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Take A Peek At Los Alamos, New Mexico

Tag: Los Alamos History (Page 7 of 8)

Play Ball in Los Alamos!

July 22, 2021 /

Los Alamos has always been a hotbed of athletic activity. Check out my previous post on Sawyer’s Hill if you want a peek at the history of winter sports in the “Secret City”. But since we’re right in the middle of summer and sports have finally picked up again after the pandemic shutdown, I thought it might be fun to look at the long (and I do mean LONG) history of Los Alamos’s love affair with baseball & softball. Whether you were part of Lassie League Los Alamos or your rode your bike to your weekly Little League games, you’re part of a long tradition here in Los Alamos!

The Bombers

If you’ve ever spent much time at the ball fields on North Mesa, you’ve probably noticed Bomber Field. What you might not realize is that the field was named not for a modern Little League team, but for the original team from the Hill. The Los Alamos Bombers, sometimes called the Atomic Bombers, were a semi-pro baseball team that played in the Northern Rio Grande league. The team was initially made up of military personnel. Their first practice field was on Canyon Road. Eventually they moved to the new ball fields up at Urban Park in 1947. Eventually, locals started calling the field “Bomber Field”. When the new sports complex was built on North Mesa in 1951, the largest field was dubbed “Bomber Field” and this was where the Bombers played.

Fun Fact – The Atomic Energy Commission felt the team was so good for the recreational value of Los Alamos that they sponsored the team. They paid for field maintenance, uniforms, and even sponsored their travel expenses. More rumor than fact was the possibility that Zia Company was recruiting minor league players to work in Los Alamos just so they could play for the Bombers.

Early on, Lon Alexander – former major league player for the St. Louis Browns – managed the Bombers. Later, they would be managed by Dewey Molleur. Molleur was a longtime resident of Los Alamos, a lifetime lover of baseball, and a 67 year veteran of the Local 412 Plumbers & Pipefitters Union. Just a regular guy who loved the town and the team and became a part of the Bombers’ Legacy. Molleur wasn’t the last regular guy to use baseball put Los Alamos on the map.

Pierotti’s Clowns

If you’ve never stopped to look at this monument, it’s outside the Los Alamos Public Library on Central.

This first ever five man Softball Team is an integral part of the fabric of Los Alamos. Pierotti’s Clowns was established as an amateur fast pitch softball team in 1953 and played until 1977. These guys played a five man squad against other teams of nine. Not only that, but founder Lou Pierotti’s son Mike began playing first base with the team when he was eleven years old.

The team never made a penny off their games. They donated the $0.25-$1.00 ticket sales to charity and earned over $200,000 dollars for organizations like the Los Alamos Kiwanis Club during their 25 year run. The biggest draw for crowds was the fact that the Clowns acted like actual clowns. During games they were known for playing outfield with ash can lids instead of mitts, wearing full face paint and gaudy, colorful uniforms, and also for occasionally throwing a “mushball” pitch, which meant a grapefruit painted to look like a softball went sailing toward the batter.

The team held a staggering 177-23 final record, their wins made possible mostly because of the incredible skill of Bun Ryan. Yes, THAT Bun Ryan. The guy whose name is stamped on the North Mesa baseball field closest to the Stables. Bun Ryan could throw a 100mph fast ball. And he managed to create what his teammates called a Rise Pitch, a pitch that actually struck out a hefty number of players from the Albuquerque Dukes. At that time, the Dukes were a farm team for the LA Dodgers. The game between the Dukes and the Clowns was played using alternating baseball and softball home plate placement depending on which team was at bat. If you want to know more about Pierotti’s Clowns, check out this wonderful spread from Los Alamos History.org.

So, the next time you pick up a ball and a mitt to play ball here in Los Alamos, remember that you’re part of a LONG legacy of baseball and softball in the Secret City! And if you’re ready to become a part of our community, give me a call! I’d love to share my love of Los Alamos with you!

What’s the Deal with Group Housing?

May 12, 2021 /

There are a lot of imaginative things about Los Alamos. The names applied to housing developments in the 1950’s didn’t reflect this at all. If you’ve ever heard your neighbors or friends talking about their Group 11 or their Group 12 or anything all the way to Group 18, you might have scratched your head and thought that they were talking about housing somehow related to a research or other employment group at the Laboratory. As if perhaps the homes in Group 11 were originally designated as the living quarters for some mysterious Grp 11 at LASL back in the day.

Surprise! That’s not the case at all! Groups of homes designated by numbers 11-18b are actually named that way because they were planned and constructed in groups. And just so we’re clear, it doesn’t matter that half of some are located in one part of the community and the other half or third or two thirds are located in another. The point was that they were planned and the building was executed at a certain time in our Los Alamos Housing History.

As for the numbering system. There is no concrete answer to that. However, at the time the Group 11 buildings were proposed in 1948, there had been ten previous housing styles available over the years. With military precision, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the recently formed Housing Policy Board (HPD) determined that Group 11 was a functional name for the next phase of homes. 351 buildings were constructed, which increased the housing availability in Los Alamos by 584 units. Let’s just say that the residents of Los Alamos in the 1950’s were no less excited by the addition of nearly six hundred new dwellings than the current Los Alamos County residents are about every single housing development coming along in the modern era. Housing has always been an issue in Los Alamos!

