Oak Ridge Wayside: A Building for the Purpose of Health and Science

The Oak Ridge NOAA Building wayside.

NPS/KLEIN

Quick Facts

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

Main Text 
Constructed in 1943 for use as a field hospital for emergencies and injuries while Y-12 and X-10 were under construction, this is one of the earliest buildings constructed in Oak Ridge. The building was used as the Department of Public Health and due to segregation policies, had two front doors, one for white people and one for residents of the “colored” hutment housing area. Later it was used as a teacher training center for the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. Other than a period in the 1960s and early 1970s, this building has been in perpetual use since WWII.  

In 1972, the building underwent remodeling for use by the Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATDD) of the Air Resources Laboratory, Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). ATDD can trace its roots back to a 1948 US Weather Bureau research station, established to track the dispersion of, what at the time was thought to be “hypothetical” accidental release of contaminants. Today, ATDD is the steward for NOAA’s climate observing system in all 50 states. 

Photo text: Public health nurses pose on front porch. January 1947  

Exhibit Panel Description 
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads “A Building for the Purpose of Health and Science.” The center of the panel features a black and white photo of several women standing on a covered porch. The text is located at the bottom of the panel. 
 
 
Visit This Exhibit Panel 
This wayside is located across the street from the NOAA Building in a parking lot in front of a dental office. The address is 445 S. Illinois Ave. Oak Ridge, TN 37830.