I’ve lost count of the number of times a new-to-the-area client has commented on the number of active churches here in Los Alamos. It might surprise you to discover that the first church established here in Los Alamos is still operating in their original building. Of course, that building wasn’t constructed on the site where it stands, but isn’t that the origin of a lot of buildings here in Los Alamos?
During the war years when the Secret City was still very much a hush-hush place of people who lived and operated under the alias PO Box 1663, folks gathered and worshipped in various locations. By 1947, the town promised to become an actual town and the residents approached General Leslie R Groves about adding a chapel to the Los Alamos landscape.
A suitable building was located in Santa Fe. The structure had once been an Army Chapel, but had been used as a hospital during the war. It was moved thirty-five miles to it’s current location on “the Hill”. “On November 6, 1947, the ecumenical venture was formally chartered under the leadership of Rev. Abram Sangrey and endorsed by the Federal Council of Churches. One hundred and eighty-six residents signed the original membership role, and it grew both in numbers and in spiritual development” (LA Daily Reporter). The original church organization was heavily influenced by the “church union” movement of the 20th Century and continues with that mission today.
The United Church is located at 2525 Canyon Road in the same spot where the Chapel was placed in 1947. The church has expanded and added new buildings, but the original structure was designated a Los Alamos Historical Landmark in 2022 and is open to the public on weekdays from 9AM-3PM.
Are you ready to become part of our community here in Los Alamos? Give me a call! I’d love to chat real estate in Los Alamos with you.
As I mentioned several posts ago, I was fortunate enough to acquire several postcards featuring scenic views of Los Alamos from the early years. Several of these absolutely fascinate me for multiple reasons. I thought I would share several and see if any of you have similar thoughts or reactions. Check out this one:
Of course, once my mind moved beyond the picturesque 1940’s era snapshot of what appears to be a beautiful neighborhood in a quaint mountain town, I began to wonder what on earth would make a simple photo of Western Area housing into the sort of thing you’d choose as a postcard?
The description on the back of the postcard reads: “Residential STREET SCENE at Los Alamos, New Mexico, the atomic research center.” The street pictured is Trinity Drive, not far from the Trinity/Diamond intersection.
To a modern mind so used to communicating via text, email, social media, and with the ability to send realtime digital pics to anyone on my contacts list within seconds, a postcard of a residential street seems, well… boring! But I suppose if I consider for a moment some of the pics I take with my phone and send off to friends and combine that with a decades ago mindset, it’s really not surprising that this would make the postcard rack. Perhaps to visitors, housing for the scientific staff responsible for atomic research is a novelty! Rather like buying a postcard featuring a giant sunflower when visiting Kansas.
My next thought? Holy cow! The neighborhood trees have grown taller and the mountains are awfully bare since Western Area was first developed! And The first houses were ready for occupancy in 1947. It was no wonder that Craig Martin credits the Western Area the housing development with “halting the exodus of the scientific staff in the summer of 1947”. The original Western Area three bedroom single family home was the nicest housing option ever to appear in Los Alamos.
Looking at both of these images, there seems to be so much space in the neighborhood! The original plan was to have ample open space and what appeared to be continuous green yards with no barriers. The needs of growing families almost immediately got in the way of that particular master plan. You can see several fences in this image. In those days, you simply had to apply to the Zia Company to put up a fence at your address. So one might suggest it didn’t take long for that wide open space to be disrupted by fencing in favor of keeping kids and dogs at home.
It’s still a gorgeous neighborhood, isn’t it? We all know the flat roofs became an issue. And who can forget the strange kitchen sink issue on the first few “model homes”? But the more I looked, the entire neighborhood began to look so very wrong in these photos. Which brought me to my next “hmmm” moment.
I went back to my Field Guide to Los Alamos Housing and re-read the section on Western Area again. That’s when I realized that in 1948, the housing shortage which had been so briefly addressed by the completion of this new and gorgeous Western Area neighborhood, once again became a major concern for the AEC. At that time, the notion of bridging Pueblo Canyon with utilities was considered a financial non starter. The solution? Squeeze another 150 homes into the Western Area neighborhoods.
