On October 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon's helicopter touched down on Fort Detrick's parade field, now Blue and Gray Field, at mid-afternoon. He was accompanied by a large number of aides and Secret Service agents as he strode toward the Post Headquarters, Building 812. He entered by the back door, spoke to Anna Hahn, the commander's secretary, and Louise Trout, who were allowed to remain in the building. He met with the commander, Colonel Floyd B. Mitman, Jr., in his office and conference room.
With President Nixon was Senator Charles McC. Mathias (R-MD), who was seeing the culmination of an extensive lobbying effort on his part. He had convinced President Nixon to retain Fort Detrick and its specialized research facilities. Also in the official party were Senator J. Glenn Beall (D-MD), and Representative Goodloe E. Byron (D-MD) of Maryland's 6th District. They joined in the full-blown media event because their constituents were going to absorb less of an economic blow than originally thought.
The crowd milled around outside the front entrance to Building 812 waiting for the President to emerge. When he did, he immediately went to the crowd and told them the good news. Nixon announced he was creating the Frederick Cancer Research Facility of the National Cancer Institute. It was to be the leading facility in the fight against what he called, "...America's No. 1 enemy-Cancer!" Nixon proclaimed that the new center's utilization of former Army biological warfare buildings was a clear message that America could and indeed was beating its swords into plowshares.
Establishing the new research center in former Army laboratory buildings was a bold stroke, which took advantage of existing facilities, which could not be duplicated at any other location for less than $1 billion. It meant new job opportunities for hundreds of displaced Fort Detrick employees.
Approximately 68 acres and 70 buildings became the new campus of the Frederick Cancer Research Facility. Most buildings have undergone major renovation in the years since 1973, when the facility actually opened its doors. This afforded the NCI the opportunity to establish highly flexible laboratory operations in government space relatively close to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
The facility is known today as the National Cancer Institute-Frederick. Its comprehensive program of basic, translational, and clinical research is making unprecedented progress in understanding the molecular basis of cancer and developing novel strategies for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
More than 100 structures for administration, laboratory, and research support house approximately 2,400 contract and government employees. The government-owned, contractor-operated facility houses research programs of the NCI Division of Basic Research, Division of Clinical Research, and the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (Developmental Therapeutics Program). The four NCI-Frederick contractors conduct basic and applied research and provide research support programs in animal production, as well as computer and library services.
Research at NCI-Frederick includes: