Get behind Oppenheimer's secret city!

"Now i am become death, the destroyer of worlds" P.O. Box 1663 was registered as an address in Santa Fe, New Mexico, during 1943. Over the ensuing years, approximately 300 infants... had their birthplace documented as... P.O. Box 1663 on their birth certificates. This substitution was due to the true location being kept confidential.

All mail sent to this P.O. box was rerouted to a site situated 33 miles from Santa Fe, recognized as P.O. Box 180, Project Y, and Los Alamos, New Mexico. A clandestine city was established here, serving as the abode for a community of scientists. "Scientists from various nations." These were the scientists who conceived the initial nuclear bomb. They resided a few hundred miles away from the site where their innovation would be put to the test. "The desert of New Mexico." Trinity. The question arises: how did J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the laboratory, come to construct a town and execute the inaugural nuclear bomb trial at this location?

On August 2nd, 1939, Albert Einstein dispatched a letter, which he addressed to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Drawing insights from the research of physicists Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard... Einstein raised the alarm regarding a potential nuclear chain reaction within a large mass of uranium. "The division of the uranium atom..." This could potentially lead to extraordinarily potent bombs of a novel kind. Such bombs could be developed and deployed by either side. Following a span of study and with the United States' entry into World War II, the Army Chief of Staff established a provisional headquarters... situated at 270 Broadway in New York City during June 1942. Thus commenced the Manhattan Project, labeled as a fresh "Manhattan District" for the Army Corps of Engineers.

Manhattan District encompassed these smaller districts due to its broader objective: the creation of an atomic weapon. Lesser-known covert sites included a nuclear reactor beneath a football field at the University of Chicago... the Alabama Ordnance Works, dedicated to producing heavy water... and several others. The years 1942 and 1943 bore witness to the establishment of three major locations. The journey initiated with Oak Ridge, Tennessee, often referred to as Y-12. This substantial facility was designated for uranium enrichment and plutonium production. Nestled among mountains, it evolved into... "...a city housing 75,000 individuals working in absolute secrecy on history's most astounding classified endeavor." Two additional significant sites were instituted in 1943. The Hanford Engineer Works in Washington state played a pivotal role in plutonium production. The inscription atop the water tower read... "Silence ensures security." Nevertheless, Hanford and Oak Ridge were incomplete without the third locale. The military required a site to construct the bomb. The Los Alamos Lament, a poem composed by technical Sergeant Ralph Gates, captured life in Los Alamos... commencing with... "I'm merely a PO number." Specific numbers vary. The third stanza reads... [a woman’s voice singing] “He placed us on a mountaintop... ...outside of Santa Fe... ...where the sole signs of wildlife are GI wolves at bay." Oppenheimer, situated in Berkeley... held the belief that a centralized laboratory was essential. Though Oak Ridge and Chicago were weighed as possible locations, neither was remote enough. A choice near Los Angeles lacked isolation. An option closer to Reno was susceptible to heavy snowfall. General Leslie Groves Jr. of the Army Corps of Engineers directed the endeavor. Oppenheimer and Groves concurred... that New Mexico offered the twin benefits of security through isolation... along with familiarity, considering Oppenheimer's prior time spent in the vicinity.

The optimal spot was located on the Pajarito Plateau. It was secluded while also shielded by its elevation and surrounding topography. Jemez Springs, initially selected, posed challenges. Acquiring the land proved arduous, and the terrain was rugged. Yet, nearby Los Alamos sat atop a mesa, which facilitated entry control and accident management. Moreover, much of the land was already federally owned. The sole pre-existing structure was a small school established in 1935. The proprietors sold the property. The Secretary of War corresponded with the Secretary of Agriculture regarding the military necessity of procuring the remaining federally owned lands. The request was granted for 54,000 acres, designated as a demolition range.

On April 1st, 1943, Los Alamos was activated. P.O. Box 1663 underwent a transformation from an outdoor ranch school with structures resembling this... into a community dedicated to pioneering research. Roads were rapidly developed, while the town remained secluded. The population swelled from 1,500 to 5,700 by 1945, a swift expansion necessitating hutments as common lodging. The wash is seen drying beside Quonset huts. Apartment buildings were also available, situated alongside facilities for graphite fabrication... and the cyclotron and Van de Graaff machines. In its initial years, Los Alamos hosted the world's foremost researchers. Here, Dorothy McKibbin, responsible for welcoming new personnel, sits beside Oppenheimer, who converses with physicist Victor Weisskopf. Enrico Fermi is captured on a hike, and this is Edward Teller's identification badge. He would later be hailed as the father of the hydrogen bomb. The Medical Corps colonel communicated to Leslie Groves that this collection of intellectuals posed a challenge to the military operation. "The higher percentage of intellectuals... will necessitate and seek more medical attention than the average person." Other challenges included a fifth of married women becoming pregnant in Los Alamos... leading to the requirement for maternity wards. Past and atomic future converged. Ice was harvested from nearby ponds... and stored in ice houses... due to the scarcity of electric refrigeration. Around that time, the Bendix washer was revolutionizing laundry practices. By 1943, a classified advertisement in the Santa Fe New Mexican was seeking a unit to be sent to P.O. Box 1663 for wartime usage. Despite the diverse cultural phenomena, such as the Los Alamos band... their ultimate objective remained singular: the development of a bomb.

A site for testing the bomb under construction was indispensable. This is the base camp at the Trinity site, a swiftly established headquarters established for the inaugural atomic bomb test. The desert training center near Rice, California, emerged as the runner-up. However, it was deemed insufficiently isolated and distant from Los Alamos. Situated in the Jornada del Muerto Valley, the selected site met an even more stringent set of criteria akin to those of Los Alamos. The site boasted flat terrain to minimize blast effects, isolation, and proximity to Los Alamos. Additionally, favorable weather conditions and nearby highways such as US-85 and 380 were factors. More than 200 residents took up residence at the camp. The process commenced with a 100-ton explosives test in May 1945. Subsequently, preparations were made for the Gadget nuclear device. On July 16th, 1945... the test was conducted. "The first trial of this novel cosmic power occurred in the New Mexico desert." The Los Alamos Lament was crafted after this test, but before the August bombing of Japan. [a woman singing] “I’m just a P.O. number...” “I lack a genuine address...”