Modified Westerns were built between existing homes, at the end of cul de sacs, and all up and down Fairway and Ridgeway, which hadn’t existed until that point. Can you imagine living in that beautiful, brand new neighborhood for a year and then being informed that part of your lot was about to be taken away in order to cram another house in between you and your neighbors?
The Modified Westerns offered much less in the way of amenities than the Originals. No carport or fireplace. No block and stucco this time. Only wood frame was offered. Rooms were 25% smaller and one resident stated in December of 1948 that, “a Christmas tree, a child’s play pen, a few pieces of furniture and a large dog literally filled the living room”.
But it was a roof over their heads, and here in Los Alamos, that means something! If you’re looking to change the roof over your head, give me a call! I love talking real estate in Los Alamos. I’m your hometown real estate broker and I’m always ready to put my knowledge of this wonderful and unique town to work for you and your family!
Thanks to the new Oppenheimer movie, Los Alamos memorabilia is a hot item on E-bay. A lot of this memorabilia includes postcards. I have to say that these are So. Much. Fun! While brainstorming ideas for this blog, I ran across a beautiful and very dated postcard photograph of the Post Office and Mesa Public Library circa 1945. It got me thinking about our two public library branches. Both are beautiful and modern. They offer our community a huge number of amenities and access to an enormous collection of information and artwork. So, how did this very small, remote town come to have such a great library system? The history might surprise you!
The First Library in Los Alamos
Considering the gathering of so many scientists, engineers, and pioneers of academia here in the early days of Los Alamos, it can’t be a surprise that creating a library became such an important task.
According to Lisa Bier’s research in “Atomic Wives & the Secret Library at Los Alamos”, the first librarian was Charlotte Serber, wife of prominent physicist Robert Serber. She was an unusual choice because she wasn’t a librarian at all. The history suggests that Oppenheimer chose her specifically because she wasn’t a librarian and therefore wouldn’t have the same hang ups about library protocol. It makes a lot of sense if you consider the haphazard and often slapped together quality of the Secret City during the early days. There probably wasn’t much time for protocol.
The original library materials had to be ordered, but could not be sent directly here. All mail to residents of Los Alamos was forwarded through a single post office box in Santa Fe. PO Box 1663 is still Triad’s LANL operating address today. In fact, many residents five to six generations back who were born in Los Alamos had PO Box 1663 on their birth certificates!
Library materials were ordered and borrowed through UC Berkley and numerous other scientific organizations. Over 1200 hardcover books and full runs of 50 different periodicals made the list.
But the coolest part of the library story illustrates the difficulty of keeping things secret. At one point, an investigator from Los Alamos was sent to Santa Fe to discover how random Santa Feans had gotten the names of some of the most secret and famous residents of Los Alamos. Turns out that these scientists and engineers had gotten library cards to the Santa Fe Library in their own names in order to borrow books! The books would be sent via mail. Can you imagine how strange it must’ve looked to the post office to have all of these books, periodical journals, and scientific research journals plus something like 250 copies of the Sears Catalog among other regular mailings. It would’ve been pretty obvious that there was something special going on in PO Box 1663!
This desire for secrecy prompted the security service to hang around in Santa Fe spreading misinformation about what was actually going on in Los Alamos. The “official version” was that we were making electric rockets up here. Eventually, as you might imagine, the Manhattan Project wasn’t able to be kept a secret anymore.
LANL Research Library
Of course, that original library is long gone. The current LANL Research Library is located on the main campus of LANL here in Los Alamos. It’s near the Otowi building and is able to accessed by the general public during regular business hours. As you might expect, not everything available to badged LANL employees is accessible to Average Joe, but just being able to go in there and see the building and some of the historical information housed there is worthwhile! If you do happen to work for LANL and have a badge, you can access the library 24/7. It’s an amazing collection of periodicals, technical papers, records of experiments, and books from every possible corner of the globe on any number of topics!
Mesa Public Library
The main branch of our local library is pretty recognizable to folks as they head toward the former location of Central School. Though the school was actually located more in the vicinity of Circle Drive, the library is just a little further up Central Ave with the main driveway entrance being just across from the Justice Center.
