Will there be a new National Park to recount the history of the nuclear bomb? It's up to Congress, but the Interior Department recommends US lawmakers approve a plan to set up a multi-site national historic park commemorating the Manhattan Project the top-secret effort to create an atomic bomb during World War II.
Congress already directed the National Park Service to study the idea. The Service's recommendations include the development of Manhattan Project parks in three states: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
“The secret development of the atomic bomb in multiple locations across the United States is an important story and one of the most transformative events in our nation’s history,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar says. “The Manhattan Project ushered in the atomic age, changed the role of the United States in the world community, and set the stage for the Cold War.”
The Department of Energy, is in favor of the new park plan. They would partner with the National Park Service in developing and managing the proposed park. The Department would continue managing and operating the facilities associated with the Manhattan Project, while the Park Service would provide interpretation and education in connection with these resources.
“Once a tightly guarded secret, the story of the atomic bomb’s creation needs to be shared with this and future generations,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “There is no better place to tell a story than where it happened, and that’s what national parks do. The National Park Service will be proud to interpret these Manhattan Project sites and unlock their stories in the years ahead.”
Operating from December, 1942 until September, 1945 the Manhattan Project was a $2.2 billion effort that employed 130,000 workers at its peak, but was kept largely secret and out of public view.
Bikini Atoll artwork, US Navy
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