The Leo J. Ryan Memorial Federal Building, also known as the Leo J. Ryan Memorial Federal Archives and Records Center, is a

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

office facility which opened in 1973, and is located in

San Bruno, California San Bruno (Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to S ...

. It houses the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

(NARA) for the Pacific Sierra Region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The building was renamed in honor and memory of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Leo J. Ryan, through Congressional legislation which passed in 1984. The NARA describes the building as "an integral part of the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

's network of world class public historical research centers and cultural institutions." The holdings in the facility are a major primary resource for study in the fields of Asian-Pacific

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, environmental,

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, Native American, as well as other aspects of

American history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Numerous indigenous cultures formed, and many saw transformations in the 16th century away from more densely ...

, including genealogical records pertaining to the

Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplom ...

. In 1993, the building underwent accessibility improvements to its architectural design, which were performed by Interactive Resources. The building is owned and managed by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

. A

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

publication identified the building as a "local treasure."

Tribute to Congressman Leo J. Ryan

The building was named in honor and memory of Representative Leo J. Ryan, a United States congressman who was killed by gunfire during a visit to

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

. Congressman Ryan was posthumously awarded the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

in 1983.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 27, 1984 v134 pA25(L) col 2 (4 col in) "Reagan to give medal for slain congressman."(Leo J. Ryan) Congressman

Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Holocaust survivor and American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his death in 2008. A member of the Democr ...

introduced a bill in 1983 in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

: ''..to designate the Federal Archives and Records Center in San Bruno, California as the "Leo J. Ryan Memorial Federal Archives and Records Center".''H.R.4473 : Title: A bill to designate the Federal Archives and Records Center in San Bruno, California as the "Leo J. Ryan Memorial Federal Archives and Records Center"., Sponsor: Rep Lantos, Tom

A-11 A11, A 11 or A-11 may refer to: Military * Aero A.11, a Czechoslovakian bomber produced before World War II * Consolidated A-11, an attack version of the Consolidated P-30 fighter plane of the 1930s * HMS A11, HMS ''A11'', an A-class submarine of ...

(introduced 11/18/1983), Became Public Law No: 98-580., on 10/30/1984. The bill passed by

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a prop ...

in the House of Representatives and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and was signed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and became public law 98-580 on October 30, 1984.

Specifications

The Leo J. Ryan Federal Building is surrounded by a cyclone fence, and functions effectively as a bunker. The building itself is kept isolated - the federal government owns the property behind the building, and no other government tenants are near the facility. After the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

, where a federal building was destroyed by explosives, the federal government has taken care to isolate sensitive archived records and documents away from other government agencies. The building houses over 200 million records from 110 different United States federal agencies, as well as 10,000 records from federal courts of the Pacific Sierra region. Records staffers make over 100,000

photocopies A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...

per year. It would take 40 people approximately 100 years to

microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either photographic film, films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the origin ...

all of the records currently available at the National Archives and Records Administration division of the Leo J. Ryan Federal Building. As of 1998, the budget for the Pacific Sierra Region of the National Archives and Records Administration was

USD$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1,000,000 per year, and annual visits to the archives numbered over 15,800. The building is specifically designed for the archiving of government documents - it is isolated, fireproof, and climate-controlled.. The temperature within the records rooms is kept at and

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

at 50%.

References

External links

Pacific Region
National Archives and Records Administration {{authority control Government buildings in California Buildings and structures in San Mateo County, California Buildings of the United States government National Archives and Records Administration Leo Ryan Government buildings completed in 1973 1970s architecture in the United States 1973 establishments in California