Built in 1961 to provide training and experimental opportunities to Department of Nuclear Engineering students and faculty, the Nuclear Reactor Building was also designed to promote nuclear energy to the greater public. The Architect Artist Group (TAAG) -- a collaboration between architects, artists, and engineers -- designed a building with a predominantly glass upper level to allow the public to view both the reactor and attendant scientists from an observation plaza. The building was used by the Nuclear Engineering department until 1988, when the reactor was shut down due to concerns about nuclear energy and waste managment. With student numbers on the decline, the department ultimately closed its doors in 1992. The reactor sat idle until 2001, when concerns raised by the September 11th terrorist attacks prompted the university to move forward with decommissioning plans. The reactor was removed in 2008, but the building remains and has since been added to the Washington Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places.