What a lot of folks don’t realize, is that the Mesa Public Library has tons of art on display and cataloged for educational use. Depending on the circumstances, some of the art can be checked out like a book. The gallery displays works from many well known contributors to the art world. The downstairs often offers kindermusic classes, story time, and any number of other kid friendly local activities.
The upstairs area of the modern library has rooms which can be reserved for meetings, group events, and other gatherings. There is no fee for local clubs or groups. You just need to chat with the ladies at the desk.
Of course, the first Mesa Public Library was part of the original Central Park Square Complex. The library was initially funded as a subscription library in 1943 by 70 local families who each donated $5. By 1945 it was free and open to everyone. In the image below, the library is on the right, but you can’t tell how far it extended. As I recall, the library building occupied all of the space between what is now the corner you can see in the image, and the jewelry store on the opposite corner. There were always stores fronting the parking lot at 15th and Central Ave. It really does give me a sense of nostalgia to see this photo image. I’ll talk more in another post about Central Park Square in general.
White Rock Branch Library
The first branch library in White Rock was opened in 1985. It was located in a small section of the White Rock Community Center on Longview Dr. The space still hosts the White Rock Senior Center, but in 2015 the county built a fabulous library on the corner of Sherwood Blvd and State Road 4 directly across the highway from the White Rock Visitor Center. If you’ve never been to the White Rock Branch Library, it’s worth a visit just for the spectacular views from the windows. Handily enough, the library is right next to the White Rock Youth Activity Center which offers kiddos 3rd-8th grade the opportunity to go back and forth depending on what activities they want to participate in. If you haven’t visited, make a plan to do it soon!
Regardless of whether or not you love books, it’s hard to deny the value in our local libraries. It’s just one more amazing thing about life in Los Alamos. When you’re ready to make the move, give me a call! This is a great time to sell real estate in Los Alamos County and a popular time to join our community. I’d love to talk to you!
There’s no doubt that the Oppenheimer movie has generated some additional tourist traffic this season. With all of the extra questions folks have been asking about the “old days”, I thought it might be interesting to dig a bit into the spot where traffic up the hill literally stopped. The Los Alamos Main Gate.
Main Gate Park
You’re probably plenty familiar with this local location. There’s a small, sparse campground there. The building with the facade on it is actually bathrooms. And none of this blocks the road or prevents any kind of traffic from passing through. In fact, if you just look at Main Gate Park and the tower on the other side of the road, it’s difficult to visualize exactly how the old front gate worked.
The Missing Pieces
So many times when we see historic images of the Main Gate, this is the image we see. An old car parked in front of a tiny building that very much resembles the bathrooms we have today. This historic photo from 1943 is certainly accurate. However, the background is entirely wrong. It appears that the clapboard building is on a skid that allows it to be moved around. It was likely in the middle of the street, which makes a lot of sense in 1943. But in the beginning, they thought there would only be a handful of scientists and some support staff. You might say that things quickly got out of hand and required a “main gate upgrade”.
The biggest missing piece of the original setup is actually the Petree Garden Center. As it is today, someone added more windows because it was a restaurant for a good many years. But when Los Alamos Landscaping purchased the building several years ago to become their garden center and a base of operations, I got the opportunity to take a peek at some of the still existing and rather ancient parts beneath the building that show it was very much part of the old main gate.
What structures, you ask?
The main “structure” that remains is an old tunnel that goes beneath the road and was used to access the tower on the opposite side of the road. The tunnel has some interesting graffiti. There was a youth group using it as a “hang out” at one point. Structurally speaking, it’s likely still sound. However it hasn’t been updated with any new wiring or safety egress for a long time so it is considered “closed”.
If you put the pieces together, this is what the gate looked like during most of the Manhattan Project.
This image is from a very old postcard. It shows how the Main Gain at Los Alamos used to appear when it was functional and the Secret City was closed to all but authorized personnel. The location makes quite a bit of sense really. Can you imagine what the view is like from that tower?
Since we’re talking about the Main Gate, I thought I’d toss in this postcard image as well. The photo is of the curve just past the Totavi gas station at the bottom of the hill. At that time it was called the K-195 highway. Some of you might remember when it looked like this. I suspect when the city was still closed, the road was much narrower and probably not paved. The ride up to the Main Gate must have been a nail biter for folks who’d never experienced mountain driving! It’s still that way for some visitors even though the locals tend to drive the thing like NASCAR.
