Manhattan Project National Historical Park

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park

In 1943, the United States government's Manhattan Project built a secret laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico, for a single military purpose—to develop the world's first atomic weapons. The success of this unprecedented, top-secret government program forever changed the world.

August 18, 2014

This photo, taken on December 4, 1946, shows the center of Los Alamos as it looked during Project Y years. Called Technical Area 1, it was the core of the original laboratory.

To improve the understanding of the Manhattan Project and the legacy of the Manhattan Project through interpretation of the historic resources.

What to see and experience in Los Alamos today

Bradbury Science Museum

20:38

Town that never was. The story of the Manhattan Project.

Tour the downtown historic district

Fuller Lodge
Bathtub Row
Ashley Pond
Downtown Sites Walking Tour Map (pdf)

Manhattan Project app available NOW!

Los Alamos: Secret City of the Manhattan Project

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Los Alamos: Secret City of the Manhattan Project

After months of work by many, many people, the interactive “Los Alamos: Secret City of the Manhattan Project” is now available. The app is currently downloadable on Apple products, but an android version will be out shortly. To start your confidential journey, click here.

Read more about the app in the Associated Press story or see our June newsletter.

We would appreciate your working with the app and letting us know how we can make it even better. Please send your comments to manhattanapp@lanl.gov.

How the Park came to be

2016

Three locations comprise the park:

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park legislation references 17 sites at Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as 13 sites in downtown Los Alamos.

2014

The National Defense Authorization Act, signed by President Obama, authorized creation of the Park. This legislation stated the purpose of the park: “to improve the understanding of the Manhattan Project and the legacy of the Manhattan Project through interpretation of the historic resources.” On November 10, 2015, a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the Secretary of the interior and the Secretary of the Department of Energy made the park a reality.

2004

The U.S. Congress directed the National Park Service and the Department of Energy to determine the significance, the suitability, and feasibility of including signature facilities in a national historical park.