Floorplan courtesy of Craig Martin

For the first time in Los Alamos Housing history, families with only one child could apply for and even be granted a home with three bedrooms. Sometimes its hard to imagine what it was like for people living here in the early fifties, but having an extra bedroom for an office or just to house guests was a luxury most families wouldn’t have dreamed of expecting in their home.

The most unusual feature became one of the most attractive though. In the two-bedroom duplex model, the main living area sat below the grade level of the rest of the dwelling in order to create a “sunken living room”. These homes looked a lot like their other Group 11 brethren, but this feature set them totally apart. These homes can still be found in and around some of the oldest sections of North Community in and around Urban Park on 41st, 45th, 46th, and 47th Streets as well as on Sycamore Street and west of Aspen School on 35th & 36th Streets. The key to spotting a “sunken living room” home is the recessed front door nearly hidden in the front wall of the home.

Floorplan courtesy of Craig Martin – Unit on the Right includes “Sunken Living Room” feature.

The oak flooring was super popular in the Group 11 homes. Less amazing features included metal cabinetry that tended to keep the contents a bit on the soggy and cold side. The porcelain sinks in the kitchen were less than easy to maintain and the exterior shingles were a mix of wood and asbestos. All in all though, most of the locals thought these homes were a giant upgrade from what they’d been living in before.

Floorplan courtesy of Craig Martin

The Cerro Grande fire took 30 of the original Group 11 buildings. These were not nearly as hard hit as some of the others such as the Group 12 units, of which we lost 72 buildings. Still, it is important to realize that as much as we might scratch our heads and feel as though these aren’t the most attractive option for a home here in Los Alamos, the Group homes are serving just as vital a part in our community life now as they did when they were built over fifty years ago.

If you’re even a little bit interested in the history of Los Alamos Housing, you can find Craig Martin’s wonderful book, Quads, Shoeboxes and Sunken Living Rooms on sale at the Los Alamos History Museum’s website. The book actually contains a field guide to Los Alamos Housing that can be just as useful for identifying the various group homes as an Audubon Society book can be at identifying birds. After all, the process is pretty much the same!

And if you’re ready to get out and identify YOUR next home in Los Alamos, give me a call! I love to talk Los Alamos Housing and Real Estate!

Who Was Peggy Sue?

March 31, 2021 /

If you grew up in Los Alamos, there is a pretty strong chance you’ve heard one or two stories about Peggy Sue Bridge. As if our fair city on the hill doesn’t have enough strange origin stories about people, places, and things, we can also lay claim to a bona fide urban legend. An urban legend so typical of urban legends that “the story” has landed on an independent blog site claiming to record “haunted” places all over the United States and made #6 on a Hidden Haunted Places of NM list. Peggy Sue Bridge will also pop up on Pinterest as a haunted hotspot.

screenshot courtesy of hauntedplacesofusa.blogspot

I have to say, I don’t recall feeling any ghostly hands trying to shove me into Acid Canyon during high school. Now. Let’s get some perspective on this old tale of woe as debunked in Craig Martin’s book, Los Alamos Place Names. First? The bridge was never actually meant for foot traffic. Yes. Prior to its removal in 1997, the “bridge” did span Acid Canyon from the townsite to Orange Street. However, it was only there because of a gas line. Zia Company built the bridge as a way to hold the line in place over the canyon. (Uh oh! Did I ruin that for you?)

Another urban myth about the identity of Peggy Sue suggests she was a young girl on a tricycle who was unfortunate enough to fall off the bridge. This story began in the 50’s and has various versions depending on the level of embellishment.

Taking another turn, certain versions of the tale have an unknown Zia company construction worker who – for any number of reasons – decided to paint his daughter’s name on the bridge supports. There’s even a version of the story that suggests this little girl met Buddy Holly and inspired the song, Peggy Sue!

The credit for solving the mystery of Peggy Sue goes to Los Alamos resident, Susan Yankovic. During the creation of a public access television special in 1997 prior to the bridge’s removal, she tracked down the origin of the Peggy Sue Legend.

Evidently in 1951, Jerry Rutledge convinced his friend Lennis Taylor to help him paint a girl’s name on one of the bridge supports to impress her with his teenaged devotion. Along with their buddy, Raymond Trujillo, they climbed the bridge supports and slapped some red paint on the bridge in an effort to convince Peggy Sue Cameron the Jerry was just over the moon about her. In a strange twist of events, Susan Yankovic discovered that there was another name painted on the bridge on that day in 1951. Raymond Trujillo decided this was a perfect time to let “Lorraine” know he thought she was the bee’s knees. Funny how nobody remembers poor Lorraine. One might wonder if the name Peggy Sue is just too catchy to let go of. Goodness knows it worked for Buddy Holly!

In any case, as the story goes, the romance of Jerry and Peggy Sue only lasted a few months. Jerry went into the Navy after he left school. Twenty years later when he returned to Los Alamos to visit his then teenaged son, he was flabbergasted when the lad offered to take him to see “Peggy Sue Bridge”. Jerry hadn’t had a clue that his romantic exploits had spawned an urban legend!

