Research Building, c. 1930
The establishment of Brown Company’s Research and Development facility in 1915 had a significant impact on the company’s economic success. By 1919, the Research Department’s scientists had made substantial contributions to the technological advancements of the pulp and paper industry. With a research staff exceeding one hundred, the Brown Company facility was one of the largest in-house industrial research and development organizations in the United States and a novelty in the pulp and paper industry. The department allowed Brown Company to refine and improve its paper products, develop new products, and obtain research contracts from the United States Government and from other pulp and papermaking companies. Besides the obvious products, such as newsprint, photograph paper, masking tape, paper towels, and toilet paper, the research department also created items that have “invisible” wood components, such as cellophane, organic filler in foods and pharmaceuticals, and Rayon for clothing.
Floorplan, 1941 Suggested alterations to Research Building