Tag: Los Alamos History (Page 8 of 8)

The Myth of 37th Street & Other Tales

March 13, 2021 / Kendra

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 / Kendra

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

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?

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 / Kendra

“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 / Kendra

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.

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!”

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 / Kendra

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

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.

Get Outside in Los Alamos

December 23, 2020 / Kendra

You don’t have to be in our community for long to realize that outdoor activities are one of the things we do best! Miles and miles of county maintained trails, sports complexes, and ready access to the Santa Fe National Forest provide hours and hours of good, healthy entertainment. But there are more than a few fun things to do that are on the unusual side and some of those have rather historic beginnings.

North Mesa Stables

Though the stables is listed on the Los Alamos County Parks & Recreation website as a “park”, it’s a little more complicated than that. There have always been horses on the Pajarito Plateau. In fact, the original “stables” housed horses used by the Los Alamos Sheriff’s Posse to patrol the perimeter of Los Alamos back when the town was still closed. You can read more about the Sheriff’s Posse HERE.

What you might not realize is that the stables originally occupied what is now the practice field across the street from the high school. There was a golf course in that area as well. With the expansion of Los Alamos and the building of houses in the Western Area, the stables was moved to a spot at 35th Street and Diamond Drive which is right beside… The Los Alamos County Golf Course.

There has always been some contention between the residents of the town and this idea that the stables are a bit of an eyesore or a waste of land that could be used for building houses. For that reason, the stables moved to land that is now occupied by Hawk’s Landing, then across North Mesa to what is now Broadview, and finally in 1952 to their current location between the ball fields and the Kwage Mesa Trailhead.

Several of the buildings at the North Mesa Stables date back to the beginning of Los Alamos.

This land was eventually given to Los Alamos County in 1972 by way of a quit claim deed from the Atomic Energy Commission. What locals might not realize is that this deed from the AEC designates that this land be used for it’s current purpose. Horse Stables. The process of removing the stables would actually be quite complicated. Beyond that, it would remove a really unique part of Los Alamos History from the community landscape.

How it Works

Let’s unravel the mystery of how a Los Alamos resident becomes a resident of North Mesa Stables. First, you DO have to be a county resident. The land is held by the county and licensed on a yearly basis to a stable owner for a fee based on the size of the lot. The licensee is the owner of any improvements on the lot, (barns, fences, structures). The stable owner is entirely responsible for the purchase, maintenance, and cost of keeping any livestock on the premises. If a resident would like to inquire about purchasing the improvements on a stable lot and entering into a license agreement with the county for that lot, then the easiest way to do this is to contact the Parks & Rec office.

Visitors

If you’re not into the idea of heading out to North Mesa to care for your livestock multiple times per day in all weather, that’s okay. You can still enjoy the stables. Visitors are welcome to walk through and take a peek at the wide variety of animals. Everything from horses to peacocks and so much in between! In spring you can even see brand new lambs and kids and perhaps a few new baby horses as well.

Looking to enhance your garden? The manure in the disposal bins is FREE to the public. If you’re looking for something organic to add to that garden, then look no further. Take your pickup truck or your garden tubs up to the stables and find a pile that looks appealing to your botanical tastes. The county uses the manure for compost so they do ask that when you’re strolling the stables, you don’t place your dog poop bags or any other waste into those bins. And if the stable owners seem particularly concerned about this rule, it’s because the county passes the cost of filtering out that non compostable material to them.

Ettiquette

As you’re taking your stroll through the stables, enjoy more than a few historic buildings sprinkled throughout the barns. There are two original homesteader cabins and several former LASL buildings as well. Feel free to observe the goings on from a polite distance. However, please keep in mind that the alleyways between the barns are off limits to the general public. Sometimes the stable owners intentionally keep an animal at the back of their lot because that critter isn’t safe to be in the public spotlight. If you see a sign asking you not to pet the horses, it’s probably because they do bite. These are privately owned animals and they come with their own bad habits. In a way, walking up to someone’s stable lot and petting their horse is a bit like trying to pet a neighborhood dog behind the fence.

If you’re dying to get a little more interaction with the animals than a simple stroll down the gravel road, there are several organizations you might try contacting for a more close up experience. The Gifted Horse Therapeutic Riding, Los Alamos Pony Club, 4-H, and Lemonade Living all have stable lots and support outreach programs for animal lovers of all ages. Get out and volunteer or join a club and you just might find a way to satisfy the horse crazy kid in your life.

In non Covid years, there are several Stable Community Outreach programs too. Stroll the Stables is an educational walk through during Fair & Rodeo Week and the Luminaria Walk is a fun twilight tour at Christmastime. During these events, participating stable owners open their doors and welcome visitors and questions so look for the signs next year and get out and enjoy!

As the conclusion of the holiday season approaches and we prepare to say farewell to Year 2020, get outside and enjoy the sunshine and blue sky. Take a breath of fresh air and enjoy this beautiful community we call home. And if you’re ready to move from renting to home ownership, I’d love to share my hometown with you and help you find a place to call home here in Los Alamos County!

What’s With White Rock?

December 10, 2020 / Kendra

View into the Rio Grande Valley near Hell’s Hole in White Rock.

