ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY

FROM LOCAL TO LANDMARK: SCIENTOLOGISTS DEDICATE THE HISTORICAL SITE OF THE FIRST DIANETICS FOUNDATION

APRIL 26, 2025

The location where Dianetics author and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard established the first Foundation 75 years ago reopens to the world, restored and dedicated as a historical Landmark Site.

Nestled in a quiet part of Elizabeth, New Jersey, is an unassuming, three-story building—a structure that once unquestionably became the nexus of a global awakening.

Just 15 miles from New York City, this rejuvenated Colonial-Revival setting at 42 Aberdeen Road now joins the distinguished ranks of L. Ron Hubbard (LRH) Landmark Sites around the world.

During a spring afternoon celebration attended by Scientologists, community leaders and restoration specialists, guests weren’t just honoring a historic moment. In fact, they were able to take the very first steps inside the exact rooms where Mr. Hubbard had personally taught the first Dianetics auditors, delivered the first Dianetics lectures and set in motion the first Dianetics Research Foundation.

“To be here, at this historic site on L. Ron Hubbard’s path of discovery, is an honor and in a class of its own,” one guest said.

Now completely restored to its 1950 appearance, 42 Aberdeen Road is more than a building, it is the precise cornerstone where the world first turned a page and a revolution of the human mind all began.

With the May 9, 1950 publication of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, what unfolded within these walls was nothing short of explosive—as the book began its unprecedented run of 28 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Almost overnight, crowds from across America began arriving without invitation, eager to meet and learn in person from the author of what was rapidly becoming the most popular book ever written on the human mind.

This site of universal influence now stands as it once did—complete with original furniture, vintage crystal doorknobs and refinished wood floors with mahogany Celtic pattern inlays. All have been restored to their glorious past, including the desk where Mr. Hubbard once wrote and the fireplace before which students gathered.

The Remington typewriter and SoundScriber dictation recorders Mr. Hubbard worked with are also on display—even his prized Ford Deluxe “Woody” Wagon is parked outside.

Officiating the ceremony was the Church of Scientology Preservationist who oversaw the meticulous restoration. “This site became the epicenter of a movement—one that grew from Dianetics, the first workable science of the mind, into the Scientology religion, with Churches and Missions spanning the globe,” he said. “And for the first time, beginning today, you will be able to walk inside and stand right where it all began!”

Fittingly, and just days before the 75th Anniversary of the publication of Dianetics, dignitaries honoring the site’s Grand Opening spoke of the impact of L. Ron Hubbard, both locally and globally.

The day’s first guest speaker, Ms. Jennifer Costa, President and CEO of the Greater Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the opening as a milestone for the city. “Here in Elizabeth, we pride ourselves on a theme that we think says everything: ‘It all starts here.’ And that is so very true. Elizabeth is a city of many firsts—from the first capital of the state of New Jersey to the home of our first governor and even the first submarine. Well, today we stand here in front of this breathtaking site, another first that claims Elizabeth with pride as the very place where the first Dianetics Foundation was born. We can’t wait to welcome all of you to this landmark that belongs to all of us—because this is where your history and our history meet—right here at 42 Aberdeen Road.”

Mr. Thomas B. Connolly, who served as historical architect on the project, emphasized the importance of preserving the site’s original character. “Working with your team to restore this landmark was a dream. Your commitment to quality and authenticity was evident from day one and your goal was clear: to return the site to exactly how it was when Mr. Hubbard was here. As just a single example, when we peeled back the white aluminum siding that had been on the façade for decades, we uncovered a century-old surprise: the original cedar shingles, right where they had been since 1910.” Mr. Connolly added, “And that’s only one of the countless details that brought this heritage site back to life, transforming it into what you see today: the gem of the block!”

Dr. Apostle Lemmew Samuel, Founder of an Evangelical Assembly in New York City, has spent a lifetime in religious service—and spoke to the spiritual power of the Landmark Site. “Just like those first readers who drove here back in 1950 to learn from Mr. L. Ron Hubbard himself, I now find myself on the same doorstep, drawn by the same truth from the pages of Dianetics,” Dr. Samuel said. “I’m just getting started with Dianetics. But I know I have in my hands a way to help the people I serve—couples in crisis, youth searching for direction, anyone trying to hold their life together. I can help them find their way out of the darkness of the mind and into the light!”

Dr. Monica Sanchez, a United Nations Cultural Ambassador and Humanitarian, spoke not just of the legacy of this storied location, but of the enduring imprint L. Ron Hubbard left on Mankind. “Sometimes we think we know the way, until life gives you a detour—one without signs. But Mr. Hubbard’s work says: Here’s another road. Here’s the best road. That’s why I call L. Ron Hubbard a GPS for humanity,” she said to the crowd. “If I had been here on Aberdeen Road back in 1950, I would have told him: ‘Take me as your student!’ I would have felt very privileged just to learn by his side. But, thanks to everything he left behind and your incredible work to preserve it, we can all be his students.”

Captain Steve Nagiewicz, Executive Director Emeritus of the world-famous Explorers Club—where Mr. Hubbard was an exalted member and carried three official expedition flags—praised LRH’s work as nothing short of bold discovery. “Mr. Hubbard explored the oceans, he crossed continents, he set a course for distant stars. But his final frontier was the most uncharted territory of all: conducting a journey inside the human mind,” he said. “Exploring the unknown, living on the edge, going where no one has gone before ... it requires a rock-solid state of mind, leaving no margin for error.” Mr. Nagiewicz added, “It’s my hope that this day and this site will always remind us to push farther, reach deeper, keep exploring. And as future explorers venture to the stars, no doubt L. Ron Hubbard will be with them in spirit!”

Historic 42 Aberdeen Road has a sister in Bay Head, New Jersey, 50 miles away, where LRH wrote Dianetics. Mr. Hubbard worked in both locations during the same time period, in Bay Head for part of the year and Elizabeth for the other. The Bay Head property was previously opened as an L. Ron Hubbard Landmark Site in 2011—Mr. Hubbard’s centennial year.

All told, there are seven such Landmark Sites now open on three continents around the world, including L. Ron Hubbard’s heritage site at the base of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona—known as the Birthplace of Scientology; the original Founding Church that Mr. Hubbard established in Washington, DC; the original Hubbard Communications Office on Fitzroy Street in London, England; his Linksfield Ridge estate overlooking Johannesburg, South Africa; and his headquarters at Saint Hill in East Grinstead, England.

Each Landmark Site offers a literal and visual history of the work and advances Mr. Hubbard achieved during the time he was at that particular location. Each also features a room devoted to the wider story of Mr. Hubbard’s life of global exploration and research—including his revolutionary work here in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In full, the sites mark Mr. Hubbard’s progressive steps to the founding of Dianetics and Scientology.

Two more Landmark Sites are set to open by this summer—one in the US and another in Southern Africa—carrying forward the legacy of places like 42 Aberdeen Road, a global tribute that echoes for generations to come.