If you’ve got additional information about our Main Gate, please feel free to leave it in the comments! I’d love to hear your thoughts. As always, I try to be thorough in my research, but there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle of Los Alamos and sometimes they don’t always fit together to make the same story. I’m a third generation Los Alamos resident and I love the history of this amazing place! If you’re ready to be part of our community, give me a call. I’d love to talk real estate with you!
Moving to a new town is stressful for the entire family. A change of pace. A change of scenery. New friends. Losing regular contact with old friends. Leaving your clubs, social groups, coaches, even having to change your hair or nail salon. These are experiences that we don’t often realize affect us deeply when we move. Even a cross town move can be stressful that way. Perhaps you were incredibly close to your “old neighbors”. Sure, you guys still live in the same town. But without that proximity, it’s likely that the relationships will undergo a significant change.
One of the best things about Los Alamos is the huge amount of groups, clubs, activities, social venues, and things to do. I can actually imagine readers scratching their heads as they read this. I’m not fibbing, folks. Really. There are TONS of things to do in Los Alamos if you make the effort to connect. So, as we begin a new school year, let me throw out a few things that belong on a FAQs list for Los Alamos.
“Do people really allow their unsupervised children on the city bus?”
Some of this answer is dependent upon the level of responsibility and independence in your own kiddo. But really, the answer is YES! Our Atomic City Transport system is really easy to utilize and it’s free. You don’t need tokens or a bus pass. Whether you’re local or not, you just climb on and ride to your destination. You can also get the phone app for the ACT that will help you navigate routes or show you exactly where “your” bus is. If you’re worried about your kiddo getting off at the wrong stop or not knowing how to navigate a change of bus, try riding the route with them a few times until they’re comfortable. Yes, it’s more effort on your part in the beginning. But having a kid who can get themselves places using public transportation is an amazing bonus later on!
“My child has difficulty making friends or becoming part of a “group”, how can I get them involved?”
Los Alamos Little Theater and the Los Alamos Light Opera often have parts available for budding youth actors. Reach out to them via their websites for more information. While the Derby Dames don’t have spots available for young players, the YMCA has a Jr Roller Derby Team. You can get more info about the Los Alamos Cherry Bombs on the YMCA website.
If your child is more interested in outdoors, Los Alamos has you covered! We have active Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, United States Pony Club, and 4-H. If your kiddo is passionate about any of the activities offered through these organizations, reach out and talk to the local community. Even if you don’t have livestock or your own “pony”, that doesn’t mean you can’t participate. You’d be surprised how often there are folks willing to share their resources.
“Where do kids “hang out” in Los Alamos?”
This is a bit more complicated of course. You’ve probably noticed that kids in Los Alamos hang out pretty much everywhere! But if your kids are new in town and looking for a spot to meet up, you might try the Activity Centers.
Both the Teen Center and the Youth Activity Center are located in the Community Center building next to Ashley Pond. The Youth Activity Center is operated by Los Alamos Family Council and welcomes kids 3rd thru 8th grade. The YAC was created as free service to the community and provides a safe space for kids to hang out after school and on holidays. The Teen Center is for high schoolers only. It’s operated by the Family YMCA.
The emphasis of both Activity Centers is on safe, clean, and respectful fun. The Centers often offer Art Groups, planned field trips, fun activities, and plenty of games of every shape, size, and variety. The Teen Center often offers opportunities for “after hours” activities. Teen Center employees host an Auto Meet in the Ashley Pond parking lot on Wednesday evenings for teenagers who want to talk cars. The group welcomes anyone whether they have a car or only wish they did.
I could probably go on and on about the fun things to do here in Los Alamos. As we move toward fall and back toward winter, the awesome seasonal activities will once again be in full swing. Skiing, Ice Skating, and even Snow Shoeing! But for now, I’ll leave you with these ideas and wish your family the best school year yet!
As always, when you’re ready to be part of our community here on the Hill, give me a call. I’m your hometown real estate broker. I’d love to chat about real estate in Los Alamos with you!
