With all of the changes that have taken place at the James Laboratory building since 1929, it is difficult to see where the original concrete building stands today. The above illustration, from the CSHL 1998 Fall/Winter Harbor Transcript, shows the laboratory’s transformation: the original James Laboratory concrete building in 1929, the second-floor addition in 1961, the James Annex in 1971, the West Annex at the front of the building in 1973, and the Sambrook Laboratory in 1985. The James-Sambrook Laboratories have a combined total of 17,000 square feet. In 2013, there were seven individual laboratories with staffs of 53 scientific and support staff in the complex. The James building also houses the offices of several members of the Research Administration Department, including the office suite of CSHL President Bruce Stillman.

For the complete history of the complex, please see the Building Blocks of CSHL pages for the James Laboratory and the Sambrook Laboratory.