Arlington Hall

Historic Photographs of NSA and its Predecessor Organizations

This collection of over 800 photographs represents the early years of the National Security Agency and its predecessors, the Armed Forces Security Agency and the Army Security Agency, between the mid-1940s and mid-1950s. A majority of the photographs represent life for employees working at Arlington Hall Station, the headquarters of NSA and its predecessors prior to moving to Fort Meade, MD in the 1950s. Descriptive information found with the photographs was sparse. Historians from the Center for Cryptologic History have added additional descriptive information to the metadata when possible. Many of the photographs indicate a date in the lower corner. In some cases, these dates represent when the photograph was taken, in other cases it represents when the particular print was developed or a copy was made at someone’s request. In many cases, captions will indicate who requested the copy. Some photographs represent sites that are not Arlington Hall. This is usually indicated in the description.

If you have additional information about any of the people or subjects in the photos, please contact the Center for Cryptologic History.

ImageTitleDescription
HIST-061-001Construction of A.S.A.-E.M. Bks. A Bldg. Copies; Exterior and Interior EM Barrack; 10/10/42 and 11/24/42; 08/25/1947
HIST-061-004Construction of A.S.A.-E.M. Bks. A Bldg. Copies; Excavation of Central Portion of A Building - Looking South (9/5/1942); Construction of EM Barracks (9/12/1942); 08/25/1947
HIST-061-002Construction of A.S.A.-E.M. Bks. A Bldg. Copies; Excavation for B Building (12/12/1942); Adverse Winter Weather Conditions - Bulldozer Clearing Mire off Road (1/1/1943); 08/25/1947
HIST-061-003Construction of A.S.A.-E.M. Bks. A Bldg. Copies; Crane Lifting Laboratory Section Dryer up through Window in Wing 8 (11/26/1942); Diesel Motor with Attached Generator for Emergency Power (11/26/1942); 08/25/1947
HIST-061-006Construction of A.S.A.-E.M. Bks. "A" Bldg. Copies; Interior of Second Floor, Wing 8, "A" Building (11/6/1942); IBM Unit of B Section Being Moved (11/26/1942); 8/25/1947
HIST-023-002Communications and Security; Crypto Chris posters
HIST-023-001Communications and Security
HIST-064-001Colonel Hayes Birthday; 09/23/1947
HIST-119-001Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-119-002Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-119-003Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-119-004Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-119-005Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-119-006Colonel Hayes Birthday Party and guests (TAG); 09/25/1948
HIST-126-001Colonel Hayes and General Packard Speech, Post Theater (FE); 3/7/1949
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