Whether you want to talk urban legends, the best trails, or local lore, I’m your girl! I love life in Los Alamos and I’d love to help you in your search for a place to call home in this unique community. Give me a ring and let’s chat!

Swim Los Alamos!

March 27, 2021 /

Not only do residents of Los Alamos have an ice rink and a ski mountain nearby in winter, we have the Sportsman’s Club for shooting sports, the North Mesa Stables for equestrian pursuits, bike trails, hiking trails, dog parks, and summers filled with trips to one of our many outdoor pools. And don’t forget. If you’re a die hard swimmer, we’ve got you covered. Our indoor Aquatic Center boasts an Olympic sized pool with lane swimming, lessons, and a therapy pool for year round fun in the water.

If you haven’t had an opportunity to get acquainted with one of the local pool organizations here in Los Alamos County, let me give you some quick information and show you where you can check them out online.

Private Pool Associations

Barranca Mesa Pool has been around since 1969 when a group of water sport loving residents of the new Barranca Mesa subdivisions decided to undertake this labor of love. The pool itself was built on a bit of land leased from the Los Alamos Public Schools directly next to Barranca Mesa Elementary School. The original lease period was for fifty years, but the Barranca Mesa Pool is still going strong. The C shaped pool boasts lane swimming, a 12 ft section perfect for diving, and a 2 & 3 ft area for budding swimmers. There is also a separate wading pool. Getting a membership to the pool involves a “buy in” cost, plus the yearly fee. But if you contact the pool via the information on their website, it could be possible to lease a membership from another family and avoid some of the up front costs while enjoying the benefit of membership for the season.

East Park Pool is located near the Eastern Area right next to the building that houses Anytime Fitness. East Park is across the street and the pool has near access to the Canyon Rim Trail should you decide you’d like to jog before a nice cool swim. The East Park Pool Association has a reduced fee for single memberships. Just to sweeten the pot, they offer a babysitting service. For a monthly fee, members can utilize this helpful option which could be a lifesaver for moms looking for a chance to lane swim. Another bonus of East Park Pool is the choice to pay with Paypal. Check out their membership page for more information.

Mesa Meadow Pool is considered top secret. Why wouldn’t there be a secret pool in a town like Los Alamos? Actually, the secret isn’t secret. The association just values its privacy. If you drive to the end of 42nd Street in Western Area you will likely see the tennis courts first. To the left tucked into the trees is a small bathhouse and a pool with three lanes. The pool isn’t large at all, about the size of many subdivision pools scattered across the US. The purpose leans more toward lane swimming than family fun days. If you’re a hard core lane swimmer living in the Western Area and you’d love to connect with others like you, you might try this contact information to get involved.

Canyon Vista Pool Association serves the White Rock area with a handy location on Aragon Ave right between Donna and Kilby Avenues. Canyon Vista Pool is scheduled to open on May 29, 2021 which is fantastic news as it shows we are really moving toward being able to enjoy our favorite activities once again. Their website suggests there are likely a few memberships available for purchase or lease. Canyon Vista is a popular summer hangout for families. Memberships are sometimes advertised for lease or sale on Facebook so get out there and network to plan some fun for summer 2021!

Pinon Park Pool Association is located on Bryce Avenue not far from the Bryce Ave, Rover Blvd intersection. The pool has been serving White Rock for over fifty years! It sits pretty far back off the road, which really speaks to the general atmosphere of the pool. The staff at Pinon Park hope to offer their members fewer crowds, more space to lounge and relax, and enough quiet to enjoy good conversations with friends. If you really want to be part of the fabric at Pinon Park, you might consider joining the board. Their board privileges are pretty darned attractive and it could be a fantastic way to get involved in your local White Rock community.

Swimming Lessons!

Now, you can sign up and pay for summer swimming lessons from any pool association once you’re a member. But if you’re into year round immersion in swimming you might want to look into the Larry R Walkup Aquatic Center.

In the past, residents have referred to the Aquatic Center as everything from the Walkup Center to The Blue Whale. (The original roof was blue.) Now it is officially the Los Alamos County Aquatic Center. However, the incredible facility now undergoing expansion was the brainchild of Vietnam Veteran and former Green Beret, Larry R Walkup. Walkup served as the director of Los Alamos Parks & Recreation in 1984. He was instrumental in the planning and development of multiple outdoor facilities, but the need for an indoor pool was high on his list and in 1986 construction started on the Aquatic Center. The facility was named for Mr. Walkup after he died of a heart condition in November of 1986. The county council voted to memorialize Larry R Walkup’s contribution to the Los Alamos landscape more than eighteen months before the facility was completed in 1988.

