With a significant portion of its grounds devoted to open lawns and mature, exotic trees, this government office building assumes a compatible, secondary role amidst the urban “forest.” Constructed of light-colored local sandstone bonded with a green-colored mortar joint, the single-story building hugs the ground with a low-pitched, green tile, hipped roof and a round-arched arcade, now infilled. Following a U-shaped plan with the S. King Street leg as the primary facade, the building includes a courtyard with an inset lanai running around its three sides. To expand the laboratory space, a second story was added to the rear wing in 1948; Kenji Onodera handled the redesign. While a number of trees on the grounds were planted in 1930, others, such as the elephant's ear, date to a landscaping program of 1885.