The Hydraulics Laboratory is IIHR’s initial and central structure, and it has played a crucial role in IIHR’s history. Through the years, it has been remodeled many times to meet IIHR’s changing needs and research approaches. This record group includes the papers related to the construction and physical restructuring of the Hydraulics Laboratory through time, and to awards received by the remodeled laboratory in the early 2000s. It also includes material on construction of the ship towing tank (two boxes), ice model towing tank, IIHR’s research annexes, and the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (LACMRERS).

The record group consists of nine archival boxes.

Box 1. Estimates, Construction —1920, 1928, 1932

• Terrell Mill brochure
• Floor plans – first floor, undated
• Land purchase (1920, 1930)
• Estimates of building costs (1920, 1932?)
• Hydraulics Laboratory plans (1928)
• Drawings of north wing of Hydraulics Laboratory (1928)
• Computations for density (1928)
• “Memorandum on Proposed Hydraulic Laboratory” (Nagler, unpublished, 1930)
• Extension of foundations / river canals, (correspondence and bids, 1931)
• “Specifications of the General Contract for Substructure ¼” (1932)

Box 2. Construction, Future Plans, 1932–40s

• Floor plans and construction specifications, laboratory extension (1932)
• Benchmark elevations, indenture of property (1932)
• Addition for offices on south of existing laboratory, notes and plans by Mavis (undated)
• Design data and computations for design (1932)
• Miscellaneous correspondence, plans (1933)
• General floor plans (1933)
• Construction and maintenance (1935)
• Land purchase of Boston property south and west of Hydraulics Laboratory (1934–35)
• Specifications for repairs to head gate in river channel, written by Mavis, (correspondence and sketches, mid-1930s)
• Water distribution systems (1935–36)
• Planned extension (sketches, costs, and original photos, 1936)
• University water supply line (1936)
• Floor plans used in various articles (1936)
• Floor plans (1939)
• Grounds and buildings policies/purchases (during World War II, 1940s)

Box 3. Equipment (1928–36)

• 10″ Venturi meter blueprints (1928)
• Hydraulic demonstration table (instructions and blueprints, 1930–36)
• Sump pump (blueprints and correspondence, 1931)
• Assembly of sluice gate and type “MIO” stand (blueprint, correspondence, 1931)
• Sluice gates, Venturi meter, 48″ pipeline (blueprints and correspondence, 1931, 1934)
• Brake pulley (blueprint, 1931)
• Centrifugal pumps (bids, blueprints, and proposals, 1931–33)
• Flap valve (blueprints, 1928, 1931)
• Weighing tanks (blueprints, 1933)
• Slope table (design, blueprints, and correspondence, 1933)
• Railing along river flume, estimates by O.J. Baldwin (1934)
• Wood and glass 30″ flume, constructed H.D. Davis’ tests (December 1935)
• Glass flume, USDA and IIHR (sketches and blueprints, 1935–36)
• Head gate, hoist (correspondence and blueprints, 1931)
• Head gate data / design (1935–36)
• Hopper partitions and outlets (plans and blueprints, 1936)
• Memorandum and specifications for wiring pump and motor in south end (blueprints and correspondence, 1935–36)
• Stevens recorder operating instructions (undated)

Box 4. Towing Tank Construction, mid-1950s

• Correspondence, bills; also paper, “The Iowa Towing Tank” (anonymous, unpublished, 1954–55)
• Loads on the south wall (computations, notes, sketches, 1955)
• Electrical (1955–56)
• Overhead trolley (1955–56)
• Steel (1954–55)
• Wire rope (1955–56)
• Hydraulic drives (1955–57)
• Transmission, gears, etc. (1955–56)
• Cleaning, Santobrite (1950s)
• Miscellaneous (includes photographs, 1955–57)

Box 5. Ship Towing Tank, Ice Model Towing Tank, 1950s–1997

• Towing tank design computations, two folders (1950s)
• Towing tank remodeling, LDV, PIV (1987–97)
• Ice model towing tank design, construction, two folders (1978–81)

Box 6. Remodeling Efforts, Construction of Annexes, 1980–98

• Diagrams for rebuilding road (?) (undated)
• Elevator renovation (1980)
• Construction of wind tunnel (1983)
• Stairwell replacement, fire escapes (1986)
• Howe Conference Room (1987)
• Proposed remodeling, first, second, and third floors (1990)
• East Annex addition (1991)
• Fifth floor remodeling (1993–94)
• Ice Lab refrigeration (1994)
• Electrical power (1994–95)
• Remodeling Wind Tunnel Annex (1994, 1997)
• Third floor remodeling (1995)
• Roof (1995)
• Constructing Oakdale Annex II (1996)
• First floor renovation (1997)
• Wind tunnel upgrade, proposed (1998)

Hydraulics Laboratory, Box 7, Major Renovation, 1994–2007; Building Awards, 2000–05

• Initial planning for space and facilities, V.C. Patel’s planning files (1994–95)
• Costs and financing plans (1997–2004)
• Fundraising (1999–2003)
• OPN architects’ plans (2000)
• Open house (2002)
• Open house, renaming, and dedication, “C. Maxwell Stanley Hydraulics Lab,” plus press coverage (2003)
• Wyrich’s “Free Flow” sculpture (2007)
• Awards: American Water Works Association Water Landmarks Award (2000)
• Awards: Iowa City Historic Preservation Recognition Award (2002)
• Awards: ASCE National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark—nomination, press reports, and dedication ceremony (2005)
• ASCE National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Nomination Materials (2005)

Hydraulics Laboratory, Box 8, LACMRERS, 1999–

• Planning, fundraising, bids, construction, establishment memos, and other papers (1999–2006)
• Promotional talk overheads, Patel (circa 2000)
• Interagency/other partnering agreements (2000–02)
• Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station (MRERS) groundbreaking (2001) and grand opening (2002)
• Advisory Council meetings (2001, 2002)

Hydraulics Laboratory, Box 9, Ship Towing Tank, 2008–

• Project manual for IIHR Wave Basin Facility. Note: Additional wave basin project design drawings are in the oversize archives, drawer #3