Industrial Remnants of the Manhattan Project

One cannot see the nuclear-explosives production facilities built during the Manhattan Project without experiencing a sense of awe at what was accomplished. The scientific, engineering, managerial, labor, and logistical challenges that were met and overcome are separately impressive but, taken together, simply astonishing. It is all the more incredible that this was done in the context of a desperate and bitter war that had already strained the nation's manpower and resources as never before. Yet appreciation of the monumental achievements of the Manhattan Project cannot be considered without a pang of regret at what it unleashed into the world. It is an enduring paradox and essential human tragedy that so much selfless devotion to cause, so much creative intellectual energy, and so many good intentions gave birth to such a monstrous reality. It is a reality that would threaten the survival of the very civilization that made it possible. Although the end of the Cold War significantly lessened that threat, humankind may never again be free of its shadow.

Alpha Calutrons, 1st-Stage Source of Hiroshima Bomb Uranium, Oak Ridge, TN 1943

Alpha Calutrons Pump Side, 1st-Stage Source of Hiroshima Bomb Uranium, Oak Ridge, TN 1943

Beta Calutrons, 2nd-Stage Source of Hiroshima Bomb Uranium, Oak Ridge, TN 1943

X-10 Reactor, Pilot Plant for Production of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Oak Ridge, TN 1943

Control Console, X-10 Pilot Plant for Production of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Oak Ridge, TN 1943

K-25 North Building, Gaseous Diffusion Plant for Hiroshima-Bomb Uranium Enrichment, Oak Ridge, TN 1945

K-25 West Leg, Gaseous Diffusion Plant for Hiroshima-Bomb Uranium Enrichment, Oak Ridge, TN 1945

Switchyard and K-27 Gaseous Diffusion Plant for Uranium Enrichment, Oak Ridge, TN 1945-46

Emergency Air Sphere, K-31 and K-33 Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment Plants, Oak Ridge, TN 1951 & 1954

K-31 Cell Floor, Gaseous Diffusion Uranium Enrichment Plant, Oak Ridge, TN 1951

B Reactor, Source of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

B Reactor Control Console, Source of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

B Reactor Front Face, Source of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

B Reactor Valve Pit Controlling Cooling Water, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

River Pump House Pumps and Motors, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

Electrical Substation and B Reactor, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

Railroad Tracks and B Reactor, Source of Nagasaki Bomb Plutonium, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

Hot Reactor-Product Rail Cars and Storage Bldg, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

B Plant Entrance No. 15, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

B Plant for Chemically Separating Plutonium from Reactor Products, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

Gable Mountain Plutonium Vault, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944

Gable Mountain Plutonium Vaults, Hanford Nuclear Reservation, WA 1944