'Area 51' moved out of RDMC

A reader asked whatever happened to "Area 51" upstairs at Reed McDonald -- the restricted-access levels that occasionally afforded glimpses of gleaming steel or mysterious lab-coated experimenters.

An Eagle story from September 2006 reported that the Texas State Chemist's office moved from Reed McDonald to new quarters on Agronomy Road.

It did get a little spooky sometimes:

"Dave Mayes, associate head of agriculture communications for the A&M System and a former Battalion editor, has worked in the Reed McDonald Building for several years. He said the chemists upstairs were not always typical office neighbors.

" 'You were never sure what you would see in the elevator,' he said. "There were people in white lab coats with trays or carts of who-knows-what. You would think, "Hmm, that's interesting." ' "