Associate Professor Camila dos Santos investigates how pregnancy affects breast cancer risk. Their work has added to the building鈥檚 pedigree and to the legacies of their predecessors who once walked the same halls.