Medical Research and Education Building (MREB): Building 531

"Medical Research and Education Building: Building 531." Presentation of the history of the Medical Research and Education Building (Building 531) at the University of Utah, by Keely Mruk, Research Assistant, School of Medicine Historic Preservation. Project funded by the Office of the Senior Vice President of Health Sciences in partnership with the Eccles Health Sciences Library and the America West Center.

MREB building 531 Cancer Research Building, April 17, 1951 (1). 1. “Cancer Research Building - Shot 1,” April 17, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. The Cancer Research Building (CRB, now known as the Medical Research and Education Building, or MREB) was the first building constructed on the University of Utah health sciences campus. The land that would become the health sciences campus came from Fort Douglas, a military facility adjacent to the University. After World War II, the War Assets Administration declared Ft. Douglas to be surplus (1). The University successfully applied for nearly 300 acres and 100 buildings from the Fort – all for $7,951.70, around $91,000 in today’s dollars (2). The Aerial view of Fort Douglas, taken September 17, 1947 (4). University officially received the deed to the 1. Fort 2. 3. 4. Douglas land during the Homecoming game, during half time (3). 1948 For more information on the relationship between the University of Utah and Fort Douglas, see this resource prepared by the Utah Division of State History. Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, October 4, 1948. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “U. to Get Ground Deeds at Home-coming Rites,” October 30, 1948, Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Fort Douglas – Shot 2,” September 17, 1947. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. The University of Utah School of Medicine ran according to a “brains over bricks” prioritize policy; administration recruiting top-flight would faculty before constructing new buildings. Still, the lack of space (and the sub-par conditions of existing buildings) posed problems for the medical school. Reflecting on his initial impression of the school’s facilities, Dr. Max Wintrobe (picture to the right) later remarked, “I don’t know how I had the nerve to come Above: Dr. Maxwell M. Wintrobe, 1969 (3). to a place like that” (1). By 1947, Right: One of several articles published in laboratory space grew so constrained local newspapers detailing the School of that the medical school risked having to decline future grants (2). Medicine’s space crisis. 1. 2. 3. Interview with Dr. M. M Wintrobe, 3. Interview conducted by Leonard Jarcho. July 1 and 9, 1970. Everett L. Cooley Oral History Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “School Gets Too Much Money for Scientific Study,” July 11, 1947. Provo Herlad, Provo, Utah. “Maxwell M. Wintrobe, M.D. Ph.D.” 1969. History of the Health Sciences Collection. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. To address this issue, the School of planning Medicine a large began medical complex that would unify space for teaching, research, and clinical care. The facility would be jointly funded by federal and state sources. The school secured a construction grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1948, for use the following year (1). This $416,000 grant would fund a Scale model of the original proposed medical complex, produced by Ashton, Evans, and Brazier (2). The Cancer “cancer Research Wing is the building in the red box. research wing” attached to the larger medical complex. 1. 2. Telegram from David E. Price to A. Ray Olipin, April 12, 1948. Reproduced in Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, 1947 – 1949, 557. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Medicine Man, The Yearbook of the University of Utah School of Medicine, 1952, pp. 62. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. However, in 1949, Governor J. Bracken Lee cut the University’s planned budget by 12%; medical school’s building the funds completely vanished (1). University President A. Ray Olpin handled the awkward task of explaining the situation to NCI. The proposed wing would now be a discreet building, solely funded by the federal government. Still, Olpin assured NCI that the building would be on “a beautiful piece of land” and would become an “important part of the medical center which is destined for that area” (2). Left: J. Bracken Lee, Governor (R) of Utah, 1959 – 1947 (3). Right: A. Ray Olpin, President of the University of Utah, 1946 – 1964 (4). 1. 2. 3. 4. Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, March 24, 1949, 698 – 699. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Letter from A. Ray Olpin to R.G. Meader. Reproduced in Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, May 23, 1949. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Gov. J. Bracken Lee – Shot 1 - 14,” April 1955. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “College Officials: Olpin, A. Ray (U. of U.),” February 20, 1955. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. The actual construction of the CRB went smoothly. The architectural firm Ashton, Evans, and Brazier was selected to design the building (1). Bernis Eugene ‘Bud’ Brazier, who led the project, had previously worked on the research complex at Los Alamos during World War II (2). Bids for construction contracts opened late in 1949. Contracts awarded include: $339,278 to Alfred Brown Company for construction; $54,627 to Granite Mill and Fixture Company for building fixtures; and $18,367 to Otis Elevator Company for elevators (3). Speakers at the Cancer Research Building Dedication. Left to Right: A. Ray Olpin, University The building’s groundbreaking ceremony president; David Price, associate director of the NIH; Sterling Sill, University regent; B. E. Brazier, and dedication followed a few months later, architect; V. P. White, Utah State Medical Association president (4). on February 13, 1950. 1. 2. 3. 4. Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, September 1, 1949. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Letter from President A. Ray Olpin to Roger S. Warner, Director of Engineering at the Atomic Energy Commission, May 23, 1949. Acc 244, Box 43, Folder 30. University Archives, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “S.L. Firm Submits Low Bid on U. of U. Building,” December 20, 1949. Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, Utah. “Cancer Research Building – Shot 8,” April 17, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. The CRB opened for use in April of 1951 (1). Reporters described it as a “buff brick and reinforced concrete structure” measuring 44 by 128 feet and four stories high (2). The departments of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry were each given a separate floor. A salmon colored tile covered the walls (see photos on next page); many of the researchers had previously worked in converted horse stables or temporary wooden shacks. They were thrilled by the prospect of working in a modern laboratory – particularly one with non-porous, sanitizable walls (3). Notable researchers who worked in this space include Dr. Leo T. Samuels, head of the department of biochemistry, and Dr. Thomas Dougherty, head of the department of anatomy and the radiobiology laboratory. 