The Aquatic Center

Offering a year round program of swimming lessons, lane swimming, and the popular therapy pool, the Aquatic Center is also the headquarters for the Los Alamos Parks, Recreation, & Open Spaces office. Passes and memberships to the Aquatic Center are available year round. Another popular feature is the Dive In Movie. An opportunity for families to lounge or swim in the pool while they watch a classic family friendly film projected on the wall. Lane swimming is currently available by appointment. Contact the Aquatic Center at (505) 662-8170 to schedule your slot or to ask about swimming lessons. You can also find more information online at the Los Alamos County website. The Aquatic Center is also the home of the Los Alamos Swim Teams. If you really want to improve your fitness, keep in mind that the US Olympic Swim Team is known to pop in for workouts (in non Covid years of course!) in order to increase their fitness level. Olympic size pool, 7240 ft elevation, it is currently the highest 50m pool in operation in the United States. Just another crazy amazing benefit of living in Los Alamos!

So whether you’re looking for a bit of summer sun by the pool or a way to fill that year round desire for swimming, Los Alamos County has you covered! And when you’re ready to become a resident, give me a call. I’d love to talk about life in Los Alamos with you.

Welcome to Shangri-La

March 18, 2021 /

It’s spring! Not just spring, but Spring 2021. Okay. So it’s not officially spring, but it’s certainly time to get outside and enjoy the benefits of being in Los Alamos. When the Laboratory was first established back in the 1940’s, residents of the “Secret City on the Hill” used to refer to Los Alamos as Shangri-La. References to the city of Shangri-La portrayed in the book Lost Horizon by James Hilton were sarcastic at best. The irony being that we indeed live in a city perched atop a hill that was so secret in the early days that nobody was actually allowed to speak the name out loud. Still, while the original reference to Shangri-La was sarcastic, I like to imagine the positivity in that comparison.

Beautiful. Private. Safe. And let’s be honest with ourselves here. We have access to some of the most incredible outdoor spaces around just by taking a stroll to the end of the street. Of course, in spring we have some crazy windy days. But these two outings are still a lot of fun.

Deer Trap Mesa

If you haven’t checked this one out, you really should! The trail head is accessed at the very end of Barranca Road where it meets up with Navajo Road. There are plenty of historical signs detailing the various homesteaders that first settled the mesa, but the most interesting part of this hike dates back much farther than homesteaders.

At the end of the ridge in a gap between narrow rocky formations, ancient Pueblo Hunters dug a game pit into the ground. This pit was likely around ten feet deep when it was still in use. Today it is so filled with rocks and dirt that Average Joe could easily climb in and out with a little assistance from friends. Still, it’s amazing to walk in the footsteps of the people who called this place home over a hundred years ago. They called the spot navawi’i “pitfall gap” in Tewa. The mesa itself was called navakwage or “pitfall mesa”.

Now. It should be mentioned that if there is still a lot of ice and snow packed into the rocks, hikers need to be very careful with the steeper portions of Deer Trap Mesa. No need to chance a fall into that deer trap! But the views from the top of the mesas are truly something to behold. Don’t forget to bring your phone for an excellent selfie op!

Acid Canyon

The Acid Canyon Loop is accessed from the Larry R Walkup Center. The loop itself is less than a mile and is partly located on a trail first used by the Ranch School in the 1920’s, which is pretty darned awesome to think about. Yes. The name tends to put people off. Why on earth would you call something Acid Canyon? In the beginning, it was pretty much intended to keep people away.

The canyon was first used by the Laboratory because all of the waste water conduits from TA-1 were gathered into one pipe and sent down through this canyon. The canyon was obviously off limits at that time, but since those days it has been cleaned up and re-designated for public use. The last cleanup efforts happened in 2001 with an eye to bringing things up to modern standards. If you’re interested in that, check out this interesting online resource.

Eventually, the Acid Canyon Loop winds around to Kinnikinnick Park. The park was originally suggested as a wildflower preserve. The trails and footbridges were part of Howard Pack’s Eagle Scout project in 1995. The park’s dedication took place on Earth Day in that same year when Los Alamos had one of our typical late spring snow storms. The name Kinnikinnick itself was Sarah Legare’s winning submission picked from a bevy of entries into a naming contest held by the parks department.

So get outside and enjoy our little slice of Shangri-La! And if you’re ready to get outside and shop for your dream home in Los Alamos, give me a call. I’d love to talk living and life in Los Alamos.

The Myth of 37th Street & Other Tales

March 13, 2021 /

If you live in Los Alamos for very long… No. That’s not quite right. If you are IN Los Alamos for very long, you’re likely to notice that navigating the streets here isn’t like navigating anywhere else. Not that Los Alamos has super narrow streets like Boston or steep streets like San Francisco. Nope! Our streets are something else altogether and the story of that begins WAY back at the beginning. Yes. THE beginning. Back when Project Y was a secret and the roads were nothing but muddy tracks between buildings. Back in 1942 when the government decided the Ranch School was the perfect place for the Secret City on the Hill.

Meandering Streets with Buildings Set at an Angle

You know what I’m talking about! A tour around the residential streets of Los Alamos can feel just like a Sunday drive. There was no doubt in the beginning that Los Alamos was a “company town”. But there was a big push from the Atomic Energy Commission to make Los Alamos look like something else. This is why developers were asked to preserve as many of the trees as they could. Houses were set at various angles to the street to keep them from looking like orderly rows of Army tents in a military camp. Each dwelling included a yard and residents were urged to keep them green. Sure. It’s impossible today, but back then residents of the government owned housing weren’t charged for water to encourage them to water their grass.

