When Gardens Made History
Los Alamos Historical Society Executive Director Elizabeth Martineau in the Victory Garden behind the Hans Bethe House on Bathtub Row. Enterprise Bank’s support helped create this garden open daily to the public. Photo by Gordon McDonough By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyThe Los Alamos Historical Society is planting a victory garden for the second year […]
The Slotin Accident: Inside the Archives
Louis Slotin started working on the Manhattan Project in Chicago in 1942 and came to Los Alamos in 1944. Slotin assembled the core of the Gadget at Trinity—if you have seen photos from the Trinity Test, you have probably seen him in them.On May 21st, 1946 Louis Slotin was killed in a nuclear criticality accident. […]
What’s In A Name, Even For A Goose?
Homer and Edna enjoying a sunny day with friends at Ashley Pond. Photo by Sharon Snyder By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyTwo snowy white geese on Ashley Pond have captivated the community in the past months. The male goose, Homer, has lived on the pond for several years, but in January, an elegant companion was […]
Fuller Lodge … Centerpiece of Community
Historic Fuller Lodge in springtime. Courtesy/Los Alamos Historical Society Archive By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyOn Sept. 17, 1928, the Santa Fe New Mexican ran a headline: “Los Alamos School Opens, Fuller Lodge Is Completed”. The article referred to a beautiful log edifice two and a half stories high, with “its most striking feature being […]
Oldest Continuously Used Building in Los Alamos
The Guest Cottage as it appeared in 1942. Courtesy/Los Alamos Historical Society ArchiveThe Guest Cottage, 2018. Photo by Todd Nickols By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyFor more than a century, the oldest continuously used building in Los Alamos has served at different times as an infirmary, a guest cottage, living quarters, a shelter for skunks, […]
75th Anniversary of The Zia Company: Inside the Archives
April 1st marks the 75th anniversary of Los Alamos becoming a “Company Town” with the Zia Company being contracted to run the Los Alamos Laboratory and the community of Los Alamos in 1946. They managed the town until the early 1960s, and continued to manage the Laboratory until 1986. You can still find evidence of the Zia […]
Inside the Archives and Thinking About Drinking
We’re looking forward to next week’s lecture on our local Prohibition-era history—and looking #InsideTheArchives too! We’ve found some fun photos and artifacts related to Los Alamos and liquor over the years. Fuller Lodge’s hotel bar on December 1, 1950. Zia Collection, Los Alamos Historical Society Photo Archives. Moscow mule mug from the Civic Club. Gift […]
Chief Mechanics House Saw Many Changes
By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyThe oldest continuously lived-in house in Los Alamos was built on the Los Alamos Ranch School campus in 1925 and was known as the Chief Mechanics House.It is still the neighbor of the old Guest Cottage that today houses our History Museum. In the first years of the ranch school, three […]
From a Pointed Roof to Living Room of Scientists
The Pyramid in winter, Los Alamos Ranch School, c. 1924. Courtesy/Los Alamos Historical Society Archive By Sharon SnyderLos Alamos Historical SocietyIn the first three years of the Los Alamos Ranch School (LARS), the masters and boys all lived in a large, two-story log building known as the Big House. It contained rooms for students and […]
From an Artist’s Studio to Oppenheimer Residence
By SHARON SNYDERLos Alamos Historical SocietyThe houses of Bathtub Row have seen many occupants through the years and have many stories to tell, but the name Oppenheimer lends a special aura to one of those houses. It had existed for thirteen years before it became the temporary home for Robert and Kitty Oppenheimer, their young […]
