Oak Ridge Wayside: The Guest House

The Oak Ridge Guest House wayside.

NPS/KLEIN

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto

Subtitle
Lodging for Manhattan Project Visitors

Main Text 
Realizing early on the need for a place for Secret City visitors to stay, construction of the Guest House began in the spring and finished in July of 1943, one of the first buildings finished during the Manhattan Project. Unlike other structures that were hastily built for temporary use, the Guest House was carefully built with visitor comfort in mind. It hosted several Nobel Laureates, such as Niels Bohr, Arthur Compton, Ernest Lawrence, and Enrico Fermi, who registered under assumed names for secrecy reasons. The rate for all guests, no matter their status, was $2 per night for a room with a connecting bath, or $1.50 per night for a room with a communal bathroom. The Guest House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as part of the Oak Ridge Historic District as a contributing property. 

Photo text: The Guest House, as it appeared in 1945  

 
Exhibit Panel Description 
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads “The Guest House: Lodging for Manhattan Project Visitors”. The center of the panel is covered by a black and white photograph of a hotel with a parking lot and cars at the front. The text of the panel is located at the bottom. 

 
Visit This Exhibit Panel 
The Guest House wayside is located at the corner of Broadway Ave. and Kentucky Ave. below the Guest House. The address is 83 Kentucky Ave. Oak Ridge, TN 37830.