Collection on Polaroid Corporation
Scope and Contents
The Collection on Polaroid Corporation contains materials related to the company's presence in Waltham, Massachusetts. Some historical context is provided through newsclippings and publications.
The bulk of the collection contains materials related to the management of hazardous waste at Polaroid's Waltham site, including license applications, reports, and correspondence.
Dates
- 1947 - 2024
Biographical / Historical
The Polaroid Corporation was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1937 by Edwin Land.
In 1953, Polaroid built a film assembly building in Waltham, Massachusetts, at 1265 Main Street. They added several more buildings at this site throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and here they manufactured chemicals, dyes, coated film material, and peel-apart film. The chemical manufacturing process generated wastes that were classified as hazardous by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the MA Department of Environmental Protection. Boxes 2 and 3 of this collection contain materials relating to the management of this hazardous waste.
Extent
.75 Cubic Feet (2 mss boxes and 1 half-mss box)
Language of Materials
English
- Title
- Guide to the Collection on Polaroid Corporation
- Subtitle
- WPL-046
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Dana Hamlin
- Date
- August 7, 2026
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Edition statement
- This finding aid replaces the original written by Melissa Mannon. Original finding aid can be found in WPL-001, the records of the Waltham Public Library.
Repository Details
Part of the Waltham Room Archives, Waltham Public Library Repository