On this page, scroll to: 

1.  Introduction [left]
2.  Original ERA Building
3.  NSTR 

      The Twin Cities  page discusses the other plants in and around the twin cities environs.

     The United States page covers the Technical Services Division and its various sites.  It also provides a listing of Marketing Office locations.

      The International Sites page identifies out of country locations including Canada.

2. Original ERA Building

The smaller adjacent building by the lower parking lot was called building 6. Building 6 had an extra set of fencing to provide security for the classified projects therein. I remember taking a 'polygraph' test in that building as part of receiving a Special Intelligence (SI) security clearance. The project that required that clearance is not open for discussion. [lab]

2.2 Recollections by Harry Wise:  When I first came to Remington Rand Univac in 1956 there were still Crosley parts tucked into corners around the old plant. Some time in the 1950"s I was working very late and went down for a coke. Out of the darkness an old guard appeared and we got to talking about the plant. It seems that the guard was raised in the neighborhood. That whole area, all the way over to University Ave. was the world's largest mule auction site during World War I. The army was buying mules for the war. He remembered walking a trail across the area after the war. About 1938 they built the present building as a radiator foundry. They melted iron and pored cast iron radiators. Last time I was in the building you could still see the place that the stacks went through the ceiling in the high part of the building in the south west corner. There was a ceiling about 12' under the roof it self. At one time we installed a radar in a room on that steel ceiling under the roof. The antenna was on a 55' tall tower next to the building. They took over the foundry operation during WW II and built gliders in the building. In 1956 you could see all sorts of overhead tracks still in place that were used to move glider parts around the plant. At that time a significant part of the building still had dirt floors. the Engineering Research Associates (ERA) ign is partly obscured by the tree branches.

 {Editor's Note:  The building in the top left hand corner of this snapshot would later become UNIVAC plant 5.} 

3. NSTR

3.1 Comments from Ed Michaud -

Cmdr. Joe Hatfield preceded Capt. Swensen as the resident Navy Officer and was known as the BuShips Tech Rep.. 1902 West Minnehaha Ave was originally known as Plant No. 1, prior to the construction of the Shepherd Road facility.

Rent on Plant 2 at least back in 1955, was based on a the number of direct labor hours per month being expended by ERA/Univac Personnel in that facility. As more and more overhead functions were becoming housed in Plant 2 the Government Accounting Office, GAO, decided they had better go to a square foot, Gross Lease, approach.

     Ahhh yes, those were the good old days.
Ed Michaud

 When I left NSTR in 1997, I had a couple of files marked “NSTR History” in my file cabinets, there was also information in our office safe. Since Bob Ryan was the last one to leave NSTR, he may know what happened to these files. If not, our office was the responsibility of the Unisys Facility Manager [I don’t remember his name.] Our safe would probably have gone to the Security Dept. Some documents were still classified as Secret. It would be worthwhile to try to find this information.

Engineering Research Associates (ERA) was an outgrowth of a WW-II Navy Lab in Indianapolis, Indiana. As I recall the lab was chartered to develop machines [analog computers] to break the enemies code during WW-II. This effort continued after the war and a struggle developed over how it would continue and who would be in charge. Names that I remember are Bill Norris, Seymour Cray, both were Navy Reserve Officers, both later went on to start CDC. Another Navy Reserve Officer was Joe Stoutenberg [Univac.] The details of the creation of ERA was in the files in my office and our safe. 

ERA was located on property owned by the Navy, Navy Industrial Reserve Plant (NIRP)-196. The Navy already had a presence at NIRP-196 before 1946. In the early 1940’s there was a contingent of about 40 military personnel there to monitor the quality of the WW-II Gliders that were being built there. These gliders were used as tow able personnel carriers to get more troops to the front lines. I think the fact that there was a Navy presence at NIRP-196 played a part in establishing ERA in St. Paul.
     Capt. Eric Swenson was the resident Navy Officer in the 1950’s, I don’t know when the office became known as NavSeaTechRep (NSTR). He later was transferred to NavSea Washington, D.C. to head up the Navy’s computer efforts. He knew the bureaucracy of Wash., D.C., so he gave NSTR a lot of authority in the letter of assignment (LOA). We were essentially invisible from a chain of command point of view. Capt. Swenson’s civilian counterpart was Don Ream, credited as being the father of the Navy Tactical Data System (NTDS).
     Initially I believe that NSTR was involved with both the development and quality acceptance of NavSea products. We were not usually involved with NavAir or Submarine projects. The quality responsibility was later transferred to DCAS.
I believe that the first NavSea computer was the USQ-17, followed by the CP-642A/B, UYK-7, UYK-20, UYK-43, UYK-44, and the USQ-70. Peripherals including the magnetic tape units; DEAC and RD-358, and analog to digital converters; KCMX and ICKCMX.
     Univac/NSTR got involved with the refurbishment business after the USS Forrestall fire in the late 1960’s. Tom Rettler was the Univac Program Manager. Univac/ NSTR was involved with the CP-642A/B Expanded Address Modification (EAM) design and retrofit. In the late 1970’s, NSTR was involved in the Iranian DDG-993 software development at the Univac Corporate Square facility in Eagan.
NSTR was responsible for managing the facilities of NIRP-196 [Univac Plant 2.] Which included the ERA building. At one time there was a plaque in front of the building [I don’t remember the inscription.] Univac rented plant 2 from the Navy for $1.00 a year plus maintenance. Plant 2 was about 11 acres and housed the Environmental Test Labs, Manufacturing, Refurbishment, Navy Software Library, Military Equipment Test Center (METC), NSTR, and Army Security Lab [building 6.]
     The end of NSTR started when LT. Roger Morey [NSTR] invited the UNISYS General Manager, Al Zettlemoyer to the NSTR Christmas party. Roger gave Zettlemoyer a tour of the facilities. Zettlemoyer’s comment was “what is Univac doing in a dump like this”. Univac subsequently did not renew their contract for plant 2, and started moving out. With no tenant, NavSea decided to sell plant 2. Unfortunately NSTR was getting their entire personnel funding from NavSea for managing NIRP-196. So, no more money for NSTR. To expedite our demise the Navy pulled both of our military billets, so NSTR was only comprised of civilian billets. NSTR had to come up with a reduction in force plan before finally getting NavSea program money funded thru NSWC at Crane Indiana, to pay for our salaries. Towards the end Dave Watson [PMS-408] was paying for the three civilians who were left: Bob Ryan and myself in Eagan and Bill Schmidt in Clearwater, Florida.
     I am giving you a list of names of people who I believe can give you more details. I would speak with Chuck Alcon [NSTR in the late 1970’s.] He worked very closely with Don Dunn [Univac Navy Program Manager], and he has a photographic memory {Editor's note - Don is deceased.} Don Dunn was Univac’s Program Manager for NavSea products for many years. I believe that he came from the Navy Lab in Indianapolis. He was a great promoter and would organize ceremonies/ parties for any significant event. He would always have the Univac photographers document the event by taking pictures. There should be a large photographic record around someplace.
     I hope that this will be of some help. Ben Nilsson

VIP Page 70 updated 28 June, 2008