Battleship bunker in the Pajarito Canyon, where important implosion tests preceded the Trinity Test. With friendly approval/Lanl
By Marlene Wilden
Los Alamos Daily Post
marlene@ladailypost.com
At the Pajarito location of Los Alamos, also known as the technical area 18 (TA-18), there is a calm but profound restoration effort. Under the direction of archaeologists, historians and architects of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Lanl), this work goes beyond the stabilizing concrete bunkers and experimental institutions from the Second World War. It is part of a deeper mission to honor the full legacy of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park landmark.
The restored restoration of TA-18 is recently justified for the National Register of Historic Places and reveals layers of history that lie before the nuclear life. This remote plateau was once the Pueblo communities of the traditional Pueblo communities and the Heimesteaders of the 19th century and lasts for centuries of human stories together with his role in nuclear science. What was once outside of confidentiality is now slowly revealed for public understanding.
Twice a year, a limited number of visitors receive rare access to the LANL-evented “Hinter-The-Treen” tour, which has created a first-hand look since 2018, where physics has been brought to its limits. In the course of restoration, structures and the country on which it rests are examined again in order not only to reflect on scientific breakthroughs, but also the cultural heritage and the stories they have shaped.
For the nature reserves, JT Stark and Ali Livesay, the work to protect and interpret these locations is both urgently and deeply personally, since its importance exceeds the temporary building standards of his time.
Ali Livesay, archaeologist and JT Stark, historical building specialist, offer visitors historical interpretation during the “Hinter-der-Zaun” tour on TA-18 in the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. With friendly approval/Lanl
“All of this depends on the conviction that they have a common story,” said JT Stark, specialist for historical buildings for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Lanl. “We not only maintain building-we protect portals in one of the most crucial chapters in human history. And the clock ticks.
The five -year plan
The park, founded in 2015, follows a rolling five -year maintenance plan. Projects with high priority deal with the security of the visitors and the protection of employees who work in or near historical structures. The completed work includes the restoration of Battleship Bunker 2021, while the current efforts are concentrated on Casa One, a building from the Cold War that was built in response to the 1946 slotin accident.
The slotin building bears the name of the physicist Louis Slotin, which is fatally exposed to radiation here. With friendly approval/Lanl
“A large part of the concrete concrete from Manhattan Project-Are was mixed with a large, smooth river rock unit that would not be suitable for modern construction work. And the triple-Seal-Gypsum board was not really intended for the external cladding, and it was definitely not thought that it was not possible,” said Stark.
“It is actually a research topic that some of us want to follow in the future – the temporary nature of the buildings, the temporary nature of the workforce and the connection with the human behavior and the type of ingenuity that they still see in the laboratory,” said Stark.
The preservation is not limited to the buildings of TA-18. In archaeological studies, details were shown that were missing in the official records. At the weapons where weapons supported weapons such as Thin and Little Boy, the crews of paraffin wax, which apparently have been used to measure the neutron mirrors, seem to be used to measure.
“We gave us an indication of work that we didn't know about it,” said Stark.
Not every important website is accessible. Some are deep in safe areas, and others, such as Casa One, require financing and security upgrades before they can be added to the public tour. In the meantime, Stark and his team occasionally led student visits there, hoping to prepare it for a wider audience.
The funding of the work comes from the US Ministry of Energy, the state and building and not from the National Park Service. While the park service gives interpreting know -how and national recognition, it does not offer financial support. Stark said that Los Alamos had an advantage over the other two locations of the Manhattan project park, Hanford in Washington and Oak Ridge in Tennessee, since the leadership of Lanl has consistently recognized the value of preservation.
“Compared to Oak Ridge and Hanford, Los Alamos did a really great job to deliver the resources that we need,” said Stark. “Despite their mission, this is not to be the preservation of historical buildings or to run a national park.”
Discover lost stories
Other discoveries come from closer to the historical core of the site. Livesay, an archaeologist from the laboratory, recently found ceramics near the pond cabin, which once had the family of the Ranch School Ashley Pond's family.
The pond cabin organized a group that studied Plutonium during the Manhattan project. With friendly approval/Lanl
“Although we have already made some work there, I am the more by supporting tours, the more I find,” she said. “Archeology adds another series of evidence to the historical recording. Sometimes it is the little things like the tea set -Spout of a child who bring human stories to life.”
The role of Livesay combines compliance with education. Federal laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act require surveys and reviews before any new buildings. Their work also emphasizes cultural reaction, especially with neighboring Pueblo communities.
The consultation with sovereign tribal nations is formalized in the government of government to government, but is also about relationships.
“We are trying not to see archaeological sites as discrete resources,” said Livesay. “For many Pueblo people, these are connected, living places. We are important to raise our awareness of this perspective and to integrate them where we can.”
For life, the value of work goes beyond academic history.
“Just because we look into the past does not mean that it is over,” she said. “Our identity is associated with our history and inheritance. For many Pueblo people, the past, present and the future are not linear. They are cyclical. The work we suffer affects living people.”
In tours, Livesay often indicates how the natural fortifications of the plateau have attracted people for centuries, from Pueblo builders to war scientists.
“It's about human thinking over time,” she said. “We are always creative in the use of the country, but the purpose of using it as a barrier has remained consistent.”
Rare access for the public
The demand for the “Hinter-Thece” tours of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park hands over the demand. Every year only 180 visitors are admitted, randomly selected via an online lottery that will be opened in the late winter for spring tours and again in summer for autumn. Each tour includes the coordination of several departments – craftsmen, transportation teams and security – to enable visits.
When the park approaches its 10th anniversary in November, the Preservation team is already mapping the next phase of its plan. In addition to security and structural integrity, they hope to expand archaeological research, integrate indigenous perspectives and, if possible, to make more accessible to TA-18.
“We want people to feel something when they are here,” said Stark. “You can't get that from a video. Here, here, behind the fence is different. It's real.”