Aerial view of the NIH Historic Core (14358482494)

The National Institutes of Health began as the Hygienic Laboratory and from 1904 until 1938 was located at 25th and E Streets in Northwest Washington, D.C. In 1935 Luke I. Wilson, a local prominent resident of Bethesda, MD wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking if he knew of a worthy institution that would benefit from a gift of a portion of his estate resulting in forty-five acres of land dedicated to the U.S. Public Heath Service. The Shannon Building (Building 1) along with Buildings 2 and 3 were constructed soon after. The historic core of NIH was completed by the early 1940s. Rockville Pike, the main artery through the area is a two-lane road. Identifiable is Building 1 and at the top of the photograph is the city of Bethesda. The Wilson house is shown at the end of the campus near the city of Bethesda.