Natural Resources Building and the New Mineral Research Labs of the ISGS

After the Illinois General Assembly passed an act in 1905 to provide for a permanent State Geological Survey, the newly formed Geological Survey moved into offices in the Noyes Chemical Laboratory. In 1909 it moved into the Natural History Building and, finally, into the third floor of the Ceramics Building in 1916. On December 9, 1931, the "New Mineral Research Labs of the ISGS", located in the Ceramics Building, were informally opened to the public. [1] Presiding over the festivities was William A. Noyes, Chairman, Secretary of Natural Resources and Conservation, and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry. [2]

Three years later, at the October 1934 meeting of the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation with Governor Henry Horner, the first formal request was presented for funding to build a dedicated facility to house the Geological Survey. On November 15, 1940, the Natural Resources Building was dedicated. [3] Its 56,200 square feet of space was built at a cost of $582,000 and provided ample housing for the growing Survey. [4] The building was funded through the Department of Public Works and Buildings and designed by C. Herrick Hammond. [5]