Artifact Details
In September 1961, the first employees moved into what is now the Original Headquarters Building in Langley, Virginia. The new location provided a campus-like atmosphere, more space, and better security than the Agency’s previous offices in Washington, D.C.
Construction of CIA’s new Virginia-based headquarters followed a long search for an appropriate location. In the early to mid-1950s, as many as 30 different sites were considered. Then-Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles favored Langley as the potential location and had to navigate opposition from various localities to secure the Langley site in Fairfax County. The pictured “Fairfax County Welcomes the CIA” album contains letters from various county officials and business leaders, maps of the Langley site, and photographs of the area showing the site, as well as landmarks such as Chain Bridge, Route 123, and the Potomac River.