The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) opened an archival storage facility Oct. 10 in Philadelphia. The John C. Haas Archive of Science and Business will house the personal papers of significant scientists, engineers and innovators. It will also feature historical records of businesses and industries with a strong science, technology or medical connection and the papers of major scientific and engineering societies and organizations.
With funding from the Wyncote Foundation, CHF has restored the brownstone façade of an original building (circa 1855) near the northwest corner of 3rd and Chestnut streets and transformed the building’s interior into a storage facility. The archive’s shelves are 3.5 stories tall, and most are accessible only with a lift. When filled to capacity, the building will hold 8,500 linear feet, or 1.5 miles, of material and allow CHF room to grow its collections.
“The new building allows us to collect and preserve more material than ever before,” said Carsten Reinhardt, CHF’s president and CEO. “This is important, as the heritage of the molecular sciences and technologies, engineering and industry, is enormous and plays a crucial role in modern society.”
The first collection placed in the John C. Haas Archive of Science and Business will be the Rohm and Haas Company archives. John C. Haas (1918–2011) was chairman of Rohm and Haas from 1974 to 1978 and son of the company’s cofounder.
For more information, visit www.chemheritage.org.