The Myth of 37th Street

The southern end of 37th Street is a short street that connects Trinity Drive to Gold Street. Then it stops and picks up again on the other side of Acid Canyon in the Denver Steels area before hopping across Pueblo Canyon and continuing through North Community. Now. The myth comes in when or if you’ve ever been told that the reason 37th Street is in three distinct pieces is because some poor engineer sat in his office back in Washington D.C. and laid out the streets of Los Alamos without actually seeing the terrain. This myth is just that. A myth!

The truth was that the neighborhoods of Los Alamos were laid out in sections. The grid pattern was laid out in a manner that avoided the canyons, but the neighborhoods weren’t built at the same time. The three sections of 37th Street were part of three different periods of residential growth. And with military precision, the numbered streets were continued regardless of the canyons that might be “in the way”.

Names and Numbers that Aren’t Actually Random

The layout of Los Alamos was actually inspired by William Penn’s layout of Philadelphia. The north/south streets are numbered and east/west streets are lettered. This concept of uniformity was continued into the privatized neighborhoods of Barranca Mesa subdivisions #1, #2, #3 in the 1950’s without the numbers, but following a strict alphabetic pattern. Andanada, Barranca, Chamisa, Dos Brazos, El Viento, etc.

You might find it interesting to note that in the Group 12 neighborhood of modern day Alabama, Arizona, and Arkansas, the military deliberately used state names that began with A, but omitted Alaska because Alaska wasn’t a state in the early 1950’s when the streets were named.

In a good number of the privately developed neighborhoods in and around Los Alamos and White Rock the streets have names that follow a theme. Indian tribes, local animals and vegetation top the list. But in White Rock many of the streets were named for relatives and friends of the developers. Of course, there were certain interesting quirks attached to those as well. For example. Civil engineer and early developer of White Rock, John Mendius, named Catherine and Louise Avenues and Richard Court for three of his four children. Not that he intentionally left out his daughter Karen. But the land where the original Karen Avenue should have been, was purchased by a church and the street never happened. Mendius corrected his oversight in the 80’s when he developed Karen Circle on the other side of White Rock. Better late than never, right?

So the next time you cruise down the residential streets of Los Alamos, appreciate the unique flavor of this very special city. The navigational weirdness is actually an important part of our history. And if you’re ready to find your dream home in Los Alamos, give me a call. I’d love to show you around!

Los Alamos After Cerro Grande

February 27, 2021 /

It isn’t difficult to imagine that a wildland forest fire could have a deep and lasting impact on a town or an area. Anytime natural disaster strikes an area, residents feel displaced. There is a sense of vulnerability, of being out of control. And there is no doubt that the Cerro Grande fire had a huge impact on Los Alamos.

Friday, May 5, 2000 – It started with a small, prescribed fire by crews at Bandelier National Monument. By Sunday, the fire had jumped multiple fire lines and Los Alamos was filled with smoke. The spring winds whipped the blaze into a firestorm. If you’ve ever experienced some of the windy spring days here in Los Alamos, you might be able to understand why a fire could go from a few acres to thousands upon thousands of acres in such a short period of time.

When the fire was only two miles away from the outskirts of Los Alamos, Western Area and what is now the Elk Ridge Mobile Home Park, were evacuated. The wind seemed to calm and firefighters became hopeful that they could stop the blaze at Camp May Road above Los Alamos Canyon.

At 1:15 PM on Wednesday, May 10, 75 mph wind gusts made that an impossibility. Los Alamos was evacuated in four hours. By the time the residents managed to get down the hill, Western Area was already in flames.

“The fire blew around the western perimeter of town, into Pueblo Canyon and finally into the streets and houses of North Community… In less than 12 hours, fire destroyed Western Originals, Modified Westerns, units from Groups 11, 12, 13, 14A, 14B, 15, and 18B, and modern structures. Entire neighborhoods were leveled.” Craig Martin

Photo courtesy of SantaFeNewMexican

There were 400 families displaced by the fire. They lost their homes and everything they couldn’t pile into the car to take when them when they evacuated. It was a catastrophic number in a town where housing was already an issue and had BEEN an issue since the beginning.

After Cerro Grande, it wasn’t uncommon for locals to grumble that they wish the fire had gotten rid of ALL of the old government housing. You could really argue that from an aesthetics perspective, that MIGHT have been the best option. No more quads, duplexes, or fifties era flat roof dwellings. It was a chance to start over. Build modern structures with modern floorplans using the latest innovations in materials and methods. But there are distinct issues with trading old for new.

Affordability

Cerro Grande didn’t just decimate old housing. It took the most affordable housing. Dense residential sections of town that had been initially built to house multiple families in the least amount of space possible. The fact that these homes were some of the earliest available here in Los Alamos is a secondary point to affordability. Many families started out in the sort of homes that were lost in the fire. It was a way to get out of an apartment and into a house. Sure. You might be looking to get into something else later, but we all have to start somewhere. Right? So, what happens when a huge chunk of the starter homes are just GONE? Think the brand new replacements are going to be in the same affordable price range?

