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Delaware Public Archives (Hall of Records)
This was the second building in the modern capitol complex, one that remedied a notorious problem, the poor treatment of the state's historic archives. The Delaware Tercentenary (1938) brought attention to the value of these records, housed in cramped quarters in the Old State House basement (DV14). Wilmington architect Ralph Walbree Jeffers and then-assistant archivist Leon deValinger visited the National Archives and the new Maryland Hall of Records (1934–1935, Laurence Hall Fowler) to see the latest trends. Great Depression–era PWA funds made the hipped-roof, Colonial Revival brick building possible, with its many innovations, including vaults that featured a special air-conditioning and fumigation system. Fearing aerial bombardment during World War II, many state agencies moved their records here. Quarters became very cramped before the 80,000-square-foot addition was undertaken. DeValinger lived long enough to attend its topping-off ceremony.
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