It is so crazy to imagine that in only a few days, our school staff will be back in the building planning for the coming school year. The first day of school is August 9 and it’s coming up fast!
As I get my own kiddos ready to return to the classroom, I’ve been thinking about the back to school routine here in Los Alamos when I grew up. You remember. Before Amazon. Before the “Big Smith’s”. Back when every school grade had the same school supply list and the variety of supplies to purchase was so limited that we were all carrying the same lunchbox…
School Lists
Of course, I can only speak for my own experience of school shopping here in Los Alamos. Everyone had their own routine and it certainly changed from decade to decade depending on a lot of things. I’ve had relatives who remember when school supply lists were posted on the front windows of their school along with class lists letting folks know who their next teacher would be. You had to copy these lists long hand, (because there were no hand held cameras back then), and then head off to whatever stores were available to buy supplies.
Most of what I remember involved a class list posted in the school window along with a copy of suggested supplies for each grade. But each student in the district received a very small welcome packet that had a school supply list included. One you had that list of supplies however, you were on your own to find what you needed.
Before Walmart
Some of my acquaintances several years, (in some cases decades), ahead of me, remember shopping at TG&Y back when it was where Ruby K’s is now. When I was young TG&Y was located where the Pajarito Brewpub is located now. I would get some new clothes and maybe a pair of shoes. Some of my friends made a big deal about shopping for a first day of school outfit or a special outfit for picture day. There’s more information about places we used to shop HERE.
Anthony’s could be counted on for some clothing and shoes as well. And there was Revco, a drug store, in case you wanted a slightly different looking pencil or pen. Aspen Copies used to be the Los Alamos Stationery Store. I’m not even sure my kids would know what stationery is these days. But a few folks would get very cool looking pens, pencils, and other office supplies there. The Stationery Store was also where we could pick up a piece of poster board if we needed it.
I’m certain that some folks went off the hill to K-Mart in Santa Fe for school supplies. And there were always a lot more options if your parents were willing to drive to Albuquerque. Clothes were sometimes purchased from the Sears Catalog and delivered to the catalog store which was once located in the vicinity of our current UPEX store. Walmart didn’t appear in Santa Fe until the nineties. If you school shopped in Santa Fe you were probably at the Villa Linda Mall, which used to have quite a few department stores like Mervyn’s, Dillard’s, Sears, and also Millers Outpost where most of us can probably remember purchasing our Levis.
First Day of School
When I was younger, there was no meet the teacher. Through a good portion of elementary school you lugged your school supplies to the classroom on the first day in your backpack and a series of paper or plastic grocery sacks. You didn’t meet your teacher or see your classroom until that first day. The first day of class was almost always on a Monday and you spent most of it talking about which days you had gym, art, and music class and sometimes teachers would write a schedule on the blackboard.
I didn’t think anything of the way we were essentially thrown into the “deep end of the pool” with this method of showing up on the first day with no previous knowledge of where I was going or what the classroom looked like. I have to say that I’ve loved going with my kiddos as they meet their teacher before the first day, set up their desk or locker, and then get a good idea of what the building layout is, or what to expect in the coming school year. We talk a lot more these days about setting kids up for success and keeping them prepared. That’s progress! But I also kind of enjoyed the excitement of getting to school and maybe not knowing exactly what to expect.
The Special Touches
What I can remember rather vividly was how cool it was to have at least one school supply that was different from everyone else’s. When stores didn’t carry a huge variety and there weren’t a lot of stores anyway, everyone had the same stuff. Pencils were almost always yellow, green, or red. Pens were identical. Everyone had the same crayons, or the same color of highlighter.
If you could get a “special” piece, it was generally a pencil someone had given you for a holiday, or even at church or a sports event. Or perhaps you’d found one of those ballpoint pens that wrote in ten colors depending on which button you pushed down. Even a lunchbox or backpack that your parents had bought while out of state was the coolest thing ever!
I have such amazing memories of going to school here in Los Alamos. As I said before, if you came before or after I did, there’s a good chance your experience was different in some way. I’d love to have folks share their memories of back to school! Make a comment below or post one on my Facebook page. I’d love to hear from you! And as always, when you’re buying or selling real estate in Los Alamos, give me a call. I’m your hometown real estate broker!