1. 2. 3. “Cancer Research Building – Shot 11,” April 17, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Cancer Lab Nears Completion,” Bernard Y. Wickstrom, Salt Lake Telegram, February 7, 1951. Salt Lake City, Utah. Gangbusters of Science,” Alice Morrey Bailey, Deseret News, April 8, 1951. Salt Lake City, Utah. Clockwise: Mouse facilities in the CRB; Physiology laboratory; hallway for the Physiology Department; Unfinished laboratory. 1. 2. 3. 4. “Cancer Research Building – Shot 3,” April 11, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Cancer Research Building – Shot 4,” April 11, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Cancer Research Building – Shot 5,” April 11, 1951. MSS C 400 Salt Lake Tribune Negative Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Untitled Photo, P0305, Folder 1, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. In the summer of 1950, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) approached the College of Medicine, “anxious to make to the University a center for its activities” (1). The AEC awarded the University a $100,000 grant for the addition of an annex to the still-under-construction Cancer Research Building (2). The annex would house a radiobiology laboratory and dog kennels in order to study the effects of radioactive elements on large mammals. The annex was a single-story building measuring 44 by 86 feet. Construction on the annex would finish later in 1951 (3). The radiobiology annex was demolished in 1988 (4). 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, June 10, 1950. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. These negotiations were primarily carried out by John Z. Bowers, Dean of the Medical School. Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, August 14, 1951. See also, Minutes from the Board of Regents Meeting Minutes, January 8, 1951. J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Cancer Lab Nears Completion,” Bernard Y. Wickstrom, Salt Lake Telegram, February 7, 1951. Salt Lake City, Utah; “Gangbusters of Science,” Alice Morrey Bailey, Deseret News, April 8, 1951. Salt Lake City, Utah. Mary Chachas, “U of U Radiobiology Division Moves to New Facility, Marks Transition in Cancer Research,” July 18, 1988, University of Utah Health Care Office of Public Affairs and Marketing. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Untitled Photo, P0305, Folder 1, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Researchers in radiobiology annex conducted life time studies on the effects of plutonium and other isotopes on a colony of beagles.. The dogs were housed in runs, pictured above. The runs had sliding panels on their back walls, allowing the dogs access to an outdoor run as well (5). The long-range study of radiation on beagles at the University of Utah was the first of its kind organized in the United States (similar studies were shortly organized at UC Davis). Seventy full and part-time employees worked under Dougherty, making their contract with the Atomic Energy Commission the largest research project at the School of Medicine at this time (1). The studies hoped to refine contemporary estimates of the maximum radiation exposure a human may withstand before experiencing negative health effects. Top: Dr. Thomas F. Dougherty, head of the Department of Anatomy (2). Bottom: Inscription on the back of the above image: “We chartered scientific horizons. Cancer Research Bldg. A. E. C.” 1. 2. Medicine Man, The Yearbook of the University of Utah School of Medicine, 1968, pp. 138. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Untitled Photo, P0305, Folder 1, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Many researchers conducted studies in the CRB, but Dr. Leo Samuels (right) sums up the value of the building best. Though the building’s proposed use was cancer research, in a later interview he explained that “there was no pressure upon us to devote it entirely to that purpose, and that was a great help” (1). The CRB was the only new, designated research space constructed for the medical school between World War II and the opening of the Medical Center in 1965. The CRB helped manage two decades of research growth at the medical school. Without this flexibility, he says, “I don’t know what we would have done. We would certainly have lost staff and could never have maintained the program” (2). Brains are more important than bricks – but without bricks, the School risked losing brains. 1. 2. 3. Interview with Dr. Leo T. Samuels, 49. Interview conducted by Dr. Clarence Stover and Dr. Hans K. Jacobs. December 15, 1969 and December 18 and 22, 1970. Everett L. Cooley Oral History Collection, J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Ibid, 50. “Leo T. Samuels, Ph. D,” date not specified. History of the Health Sciences Collection. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. The CRB was slated to undergo significant renovations in 1965, however the School of Medicine was unable to secure additional construction funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1). Instead of a complete renovation, the CRB was treated to some new painting, flooring, and light fixtures; a new roof; elevator maintenance; and air conditioning equipment maintenance (2). The CRB receded in importance after the opening of the Medical Center in 1965. The building was an important stop-gap measure. But with the new Medical Center, the School finally had enough space (for a little bit, at least). Still, some later projects made their home in the CRB. In 1971, the newly created Department of Family and Community Medicine moved into the building. Later in 1977, the Department of Radiation Therapy renovated clinic space on the building’s ground floor. Their new linear accelerator – used to treat cancer – required 5 foot thick concrete walls to protect surroundings from exposure to radiation (3). Above: Dr. C. Hilmon Castle, a cardiologist, founded the Department of Family and Community Medicine. 1. 2. 3. 4. Memo from Robert Ensign to Bruce Jensen, February 11, 1966. Acc 353, Box 10, Folder 7. University Archives, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. Memo from Robert Ensign to Cancer Research Wing File, January 30, 1968, Acc 274, Box 2, Folder 17. University Archives, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “Goings On – A New Linear Accelerator,” August 4, 1977, Intercom, University of Utah Medical Center. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah. “C. Hilmon Castle, M. D.” date not specified. History of the Health Sciences Collection. Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah.