CELEBRATING 8 YEARS OF THE MANHATTAN PROJECT NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
ECA Staff | 11/15/2023
This week week in 2015, U.S. Department of Energy and the National Park Service came together to sign the agreement that resulted in the creation of the three Manhattan Project National Historical Parks. These parks preserve the history of these three World War II-era sites where the U.S. developed the world's first atomic weapons.
The first of the sites is Los Alamos, New Mexico where Robert Oppenheimer developed and tested the first atomic bomb. Over 6,000 scientist and support staff worked at this remote mesa to design and build the atomic bomb. The Los Alamos park site includes three sites, the Gun Site (includes three bunkered buildings), guard shack, the Pond Cabin and more.
Hanford, Washington is home to the nuclear reactor that produced the material for the first atomic test. This site was built to create large quantities of plutonium with more than 51,000 workers.The park now includes, the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, the Hanford High School, the Hanford Construction Camp Historic District and other historic places that provide a glimpse into the history of Hanford prior to the Manhattan Project.
The third site is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee which served as the administrative and military headquarters for the Manhattan Project. Oak Ridge is home to the Y-12 Complex which is where electromagnetic separation process for uranium enrichment occurred, as well as the K-25 building where the pioneering of gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment technologies occured. The park includes all these sites and many others that also show the important work that occured at Oak Ridge.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park is unique not only in its historic background, but also because it represents a partnership between the National Park Service and the Department of Energy. Together, both agencies work together to ensure that these sites are safe and secure for visitors, but they also work together to help tell the complete story of the Manhattan Project and its legacy.
To visit the park or learn more visit these links: