So much of our local Los Alamos history sits suspended between two very distinctly different times and also vastly different uses of the property and structures. When we look at the tourists slow rolling down Central Avenue, we tend to imagine they’re here because of the Oppenheimer film. They stop at the Bradbury and then walk up the street to take pictures with the “two old guys” captured in bronze and posed between Central Ave and Fuller Lodge before wandering over to Ashley Pond.
But the coolest place in town to visit is the History Museum tucked behind the Lodge in what was once the Guest Cottage of the Los Alamos Ranch School. And no feature of the History Museum and Bathtub Row is as historically versatile as what we now refer to as the “Oppenheimer House”. Or rather, the beautiful home and studio that AJ Connell once built for his sister, May.
The Cottage that May Designed
While we often love to focus on the rigorous outdoor education of the Ranch School Boys, (don’t make me get out my boys-ice-skating-in-shorts photo!) Pond and Connell wanted a well rounded education for their students. Ranching, riding, livestock management, engineering, science, and practical skills were always encouraged. But in 1929, AJ Connell brought his sister Mary K “May” Connell to the Pajarito Plateau. May was a New Yorker. She was born and raised in the city, and was talented in music and art. A successful artist before she came to New Mexico, May had no intention of giving up painting, singing, or playing music. With that in mind, AJ Connell built his sister a beautiful new cottage. Officially known as Master Cottage #2, May’s requests and ideas changed the flavor of the school buildings for good!
Craig Martin’s and Heather McClenahan’s book, “Of Logs and Stone” remembers May Connell writing about her Los Alamos Ranch School home many years later. May stated, “My house was built by my brother, AJ, for me. He was the architect. As it was to be my studio, my brother and I talked over the studio plans. I was and am responsible for the rock walls”.
The natural rock walls inside the studio/living room of Master Cottage #2 are one of the most beautiful features of the residence even today. As you can see in the photo of May’s studio above, the rock walls are both unique and yet symmetrical. They seem to draw the focus in the room to the beautiful windows which provided light and inspiration for May’s paintings.
Master Cottage #2 was the only cottage that boasted a “vaulted” ceiling. A stone mason, Marcos Gomez of Alcalde, NM, spent more than a year building the rock walled living room of Master Cottage #2. The walls were 14 inches thick, considered an “economic thickness” at the time, and were built without the use of a level. Gomez had a natural ability to place the rocks by eyesight in such a way that they were both unique and yet level enough not to create problems in fitting the roofline or other features.
May Connell’s warm hardwood floors matched the hand hewn overhead beams and the woodwork around the windows and doors. The stone room was considered the centerpiece of May’s home and she spent her months teaching voice, music appreciation, and painting to the ranch school students while enjoying the view from her windows. A view which was much different to what later occupants of Master Cottage #2 would’ve seen. The photo below shows Master Cottages #2 & #3 against a dramatic backdrop of Ponderosa Pines. If you look long enough at that photo, I’ll bet you recognize the shape of the mountains in the background. There are less trees post fire, but the shape is still the same!
I found it interesting that part of AJ Connell’s willingness to indulge his sister’s desire for the natural rock walls involved rising concerns about fire. Connell’s own “Director’s Cottage” burned to the ground in 1931. At that time, if a structure caught fire and the Pond was iced over, water had to be lugged up from one of the canyons! While we no longer have to carry water up to the plateau from the canyon below, fire is a concern that many of our local residents share and a strong reason why you see so much stucco around Los Alamos!
All ranch school students and masters were expected to sleep on a porch. The sleeping porch below was on the Western side of Fuller Lodge and slept most of the ranch students.
May Connell’s cottage was no different! The Master Cottages provided “luxurious” glass windows on their sleeping porches, but even a glass-enclosed sleeping porch must have been an adventure for city born May Connell.
The original Master Cottage #2 was about 1200 sq ft total. It included a small kitchen behind the studio, a sitting porch in front that opened directly into the stone room, and the small sleeping porch off the rear of the house.
May occupied the cottage until the late 1930s when the school masters began to marry and have families and staff space became a hot issue. (Does that sound familiar to anyone?) Tom and Anita Rose Waring occupied Master Cottage #2 until the Wirth’s needed the space a few years later and the Warings had outgrown the cottage. Every resident who occupied the beautiful cottage with it’s North facing windows and stone room grew very attached to the view and the welcoming warmth that Master Cottage #2 became known for.
Several years later, in 1943, another young wife came to the Pajarito Plateau and occupied Master Cottage #2. Some say she and her husband are the most famous residents to call Master Cottage #2 home. And just as many folks believe the view and the warmth of the stone room to be the reason why sometimes “moody” Kitty Oppenheimer chose this for her home in Los Alamos.
We’ll talk more about Master Cottage #2’s biggest claim to fame next week. Until then, you should know that while you can visit the interior of the Hans Bethe House, the Oppenheimer House (Master Cottage #2) isn’t open to the public just yet. There are structural concerns and worries over restoration and preservation for the moment. In fact, this is a BIG THING here in Los Alamos that far too many people haven’t yet heard about!
I’d encourage all of you to go over and have a peek through the windows of this amazing piece of history. And while you’re there, check out the restoration fund being organized by the Los Alamos Historical Society. This week we focused on the beautiful and peaceful space built for May Connell. Next week, we’re going to talk about the power couple Robert & Kitty Oppenheimer and Master Cottage #2’s contribution to the war effort!
I’d like to thank the Los Alamos Historical Society for their archive photos, and the wonderful staff for their help exploring the Oppenheimer and Hans Bethe houses. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a home in Los Alamos, give me a call! I’ve got some beautiful listings just waiting for the right family. I’m a hometown girl at heart and I love every quirky bit of past, present, and future Los Alamos. Whether you’re buying or selling, I’d love to chat Los Alamos real estate with you!
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