Photo courtesy of SantaFeNewMexican

Sheer # of Units

400 families lost their homes. According to Craig Martin’s detailed list of residential structures lost in the Cerro Grande fire, we’re talking approximately 203 buildings. Yes. Wrap your mind around what that means. 203 structures that housed 400 families. The Group 12 homes were hit hardest. 33 Quads and 40 Duplexes were burned to the gound. All of a sudden, homeowners who had once held a deed to one unit in a quad or a duplex had to agree on a floor plan, a builder, and a style. Let’s just say that it wasn’t unusual for some of those families to cash out, sell their portion to their former neighbors, and move out of Los Alamos altogether.

That means 203 structures were burned to the ground and only a fraction of that were rebuilt. The new homes were and still are beautiful. But they sit on land that used to provide shelter for twice as many families as it does now. In other places, that might not matter. In Los Alamos, we feel the pinch even twenty plus years later.

Our Connection to the Past

Yes. The old government housing wasn’t going to win a beauty contest. But in some ways, these homes were actually historic. As strange as it might be to look at a Group 11 Quadraplex and think historic building, they kind of are. They’re part of our town’s identity. As time goes on, we’re losing that connection to our past. To the Atomic Energy Commission and the early days of Los Alamos and the housing board. We no longer remember that it’s ALWAYS been tricky to find housing in Los Alamos. We start expecting our unique town to be like everywhere else. Anytown, USA.

And let’s not forget that the continuity of the structures in town has become even more hodgepodge than it used to be. Perhaps that’s one of the things that Cerro Grande only made MORE true than ever before. It’s possible to take a walk down a residential street here in Los Alamos and see custom homes, former government built homes, a modern duplex, a 1950’s quadraplex, and even modular homes placed lovingly on a firm foundation of concrete. Since the fire, stucco has become the number one choice for exteriors, and there’s no end to the creativity of what you can cover in a Southwestern palette of stucco.

In the end, we persevere. We survive. We thrive. And of course, we hunt for the home of our dreams. When you’re ready to make a move, give me a call. I love to talk Los Alamos, past, present, and future.

Ski Los Alamos

February 8, 2021 /

“Skiers of the hill, arise!”

The words sound like a parody of some epic movie like The Lord of the Rings, but in truth they come from a 1957 memo to members of the Los Alamos Ski Club. The purpose of the memo was to gather all willing and able members to the task of cutting trees, building tows, and essentially creating the Pajarito Ski Mountain as we think of it today. Since the mountain just opened for a limited season thanks in part to Covid and also the less than prolific winter we’ve been having, I thought it might be fun to look back at the history of one of Los Alamos’s coolest local amenities.

Skiing wasn’t originally part of the New Mexico landscape. In the beginning, members of the Ranch School staff and students made the trek up Sawyer’s Hill for their skiing activities. Sawyer Hill was located West of the NM-4 and 501 intersection. By 1943, the Los Alamos Ranch School had given way to the Laboratory and the European born scientists took Sawyer’s Hill in hand. Who better to clear cut trees in one fell swoop than a demolitions team also responsible for handling charges for one of the world’s first fission reaction weapons? Imagine C-4 strapped to trees and you might get a glimmer of the eccentric way that Sawyer’s Hill was expanded.

Sawyer’s Hill became the site of many incredible tales of DIY ingenuity. The first official “tow” was constructed from a circus rope and an old Chrysler engine and cost $400. Season passes were $7.50 and the “mountain” was more of a “slope”. A good portion of Sawyer Hill’s design was overseen by George Kistiakowski. The Ukrainian born physicist would later become the scientific advisor for President Eisenhower. Kistiakowski was an avid skier. So were other scientific heavy hitters such as Enrico Fermi, Hans Bethe, Neils Bohr, and Robert Oppenheimer, all charter members of the Los Alamos Ski Club which was created in 1944 with the purpose of bettering the available skiing at Los Alamos.

By 1957, the LASC was fed up with the unreliable snow and varying ski conditions at Sawyer’s Hill. A scouting party made the trek to Pajarito Mountain and chose the North face as the future home of the Los Alamos Ski Club. Club members felled trees, worked terrain, and created most of the runs still in use today. Pajarito Ski Mountain is unlike any other. If you’ve ever skied elsewhere, you’ve probably noticed. Even now that the mountain itself belongs to the Sipapu Group, there is still a visible presence of LASC members and old school ski enthusiasts. The sense of pride and ownership that these individuals take in their mountain is part of what makes skiing in Los Alamos unique in the industry.

If you grew up in Los Alamos, chances are that you’ve skied. In the eighties and nineties, missing a few Wednesday afternoons of school or work was a normal occurrence when the snow was good and the mountain was open. At one point the membership in the Los Alamos Ski Club included nearly 4,000 locals.

Regardless of your personal enjoyment of our local ski facilities, it’s important to realize that there has been a lot of Los Alamos blood, sweat, and tears involved in keeping that mountain open and operating. Having a ski mountain “in our backyard” is just one more item on a long list of incredible outdoor opportunities available here in Los Alamos County. In the off season there are plenty of hiking and mountain biking opportunities available as well as “Yoga on the Mountain”, a joint venture between Tribe Yoga & Wellness and the Sipapu Group. Nothing says awesome quite like donuts, friends, and yoga at ten thousand feet elevation!