Los Alamos County is unique. No doubt about it. There are bits and pieces of local life that are so “normal” to those of use who have lived in Los Alamos County for a long time. Those same bits and pieces make the newbies scratch their heads with wonder. No doubt one of those “bits and pieces” happens to be White Rock itself. How on earth did a town that isn’t a town spring up on a scrap of land that is so difficult to develop that modern construction methods have spent the last several years blasting the ground and missing deadlines just to put a few fairly simple houses on the acreage between the White Rock Visitor Center and the Grand Canyon/State Road 4 intersection?

Here are few things to keep in mind:

White Rock began life in 1949 as a hastily slapped together development to house construction workers. No kidding folks, there were around four hundred prefabricated houses, spaces for privately owned trailers, and some dormitories. Homes weren’t wired for phone service and one of the big bragging points was that they had a gas range for cooking!

In Craig Martin’s fascinating book, Quads Shoeboxes and Sunken Living Rooms, he relates a story about a young boy who was burned in a kitchen fire. The poor mother couldn’t call for help, couldn’t access the family car because it was with her husband at work, and waited hours for her child to get treatment. “In the Los Alamos News the next day town managers said the proper way to summon emergency help in White Rock was to pull the nearest fire alarm.”

And yet, even in this rural “overnight town”, there was a commercial section of town that included a grocery store, a beauty shop, a barber, a doctor’s office, and a jail. There was also a school and a post office. Why did the 2400 residents of 1950’s White Rock get all the good stuff? Because the construction crews didn’t have a clearance and therefore could NOT get into Los Alamos to shop on the hill.

The entire development was situated on the land between Joya Loop, Rover Blvd, and State Road 4. The single family homes were literally referred to as “shoeboxes”. Yep. That’s right. Shoeboxes. By the winter of 1957 the new construction at the National Laboratory was done and there was nothing left of White Rock but a few empty streets. The prefab houses had been sold and moved elsewhere.

By 1959 the “critical housing shortage” in Los Alamos brought the Atomic Energy Commission back to the idea of developing White Rock. This time they proposed to Washington that they sell the property to a private developer. Two hundred acres to start, a thousand acres more in the future at (this will make you cry) a whopping $25.00 per acre. Houses were supposed to be in the $15,000 range to accommodate lower income home buyers. (Talk about appreciation!)

Sounds brilliant, right? Wrong! The FHA deemed White Rock to be too rural to offer mortgage insurance to home buyers. The whole project would have been scrapped if it weren’t for a bill introduced to Congress by then NM Senator Clinton Anderson. John McCone, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, pushed hard and in November 1960 President Eisenhower signed a bill to offer FHA mortgages in remote areas to promote growth and development. By the end of the month, developers were making bids to make White Rock a reality.

Noxon’s original plans for White Rock. Those who picked up the building contracts after Noxon bowed out have kept to the same general idea except the golf course out toward the right.
(photo courtesy of Craig Martin)

By January 1961, the contract was awarded to Los Angeles based Noxon Construction and folks here locally were perusing floor plans and looking at options for exterior and interior finishes. The cost of the homes was $19,000, but an agreement from the local utility companies to pay for the installation cut the costs by $4,000. But that was only the beginning of the story. See if this doesn’t sound familiar.

Craig Martin writes, “the Noxon construction project was fraught with troubles from the start. The dense, hard basalt just under the surface proved more difficult and expensive to work with than first expected. Street and utility construction progressed slowly. Noxon soon felt that meeting the 200-house stipulation of the contract would be impossible.”

Martin goes on to talk about Noxon barely breaking even on the homes and eventually being fined by the AEC for failure to complete his promised 200 homes. Noxon gave up the contract, two other builders from Santa Fe and Roswell took up the torch in 1964, and White Rock was eventually considered a permanent development and an alternative to living in Los Alamos.

The interesting thing about the original “Master Plan” for White Rock was that it included a police station, commercial center, golf course, an elementary, junior high, and high school. These were considered the necessary amenities of a town in post-war America. For those of us living in White Rock, we would heartily agree that those things are necessary. We just can’t seem to get anything to stick around!

Those of you who haven’t been in our area for long might not realize the various amenities that have come and gone from White Rock. The shopping center is where Gordon’s began. In the late eighties kids rode their bikes up to Gordon’s for ice cream and to buy the latest cassette tapes. WaterMills offered gifts and a full selection of Jelly Belly Jellybeans.

At one time we had a bowling alley. In other years residents could enjoy watching a movie at The White Roxy or renting one at The Film Festival. There have been many versions of the drug store, classic supermarkets, a Pizza Hut, a McDonald’s, and dozens of restaurants that have come and gone.

So, as we all continue to ponder the future of White Rock and pine away for things like fast food chains and shopping, let’s take a moment to be glad for what we have. After all, nobody is telling you to pull the nearest fire alarm and wait for the fire crews up in Los Alamos to get here. In fact, we have a beautiful fire station, a fantastic branch of the local library, and a Visitor’s Center that sports a packed parking lot through most of the summer (in normal years of course).

Things will change. White Rock will continue to change. And our remote village will discover a new identity for all of us to enjoy. And if you happen to be looking for real estate in White Rock, give me a call. I’d love to show you around.

Tag: Los Alamos History (Page 8 of 8)

The Myth of 37th Street & Other Tales

Los Alamos After Cerro Grande

Ski Los Alamos

The Story of Barranca Mesa

Fast Food Facts of Life in Los Alamos

Get Outside in Los Alamos

What’s With White Rock?

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