Park Overview & Statistics

A celebration in Oak Ridge during the opening of Manhattan Project National Historical Park, 2015.

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

About the Park

Established in 2015, Manhattan Project National Historical Park preserves and interprets the history of the United States’ World War II top-secret nuclear weapons program. The Manhattan Project was a massive scientific, industrial, and human effort that successfully unleashed the power of nuclear energy and ushered in the atomic age. Legislation creating the park passed on December 12, 2014 and the park was established on November 10, 2015. The geographically unique park is operated in partnership with the Department of Energy and consists of historic sites in Hanford, WA, Los Alamos, NM, and Oak Ridge, TN.

The Department of Energy owns and manages the historic properties while the National Park Service preserves and interprets the nationally significant historic sites, stories, and legacies of the Manhattan Project.

 

Park-wide Visitation Statistics

• 2024: 74,693
• 2023: 60,100
• 2022: 27,265

*Figures depict visitation numbers per calendar year

Park Sites

 

Hanford, Washington

The Hanford site produced plutonium for the “Fat Man” atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. Many of the surrounding communities in the Tri-Cities region have connections to the Manhattan Project and Hanford's plutonium-production facilities, which continued operating through the Cold War.

Contact Station: 2000 Logston Blvd. Richland, WA 99354.

Key Manhattan Project Locations

• B Reactor (accessible by tour only but currently closed for construction)
• T Plant (closed to the public)

 

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

As part of the Manhattan Project during World War II, facilities in Oak Ridge produced enriched uranium for the “Little Boy” atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. It was, and still is, home to several massive Manhattan Project facilities and served as headquarters for the project after being relocated from New York City.

Contact Station: 461 W. Outer Drive. Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Visitor Center is located in the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

Key Manhattan Project Locations

• K-25 Building Site (open to the public)
• X-10 Graphite Reactor located in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (closed to the public)
• Y-12 Plant Buildings (closed to the public)

 

Los Alamos, New Mexico

During the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos became home to many of the top scientific minds of the day: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Norris Bradbury, Richard Feynman, Hans Bethe, and many other luminaries. These scientists worked together to develop the theoretical and experimental tests that created the first atomic weapons, using enriched uranium from Oak Ridge and plutonium from Hanford.

Contact Station: 475 20th St. Los Alamos, NM 87544.
Official Friends Group: Friends of Manhattan Project National Historical Park - Los Alamos.

Key Manhattan Project Locations

• Slotin Building (accessible by tour only)
• Pond Cabin (accessible by tour only)
• Battleship Bunker (accessible by tour only)
• Gun Site Buildings (accessible by tour only)
• V-Site (accessible by tour only)

 

Other Notable Manhattan Project Locations

• Trinity site - Located approximately 60 miles north of White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Visits to the site are handled through White Sands Missile Range. The rest of the year the site is closed to the public.
• Bathtub Row & the Oppenheimer House (Los Alamos, NM) - Tours provided by the Los Alamos History Museum (505-709-7794)
• Jackson Square (Oak Ridge, TN)

 

Management Documents

• Manhattan Project NHP - Foundation Document
• Scholars' Forum Report
• Memorandum of Agreement between U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Department of Energy for Manhattan Project NHP.