Riverbank Laboratories
Riverbank Laboratories | |
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Riverbank Labs, Riverbank Acoustical Laboratory | |
Location | 1512 S. Batavia Ave. Wallace Sabine, George Fabyan |
Website | https://riverbankacoustics.com/ |
Riverbank Laboratories | |
Bungalow/Craftsman | |
NRHP reference No. | 03001204 |
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Added to NRHP | November 28, 2003 |
Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories (RAL), (often referred to as Riverbank or Riverbank Labs), is a
The testing service remains a highly respected source of independent acoustical materials testing. RAL specializes in STC (
History
The acoustical laboratory building was funded and built by Colonel George Fabyan on his vast Riverbank Estate in Geneva, Illinois.[4] Colonel Fabyan was a patron of obscure sciences, and references to his "Riverbank laboratories" exist as early as 1916.[5] In 1913, Fabyan hired Wallace Clement Sabine to help tune an acoustical levitation machine built according to specifications decoded from a Sir Francis Bacon work. Sabine ultimately convinced the colonel that the machine would never work, and the two became close friends. After hearing Sabine's complaints of the poor conditions of his acoustical test lab at Harvard, Colonel Fabyan agreed to build a state of the art reverberation chamber and test facility for Sabine to use on the property.
Sabine died in 1919, shortly after the lab was constructed. The task of managing the Laboratory Operations was granted to his cousin,
In the facility's early days, it also housed a cryptology team that worked to decipher codes from the works of Sir Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and enemy military communications.[4] Fabyan allowed the U.S. Government to use Riverbank Laboratories to their disposal during World War I[6] and German and Mexican codes were deciphered there. Much of the cryptanalysis was done by William and Elizebeth Friedman.[3] In 1993, the National Security Agency (NSA) recognized the work with a plaque reading "To the Memory of George Fabyan From a Grateful Government: In recognition of the voluntary and confidential service rendered by Colonel Fabyan and his Riverbank Laboratories in the sensitive areas of cryptanalysis and cryptologic training during a critical time of national need on the eve of America's entry into World War I."[7][8] The building is recognized in the National Register of Historic Places.[9]
Notable staff
- William F. Friedman
- Elizebeth Smith Friedman
- Agnes Meyer Driscoll
- Wallace Clement Sabine
- Elizabeth Wells Gallup
Gallery
References
- ^ "Riverbank Laboratories | About". Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Riverbank Labs website".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-243048-9.
- ^ a b Staff writer (February 1, 1999). "Riverbank History". City of Geneva, Illinois. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Intelligence Schools History". Archived from the original on December 6, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-5331-9.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-3347-6.
- ^ "National Register Information System – Riverbank Laboratories (#03001204)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2017.