So, when you’re looking for something to do here in Los Alamos, don’t forget to look up! Whether covered in snow or in varying shades of green, Pajarito Mountain is a vital piece of what makes our community such an amazing place to call home. And if you’re ready to talk housing in Los Alamos, give me a call.

The Story of Barranca Mesa

January 27, 2021 /

Most of the neighborhoods in Los Alamos are unique in their own ways. But this sense of unique “differentness” is never more immediately different than when you head up to Barranca Mesa. There’s a reason for that. Honestly. And the simple answer is that until 1958 all of the housing in Los Alamos belonged solely to the government. The very first privately owned homes in Los Alamos were built on Barranca Mesa. But let’s back up a bit and take a look at why.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

LASL, as the Lab used to be known, was the prime concern and focus of the ‘powers that be’ here in Los Alamos. The town itself was a closed community. Beginning in 1949, the Atomic Energy Commission had been systematically backing out of it’s “ownership” of the towns of Richland, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee by selling government homes to members of those communities. But neither of those places were like Los Alamos. The complete lack of space to grow has always been a concern. In 1955, Norris Bradbury was still saying the same thing he had been since 1946. “Housing is the biggest problem faced in Los Alamos.”

Bradbury wasn’t necessarily saying that because he was overly concerned about growth of the town. Let’s be straight here. The town of Los Alamos had one purpose. To provide a workforce for LASL. For this reason, Bradbury absolutely shot down the idea of selling government owned homes in Los Alamos to private citizens. Homes were a perk of LASL employment. If you retired or left your job, you lost your home. End of story.

By the mid nineteen fifties, LASL was having difficulty retaining its workforce because two thirds of people surveyed here in town said they wanted to own their own homes. They were tired of living in government homes that were too small, offered too few modern amenities, and had almost no options for remodeling or updating. Can YOU imagine living in an original Group 11 home and being told that you weren’t allowed to change a thing about it?

It soon became apparent that the best option for home ownership in Los Alamos wasn’t decreasing the LASL pool of government owned homes, but opening up other land adjacent to the Los Alamos townsite for private lots. If you’ve been here awhile or are keeping up with the recent debate over what to do with the LAPS land owned on North Mesa, you might find it amusing that in 1958 it was decided that the approach to North Mesa (it used to be called Tank Mesa) was too steep for residential access. North Mesa didn’t become “a thing” residentially speaking until the 1970’s when the housing situation once again grew desperate.

If you’re currently in the market for a home in Los Alamos, I want you to close your eyes and imagine a situation where you have to apply to purchase one of 72 available lots. That’s right. 72 possible lots not available to everyone, but available to those “approved” to purchase because they were somehow directly linked to an ongoing project at LASL. (In the early days, teachers and physicians were considered essential personnel so they were included in the pool.)

On the night of February 27, 1958, people gathered at the Civic Auditorium where they set up a bingo style ping-pong ball mixer. Numbers were selected, and future residents of Barranca Mesa Subdivision #1 found out what random order they got to select their lot.

Image courtesy of Craig Martin

To give you an idea of how completely random this process was, Barranca Mesa Homeowners Association President, Wallace Leland, and housing activist Dale Holm were picks 53 and 57 respectively. Can you imagine? You spend hours upon hours on this project and the town pediatrician Dr. Sidney De Briere gets the first pick of lots?

The 72 home sites were designated either A or B. A lots had to have a minimum 1200 sq ft home and B lots a 1600 sq ft minimum. Not that there weren’t some distinctively Los Alamos choices in building material included in the custom homes. In fact, when the Ranch School B-Building and the old Ice House were dismantled, several future Barranca Mesa residents salvaged flooring, stone, plumbing, and even wiring to incorporate into their brand new late 50’s custom homes. Come on, say it with me, “That’s SO Los Alamos!”

Image courtesy of Craig Martin

Barranca Mesa Subdivision #2 went into planning in 1959. The first plans included smaller lots to allow for more homes. Unfortunately, the FHA determined that these lots should be more expensive because of rising home values. Buyers weren’t happy with that at all. To appease the general public, the number of lots was reduced, the available lots were enlarged, and the trend of having large, custom homes on Barranca Mesa was reinforced.

Barranca Mesa #3 was offered for sale in 1962.

Barranca Mesa #4 followed quickly in 1964.

The last section of Barranca Mesa to be developed was “Subdivision #5” which extended beyond the narrow portion of Otowi Mesa and let Los Pueblos continue down until to where the end currently exists. A trip down Los Pueblos will include homes built anywhere from the 1970’s to the 1990’s and beyond. In fact, several of the homes near the middle to end section of Los Pueblos were built by the LAHS Building Trades class when I was a local high school student. And if you’ve ever had the opportunity to walk through the homes near the end, you’ve been treated to some of the most incredible views in the county!

There’s no doubt that our local neighborhoods are filled with interesting bits and pieces of local and even national history. Keep that in mind as you shop for your new dream house. Regardless of what neighborhood you choose to reside in or how you choose to make your home YOURS, know that you’re part of a long tradition of Los Alamos Unique! And as always, if you want to talk real estate, give me a call. I’d love to share what I know with you!

