Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) of a stacked wood shear wall retrofitted with a rate-dependent seismic energy dissipation device (viscous damper) was conducted at the newly constructed Structural Engineering Laboratory at the University of Alabama. This paper describes the implementation process of the RTHS focusing on the controller scheme development. An incremental approach was adopted starting from a controller for the conventional slow pseudodynamic hybrid simulation and evolving to the one applicable for RTHS. Both benchmark-scale and full-scale tests are discussed to provide a roadmap for future RTHS implementation at different laboratories and/or on different structural systems. The developed RTHS controller was applied to study the effect of a rate-dependent energy dissipation device on the seismic performance of a multi-story wood shear wall system. The test specimen, setup, program and results are presented with emphasis given to inter-story drift response. At 100% DBE the RTHS showed that the multi-story shear wall with the damper had 32% less inter-story drift and was noticeably less damaged than its un-damped specimen counterpart.