The World of the CIA

The CIA’s Original Headquarters Building (OHB) during a snow storm. The building was designed in the mid-1950s by the New York firm Harrison and Abramovitz. The designers followed the vision of former DCI Allen Dulles for a place where intelligence officers could work in a college campus-like atmosphere. He also wanted this secure and secluded environment to be close to US policymakers, and Langley is 13 km (8 mi) outside downtown Washington. The OHB cornerstone was laid on 3 November 1959, with construction completed in March 1961. OHB consists of 130,000 sq m (1,400,000 sq ft) of space. OHB and its companion, New Headquarters Building, sit on 104 hectares (258 acres) of land.

The CIA’s Original Headquarters Building was designed in the mid-1950s by the New York firm Harrison and Abramovitz. The designers followed the vision of former DCI Allen Dulles for a place where intelligence officers could work in a college campus-like atmosphere. He also wanted this secure and secluded environment to be close to US policymakers, and Langley is 13 km (8 mi) outside downtown Washington.

The CIA’s Original Headquarters Building in the spring. A number of magnolia trees grace the CIA campus.

The Memorial Wall on the north side of the Original Headquarters Building lobby commemorates CIA officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving overseas or in the United States. The inscription reads: “In honor of those members of the Central Intelligence Agency who gave their lives in the service of their country.” The Memorial Wall was commissioned by the CIA Fine Arts Commission in May 1973 and sculpted by Harold Vogel in July 1974.

There are 140 stars carved into the marble as of 2024.

A stone carver creates a star by first tracing the new star on the wall using a template. Each star measures 2-1/4 inches tall by 2-1/4 inches wide and half an inch deep; all the stars are six inches apart from each other, as are all the rows. The stone carver uses both a pneumatic air hammer and a chisel to carve out the traced pattern. After carving the star, the stone carver cleans the dust and sprays the star black, which as the star ages, fades to gray. The current stone carver is part of a lineage who learned this craft from the Memorial Wall’s original sculptor, Harold Vogel.

The new star is officially unveiled at the CIA’s annual Memorial Ceremony.

The Statue of Liberty Mural in the Original Headquarters Building. The two-sentence quote reads as follows: “We are the nation’s first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go.”

As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations in 2022, the CIA unveiled a statue of Harriet Tubman outside the main entrance to the Auditorium and opposite the Nathan Hale statue. The Harriet Tubman monument is a copy of the sculpture erected in 2018 at the Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn, NY, the town where Tubman lived until her death in 1913.

The bronze figure represents a young Harriet Tubman traveling the Underground Railroad extending her left hand behind her signaling an invisible group to follow her on the arduous route to Canada, while her right hand holds a lantern illuminating the path to freedom. Tubman’s work with the Underground Railroad not only freed some 70 slaves, but also provided critical intelligence on Confederate forces to the Union Army during the Civil War. The statue recognizes her service to the country and the example she set for intelligence professionals.

These are some of the koi that live in the pond in the Memorial Garden located on a hillside between the Original Headquarters Building and the Auditorium. The garden is a memorial to all deceased intelligence officers and contractors who served their country.

The Headquarters Auditorium, called “The Bubble” by Agency employees, got its nickname for its bubble-like shape. The auditorium was part of the CIA Headquarters design in the mid-1950s. It measures 650 sq m (7,000 sq ft) of floor space, can accommodate 470 people, and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The auditorium is equipped with the latest in multi-media equipment, including side and rear lighting that accommodates cameras and filming. The Bubble hosts special events, prominent speakers, and conferences.

This is a view of the lobby of the New Headquarters Building (NHB). By the early 1980s, it was clear that the Agency needed to expand beyond the Original Headquarters Building (OHB). Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls Associates presented a design that was functional for the Agency’s needs and would blend in with the existing OHB structure.

The final design is two six-story office towers built into a hillside behind OHB and linked to the original structure. The main entrance to NHB is on the fourth floor, with a huge skylight ceiling and, at the end of the entry corridor, a view of OHB.

The groundbreaking ceremony for NHB took place on 24 May 1984; the building was completed by March 1991.

CIA developed the highly secret A-12 OXCART as the U-2’s successor, intended to meet the nation’s need for a very fast, very high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that could avoid Soviet air defenses. CIA awarded the OXCART contract to Lockheed (builder of the U-2) in 1959. In meeting the A-12’s extreme speed and altitude requirements, Lockheed — led by legendary engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson — overcame numerous technical challenges.

The A-12 on display at CIA Headquarters — number eight of the 15 A-12s built — was the first of the operational fleet to be certified for Mach 3. This picture depicts it in the winter.

James Sanborn’s sculpture “Kryptos” begins at the entrance to the New Headquarters Building and continues in the northwest corner of the New Headquarters Building courtyard.

The theme of this sculpture is “intelligence gathering.” Dedicated on 3 November 1990, Kryptos incorporates materials native to the United States. A piece of petrified wood supports a large S-shaped copper screen that looks like a piece of paper coming out of a computer printer. On the “paper” are inscribed several enigmatic messages, each written in a different code. The sculpture continues to be a source of pleasure and mystery for Agency employees, with a few taking the challenge to “break the code.”

“Kryptos” © Copyright 1988 James Sanborn. All rights reserved.