CDC beginnings : 1940s, 1950, 1960s

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). David J. Sencer CDC Museum. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.). Office of the Associate Director for Communications.
• Description:
  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was established as the Office of Malaria Control in War Areas (MCWA) by the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) during World War II, to reduce malaria around American military installations. Atlanta was selected as the MCWA headquarters because of its central location in the southern U.S. where malaria was then common.
  
  At the end of World War II, the federal government provided resources to fight contagious (or communicable) diseases throughout the U.S. On July 1, 1946, MCWA was renamed the Communicable Disease Center (CDC) with offices located in Georgia (Atlanta, Chamblee, Savannah) and Alabama (Montgomery).
  
  Encouraged by Robert W. Woodruff, the philanthropist and chairman of The Coca-Cola Company and Emory University board member, Emory transferred 15 acres of land in 1947 to the USPHS for just $10 to use for the construction of a central CDC campus. Even in the era of the 5¢ Coke, this was an extraordinary value.
  
  This is the property provided to CDC for its original campus—Michael Street on your left marks the dividing line between CDC and Emory. Construction began in 1955 after Congress provided $12 million for the project. The new campus included six buildings designed by Atlanta architectural firm Robert and Company, and was dedicated on September 8, 1960. By the time of its dedication, expansion plans were already underway for the campus. Between 1961 and 1964, six major additions were made to the original buildings and two new buildings were constructed, including a laboratory, mechanical shop, and warehouse.
  
  To learn more about CDC’s rich history, visit the David J. Sencer CDC Museum.
  
  www.cdc.gov\museum
  
  CS261434-A
  
  Publication date from document properties.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Buildings And Facilities CDC--history History, 20th Century Public Health/history United States Government Agencies
• Series:
  CDC Roybal Campus Streetscape Panels
• Document Type:
  Poster
• Name as Subject:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta, GA
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1 poster
• Collection(s):
  David J. Sencer CDC Museum
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5a7537f94b010493f646576a8c2b5c58c0bd28fc85a0652a7948e53ca8f09bcbe9051bd769c18b97f64c4be14481ec87ab1cd643ede4bf181fdd00b7f75ccfc6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/45867/cdc_45867_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.37 MB ]