Washington, D.C., April 17, 2013 – Today public radio’s most listened to program, Morning Edition, broadcasted live for the first time from the all-digital Studio 31 at NPR’s new worldwide headquarters at 1111 North Capitol Street, NE in the NoMa neighborhood. The broadcast, which is produced and jointly hosted from Washington, DC and Culver City, CA completed the official change of address for NPR News, its six DC-produced shows, the Newscast unit, and the company’s nearly 800 DC-based employees.
“It takes visionaries to create areas like NoMa and there is no better place for NPR to be headquartered,” said NPR CEO Gary E. Knell at the annual meeting of the NoMa BID earlier this month. “We can’t be more thrilled. This will be the first of many broadcasts in our beautiful new home, for decades and decades to come.”
“The announcement that NPR would be coming to NoMa was a game-changer for this neighborhood in 2008; and now 800 more employees engage in NoMa each day,” said NoMa Business Improvement President Robin-Eve Jasper.
The new headquarters at 1111 North Capitol Street, NE unites NPR divisions and employees that had previously been working from three separate buildings in downtown DC. The heart of NPR’s new headquarters is an open, two-story newsroom with broadcast and production studios that can accommodate NPR’s 24/7 schedule. NPR’s news, music, programming and digital staff are co-located on these floors. NPR closed its old headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW on April 24.
NPR’s new headquarters at 1111 North Capitol Street, NE was designed by the DC-based firm Hickok Cole Architects, and built by Balfour Beatty Construction. The 440,000 sq. ft. building features a four-story 1926 warehouse, the façade of which was preserved, combined with a new seven-story office tower.
As part of the move, NPR installed an all-digital system at its new headquarters. Where NPR’s 1994 headquarters was built around 1990’s technology-tape machines and analog equipment-its new headquarters is built around digital audio and technology such as mobile phones that are now important news and content gathering tools. In going 100 percent digital, NPR will now be able to take advantage of improvements in content generation that are only available with new digitally based technologies.
Among the amenities at 1111 North Capitol Street, NE are public spaces and a performance studio, and ADA compliant elevators that feature the voice of NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg announcing the floors.
NPR will open 1111 North Capitol Street, NE to the general public in June. Public tours of the building will begin on June 3, taking place each weekday at 11 a.m. The NPR Commons, a brick-and-mortar version of the popular online NPR Shop, will be located at the new headquarters, and will open in mid-June.
To read more about the NPR headquarters or sign up for a free tour, click here.
About NPR
NPR is an award-winning, multimedia news organization that reaches 26 million radio listeners each week, and nearly 20 million people monthly on digital platforms. In collaboration with more than 900 independent public radio stations nationwide, NPR strives to provide the public with a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures. To find local stations and broadcast times, visit www.npr.org/stations
About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood north of Union Station and the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. In the last seven years, private developers have invested more than $5 billion in the 35-block areas in the NoMa BID boundary, and have plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space. NoMa is now home to 45,000 daytime workers, with 4.5 million SF leased in the last 4.5 years. More than 3,900 apartments have been recently completed or are under construction. NoMa has 13 modes of transportation, including two Red Line Metro stops, and the best biking facilities in D.C., with the only East Coast Bikestation, the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail, and access to nine Capital Bikeshare stations. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free community events each year to connect friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit nomabid.wpengine.com and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nomabid.
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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846