A few weeks ago we chatted about Derby Dames Roller Derby, the Toughriders Mountain Biking group, and half a dozen musical organizations that would love to add you to their numbers. This week, I want to invite you to two of my favorite groups here in Los Alamos.
Atomic City Road Runners Club
If you want to walk or run, would like to walk or run more, or would like company while you walk or run, this is the place for you! Membership is open to anyone and it’s such a great opportunity to have company on the trails. Find the Atomic City Road Runners on the web HERE.
What if I’m not such a “great” runner?
That’s the beauty of this group! You don’t have to be aiming for an Ultra Marathon. You can just enjoy getting out in nature at your own pace. Meets or races are held regularly and members estimate their times as a way to compete not only with each other, but with themselves. The goal is self improvement and the atmosphere is accepting and encouraging. It’s a great place for long time locals and newcomers to Los Alamos alike.
Los Alamos Auto Club
Ever see a group of super cool cars and trucks gathered in the parking lot at 15th & Central Avenue here in Los Alamos? If you have, you might want to stop next time and introduce yourself!
The Los Alamos Auto Club meets every Sunday other than the first Sunday of the month in the parking lot across from the Bradbury Science Museum on Central Ave. The group is open to anyone who loves to talk about cars. Sometimes the group gets together and caravans to other events in nearby cities like Santa Fe.
My teenaged son loves to talk vehicles of any kind and has been welcomed by the Auto Club members, so age doesn’t matter here folks! It’s such a great way for locals to meet other locals with similar likes, exchange knowledge, and help out with ongoing projects. I hope you’ll check it out this weekend! For more information and to connect with the group, check out their Facebook Page HERE.
So next time you think there’s nothing to do in Los Alamos, reach out to some of these groups we’ve been talking about and get involved! There is so much to do in our little mountain town, so much to see, so much to experience! Science Fest is here, the weather has been beautiful, get out and enjoy! And when you’re ready to talk real estate in Los Alamos, give me a call! I’d love to chat with you.
Yes! You are invited! To what, you ask? This Friday night, June 30, RE/MAX is one of several businesses sponsoring the Friday night concert. Yes, I know. The whole state is invited to see the live performance of Ryan Chrys & the Roughcuts. But RE/MAX customers are invited to a special VIP area before the concert with drinks, food, and fun. So join us at 4PM!
Which customers are invited?
ALL OF THEM! Yes! If you were a customer in the past, are currently searching for your dream home or selling your current home with RE/MAX, or you’re looking for a way to meet and greet fantastic real estate brokers, we want YOU in our VIP section.
I’ve been talking quite a lot lately about the Friday night concerts at Ashley Pond. There’s no doubt these are an amazing local event filled with family fun, food, great music, and a chance to chat with your neighbors. RE/MAX is all about supporting local events and we’d really like you to come out this Friday night and say hello!
The line up for this Friday’s concert should be great fun! The Los Alamos Community Winds will kick off the night at 6:00PM. Next is an amateur country showcase from 7:00PM until Ryan Chrys & the Rough Cuts come on stage at 8:00PM. I just did a post recently about the Los Alamos Community Winds. You can check that out HERE. This Friday is going to be a concert that has a bit of something for everyone!
Who is Ryan Chrys?
The Rough Cuts and their front man Ryan Chrys are passionate about their music, their fans, and their grass roots dedication to Modern Outlaw Country. You can learn more about the band HERE. Listen to a sample of their music and you’ll probably be reminded of what we sometimes think of as “old school” country music.
Chrys grew up on a ranch in Montana. His mother was a folk singer and later he moved to Denver to pursue a music career singing the style of country he’d grown up loving to play. The Rough Cuts pride themselves on producing a traditional country sound. There’s a great interview with Ryan Chrys on Voyage Denver’s website HERE. This concert should be a great opportunity to enjoy old country music in a comfortable local venue with friends, food, and our very own spectacular scenery as a backdrop. What could be better?
