MIT Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

MIT's Building 20: The Magical Incubator 1943 - 1998

Building 20 was constructed during the Second World War, and initially served as the home of the Radiation Laboratory. It will be torn down in 1998 to make way for a new complex of buildings to house MIT activities in computer, information, and intelligence systems, to be named after Ray and Maria Stata.

In its 55 years, Building 20 has housed many MIT activities. It was never intended to last this long. "The building was constructed in...1943 as a war building and is of a temporary nature," reads an architect's memo, "...the life of said building to be for the duration of the war and six months thereafter."

Its "temporary nature" permitted its occupants to abuse it in ways that would not be tolerated in a permanent building. If you wanted to run a wire from one lab to another, you didn't ask anybody's permission -- you just got out a screwdriver and poked a hole through the wall. Of course this was in the days before the dangers of asbestos were recognized.

This building cast a spell over those who worked in it. Many former occupants have noted the magical power of the building to bring out the best from those in it, and the very real feeling that this was a special, even a unique, place. At the same time it served as a breeding ground, or incubator, of many research areas, of the minds of its students, and of new organizations. Many MIT laboratories and centers had their origins in Building 20, or else were formed by people who had spent years there.

Stories about Building 20

Occupants of the building have wonderful stories, anecdotes, or reminiscences about life there. You are welcome to read them all!

Commemoration

MIT held a commemoration of Building 20, March 26-27, 1998. This was a reunion for those who have lived in the building during the decades since its erection in 1943, a celebration of all the diverse activities that have gone on in the "plywood palace," and a chance to reflect on how many great activities, at MIT and elsewhere, had their humble beginnings there.

• Information
• Invitation
• Registration form
• Registration list
• Program
• Building 20 denizens say farewell to former home, Tech Talk, April 1, 1998.

Building 20 Records Project

The MIT Institute Archives has established the Building 20 Records Project to preserve records of historical importance and produce a set of photographs of the building before it is torn down.

Media Laboratory Building 20 Project

In Spring 1998 a group of eight graduate students from the MIT Media Lab enrolled in "News, Technology, and Community" taught by Walter Bender and Jack Driscoll. For their final class project, they created an interactive web site to tell the compelling story of Building 20.

Other Building 20 Information

One of the major occupants of Building 20 was the MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics.

• RLE Undercurrents, vol. 9, no. 2 (Fall 1997) was entitled "A Last, Loving Look at an MIT Landmark -- Building 20." This issue, available on-line, includes an extensive set of photographs.
• Selected articles about Building 20 from the publication RLE Currents:
  • The Radiation Laboratory, vol. 4, no. 2 (Spring 1991)
  • A Building With Soul: MIT's Building 20, vol. 4, no. 2 (Spring 1991)
  • Farewell to Building 20, vol. 9, no. 2 (Fall 1997)
  • Building 20: Final Curtain Call, vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring 1998)
  • Building 20: For the Record, vol. 10, no. 1 (Spring 1998)

"Celebrating the History of Building 20," by the MIT Archivists, has many photographs and much else of historical interest.

A talk about Building 20 was given to the Boston Chapter of Life Members of IEEE:

• Paul Penfield, Jr., Nancy A. Heywood, and J. Francis Reintjes, The Legacy of MIT's Building 20, Boston Section, IEEE; Lexington, MA; March 24, 1998. (The Reflector, vol. XLVI, no. 7, p. 16; March 1, 1998.) Abstract (3091 bytes).

Four aerial photographs from the MIT Computer Graphics Group, taken March 18, 1998:

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