On a rainy Friday afternoon in September 2011, The Wistar Institute celebrated a landmark occasion. Crowded inside the atrium of Wistar’s historic 1894 building, away from the torrent outside, the Institute made officially public its intent to build a new, seven-story, 89,700-square-foot research tower and renovate significant portions of its existing research complex. The project, estimated to cost more than $100 million, is designed to expand Wistar cancer and vaccine research capabilities, and provide a bold new presence for the Institute.