Once again, this Friday night – June 30 – RE/MAX is hosting a VIP area for our customers with fun, food, drinks, and a great chance to listen to live music. We’re starting at 4:00 PM and will be enjoying the music until the concert ends at 9:00PM! Come out and say hello, grab a beverage, and enjoy the show. The food will be available until it’s gone! And if you’ve ever considered buying or selling real estate in town, give me a call! I’d love to chat with you this Friday by the pond!
With the new Oppenheimer film releasing on July 20, 2023, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the rather large number of films that have been shot here in Los Alamos. Since the filming of Oppenheimer was so recent, most of us can recall the excitement of having movies crews, staging equipment, actors, and other film personnel hanging about town. But this isn’t the only large scale film to be shot here, nor were Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr the “biggest” actors (of their time) who were here on location in Los Alamos.
According to IMDB stats, there are 42 films or filming projects that officially list Los Alamos in their “filming locations”. Some of these include shows like “Longmire” and half a dozen or more documentary series that were filmed here due to our connection to the Manhattan project. In 2017 most of us remember Only the Brave, which was a movie about the Granite Mountain Hotshots. But some of the other films and film projects might surprise you.
Twins
This 1988 comedy starring Arnold Schwartzenegger and Danny DeVito was wildly popular when first released. At one point in the story, the very opposite fraternal twins go in search of their “test tube” origins. They find answers in a very small building at the Los Alamos Laboratory. The building used for filming is the one once located just “beneath” the hospital that was very recently torn down to make way for the new apartments just off Trinity Dr. Residents at that time gathered to gawk at the stars. Of course, many excited fans were trying to get a look at just how “enormous” Arnold’s physique actually was in person! If you haven’t seen this film, it is a funny trip back to the late eighties. The scenes in Los Alamos are tastefully done and the scenery certainly looks genuine, even if those parts of the story were pretty minimal. And, I don’t think anyone here at LANL (or LASL) was ever involved in utilizing test tube babies to create super humans. But I suppose we’ll never know, will we?
Silkwood
This 1983 suspense drama was filmed both in Albuquerque and in Los Alamos. The plot is based on the real life story of Karen Silkwood who worked at a plutonium facility in Oklahoma and was exposed to radiation. The film starred Meryl Streep, Cher, Kurt Russell, and Craig T Nelson as well as many other well known actors. Considering the plot line, I think we can all imagine why they would use areas at LANL as sets for the plutonium facility. It’s still interesting to think that these folks were wandering around town when I was growing up here and I had no idea. But as I think back, we weren’t necessarily as up to date on films being shot on location. Our appetite for celebrity news wasn’t nearly the same in the world before social media.
The Milagro Beanfield War
Also filmed in 1988, the Milagro Beanfield War is a Robert Redford film starring heavy hitters from the time such as Richard Bradford, Christopher Walken, and Melanie Griffith. The story focuses on the difficulties with water rights in a small high desert community. A local tale from that time was that Redford’s horse wrangler was having issues with a horse being used on set up on North Mesa during filming. A local horsewoman helped out by volunteering her own gelding for filming and was thrilled to meet Robert Redford and “work” with him.
Tiger Eyes
Judy Blume’s book, Tiger Eyes, was set in Los Alamos. You can read more about that HERE. But the film adaptation made in 2012 did quite a lot of on location filming here in town. The film has quite a few deviations from the original story, but is well done and worth watching as a “coming of age” story about a teenager trying to overcome a severe family trauma. Judy Blume and her son Lawrence wrote the script together and Lawrence directed. I love this fact about the film because it means the author was able to have direct input on any changes to her original vision. Judy Blume actually lived in Los Alamos for a few years in the mid to late seventies. I wonder if it surprised her to see how much change had happened between her living here and her shooting her film here?
There are plenty more films shot here in Los Alamos. With our unique connections to history, the dramatic scenery, and in some cases the “time capsule quality” of our local flavor, it’s really no wonder we’re popular that way. The Secret City on the Hill has plenty to offer and so much character! When you’re ready to talk more about Los Alamos, give me a call! I’m your hometown real estate broker and I’d love to talk Los Alamos with you!
It’s summer, so it’s easy to think that the music scene here in Los Alamos revolves around the Gordon’s Concerts at Ashley Pond, which it does. Sort of. You can always get more info about the Summer Concert Series, but you probably have no idea just how many ways there are to get musical here in Los Alamos. And our musicality goes back a looooong way! All the way to 1944 in fact!
