C.C. Anderson Department Store

C.C. Anderson's Department Store was a major shopping destination for Manhattan Project workers.

NPS/ZIMMERMAN

Quick Facts

Location:

Richland, WA

Amenities

1 listed

Bicycle - Rack

During the Manhattan Project, architect Gustav Pehrson transformed the pre-war farming community of Richland into a compact, walkable city that offered residents a variety of services. This building housed C.C. Anderson’s Department Store. As the only department store in town, it was a hive of activity located in the center of the community.  
 
Most of the newly arrived residents of Richland relied on this store for their clothing and furniture needs. City planners intentionally located other services and institutions such as the local library and laundry nearby. Residents could accomplish many necessary tasks in the compact city center. This planned community did not please all residents. Oral histories reveal that the consumer choices available in Richland failed to satisfy and many people shopped at larger retailers in nearby Pasco and Kennewick. 

Continue Your Journey

Many of the buildings on the surrounding The Greenway (Richland Parkway) are from the pre-war town of Richland. They continued to serve as stores and institutions during the Manhattan Project. Riverside Park (Howard Amon Park) and Dyer Building (Gallery at the Park), and Gress’s Meat Market (Frost Me Sweet) were a part of Richland as it changed from a small farming town to a secret city. Walk through this neighborhood with an eye to the architecture and streetscape and you can see how the Manhattan Project transformed Richland.