Fast Food Facts of Life in Los Alamos

January 11, 2021 /

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was more than a little excited when I heard that Wendy’s was considering building a store in Los Alamos. Before that could happen, 2020 stomped its way through our landscape and at this point there seems to be very little idea if or when that plan will come to fruition.

The eclectic blend of restaurants has always been a part of living here in Los Alamos. When I get frustrated by the lack of popular chain restaurants, I try to remind myself that our beautiful, unique community was meant to be isolated. That was kind of the purpose in the beginning, right? Our population is limited by the geography and availability of land. Corporate chains have strict guidelines on how large a population has to be before they consider building a store. Let’s face it, Los Alamos has never fit into these rules. Our town is a bit of a rebel in that way. After all, this community has two populations.

Population A: The number of people who live here.

Population B: the number of people who come here to work during the regular workweek (outside a pandemic work at home order of course!). And Population B can feel like triple the number of Population A if you’ve ever tried to find parking around lunchtime!

These numbers are so varied that it’s difficult for businesses and especially corporate run or franchise businesses to figure out things like hours and staffing. In fact, at one time there was a rumor that Panera Bread was going to put a location up here, but decided against it in the end. This population issue plays a big part in why we don’t have a lot of chain stores in Los Alamos, and unfortunately, it’s played a part in the fact that when we do, they often don’t last like we wish they would.

For those of you who are new to our community or perhaps even those who have been here for a long time, you might be surprised at some of the fast food franchises that have come and gone throughout the years. Here are a few:

Pizza Hut

At the moment, El Rigoberto’s occupies both of the old Pizza Hut locations. The White Rock location is distinctive. Who doesn’t remember that red topped, rectangular building style that defined the look of Pizza Hut starting in 1969 when the restaurant did a massive expansion and went from a small town pizzeria to a household name. The location at 166 Central Park Square underwent a refacing when the entire complex was renovated, but it originally had a red roof façade that identified it instantly as a Pizza Hut. Now, if you walk inside and take a look around, you can still see the outline of everyone’s favorite pizza chain in the floor plan, tile, and especially at the order counter.

McDonald’s

The White Rock McDonald’s PlayPlace even had a new fangled two window drive thru.

It isn’t difficult to identify our only recently vacated McDonald’s building on Trinity Drive. It’s just a hop, skip, and a jump from the brand new location with its modern double drive through lanes. But what you might not have immediately realized is that at one time there was a second location built in White Rock. It was popular with parents of tiny tots thanks to the ball pit and the enormous PlayPlace. In later years, Time Out Pizza operated out of that space and what was once the popular McDonald’s PlayPlace became their wonderful arcade.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

The old KFC building still has the drive thru lane complete with window.

Ever headed to Viola’s for a scrumptious Indian Taco or a Dallas Burrito and felt a vague sense of déjà vu? That’s because Viola’s is in the building once occupied by popular chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. Many of the booths are reminders of the building’s original start as the popular chicken franchise. The closest KFC these days is down in Española on North Riverside Dr. All things considered, some of us might not trade our local source for Stuffed Sopaipillas and Carne Adovada for buckets of fried chicken. Sometimes I wish we could have them all!

Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors

Oh yes. That’s right. Daniel’s Cafe & Mary’s Gelato used to be Baskin Robbins. And that was the second location. The first location was over behind Time Out Pizza’s new Los Alamos location, this space has been home to everything from a print shop to Quest Diagnostics. Back in the day, it was a rather handy place to grab an ice cream after Saturday soccer games at the field just across Nectar Street. If you’re curious as to why 31 Flavors is no more, you might try asking Daniel Sena of Daniel’s Cafe. On the other hand, if you’ve ever tasted some of the hand-dipped gelato or experienced the amazing breakfast burritos on offer at Daniel’s, you might be glad he made the choice he did.

Taco Bell

What?? You might be sifting through your mental inventory of buildings in Los Alamos and coming up blank. That’s because the old Taco Bell used to occupy a lot now hosting O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. If you’ve been in Los Alamos long enough to forget this building, it was a traditional Taco Bell that included the vintage style sign and design pictured above. When Taco Bell closed, the building eventually housed Hot Shots, owned and operated by Mike Smith who also operated Los Alamos favorite The Hill Diner (originally named Good Eats). Alas, when Taco Bell rebranded their look, our Taco Bell closed. For those of us who really enjoyed making a “run for the border”, it was sorely missed!

Now, that isn’t all of the fast food chains that have ghosted in and our of our fair city. Along with the Sonic, Starbucks, & Subway we currently enjoy, we’ve hosted Quizno’s and even an A&W (in the building where Pig & Fig is now). The good news is that we are growing. Not only that, but our county council is listening to the concerns and needs of members of our community. There are plans for more retail and more restaurants, and when this pandemic is behind us, we might even get that Wendy’s!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip back in time and remember, if you want to talk Los Alamos past, present, or future, give me a call! I love my hometown and I’d welcome any opportunity to help you find a place to call home in Los Alamos County.

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