From Rosemary O’Connor’s history of the Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra:
During the war years Los Alamos had no organized instrumental group. The residents satisfied their musical hunger with many string quartets, piano quintets, and other such chamber groups. There was also, at that time, a very fine Jazz band which entertained the community weekly.
From January 1945 through 1946, there was a group formed under the direction of Robert Dike, a french hornist. He also wrote special scores for the instrumentation available. The group was comprised of military and civilian personnel. The funding came from the “Special Services” of the Army and was administered by Captain Hugh Martin. Some of the people who performed in this group under Bob Dike were Al and Diz Graves, Moll Flanders, Eric Jette, Robert Richtmyer, Frank Osvath, Frank Bice, Ken Jeusen, Harold Fishbein, Hermond Lacey and Don Lovelace.
Isn’t is amazing to think of the amount of trouble folks went to back then for entertainment? I sometimes feel as if they’d laugh to hear us complain about a lack of “things to do” nowadays! At one point, the Los Alamos and Santa Fe Symphony groups tried to combine to form a larger orchestra. Unfortunately, the transportation up and down “the hill” available in the fifties made that impossible. But the relationship is still strong. And the original spirit of musicians playing for the love of music as a way to share in community has continued forward into more musical organizations than you might imagine!
Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra
These days the Symphony Orchestra includes musicians that are both local and also from Santa Fe. Many of our players belong to the Santa Fe Community Orchestra as well as LASO. LASO welcomes student involvement and hosts guests conductors and soloists from all over. Each year, the Symphony Orchestra awards a scholarship to young musicians graduating from LAHS in an effort to promote music and help the community.
LASO also has a strong connection to the Los Alamos Choral Society, which has been a musical voice locally since 1944. The groups perform a joint concert at least once a year. Whether you like to play or enjoy listening, it might be time to check out the LASO schedule.
Coro de Cámara
Technically a “spin off” of the Los Alamos Choral Society, Coro de Cámara is a premier chamber chorus that performs music from a multitude of eras, styles, and conductors. Singers are from Northern New Mexico, but the group began in Los Alamos and showcases a wealth of local talent. Spots in the chorus are open to auditions and the group performs regularly throughout Santa Fe and Los Alamos.
One exciting bonus of the Santa Fe/Los Alamos relationship is the availability of Santa Fe Opera apprentices for some of the performances. The opportunity to hear and to perform with such talent is usually hard to come by in out of the way places like Los Alamos, but culture is something we do rather well in the Secret City and if you’d like to see Coro de Cámara perform, check out their website for the latest schedule.
The Hill Stompers
Did you play a band instrument for a semester or two in school? Are you looking for an awesome group of folks who just like to play music and enjoy life? Would you be surprised if I told you those two things are all that’s required for you to join the Hill Stompers?
This award winning jazz band ensemble formed in October 2000 just to have fun. They play public venues like bars and parties, participate in parades, and provide music for local events too! Even if you’re just learning an instrument for the first time, you can find a spot in the Hill Stompers.
Los Alamos Community Winds
As I mentioned above, there is a long history of musical ensemble groups here in Los Alamos. As Rosemary O’Connor’s history of the Symphony Orchestra reminds us, many of those original groups were blends of military and civilian musicians who just wanted to play! The Los Alamos Community Winds dates back to those groups from the 1940’s as well!
For those of you who grew up playing in the elementary, middle school, and high school bands, you probably remember Mr. McDonald. Jan McDonald was a conductor in the 70s, 80s, & 90s who often invited students to join the Los Alamos Concert Band. Under his direction, the group played civic concerts during the summer, especially at the Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration. The Community Winds group is the continuation of that tradition. Musicians and music lovers from our local area are invited to join the Community Winds as a player or as an enthusiast! Check their news page for the latest concert information or to find out how to be involved!
I hope you’ve been bookmarking websites and planning your social calendar for the next several months as I run through the amazing list of things to do, see, and experience here in Los Alamos. Whether you’re buying or selling real estate or just chatting about this amazing place we call home, give me a call! I’d love to talk to you!
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