Category Archives: Nuclear Legacy

July 2025 Atomic Tourism Calendar

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This month features the sculpture by Henry Moore of Nuclear Energy, located on the University of Chicago Campus near the approximate site of Enrico Fermi’s Chicago Pile-1, the world’s first nuclear reactor. The sculpture has been described as representing both the creative (symbolized by the pillars with arches like a protective cathedral on the bottom) and the destructive (mushroom cloud on the top slightly resembling a skull) sides of nuclear energy.

The sculpture was dedicated on the 25th anniversary of the initiation of the first self-sustaining controlled nuclear reaction by Enrico Fermi on December 2, 1942. It was unveiled at exactly 3:36 PM on December 2, 1967.

Also included in this month’s calendar are some significant Atomic Events in July which, of course, includes the Trinity Test on July 16, 1945. During July, from 1945 through 1990, 72 nuclear tests, both atomospheric and underground, were conducted.

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May 2025 Atomic Tourism Calendar

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Oppenheimer and Groves statue in Los Alamos

This month’s calendar features the statues of J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Lesie Groves located in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

The sculpture of the directors of the Manhattan Project were designed to memorialize the historic photo of the two men standing at Ground Zero at the Trinity Site after the successful test of the plutonium bomb on July 16, 1945.

Physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, left, and Army Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves in 1945 at the site of the remains of the Trinity atomic test in New Mexico. Credit: Army

The bronze statues were created by Santa Fe artist Susanne Vertel, who created the life-size statue of Oppenheimer through the Shidoni foundry. However, the foundry closed before completing the Groves statue, which was cast by a Colorado foundry. Thus explains why their patinas are a little different.

The statues are at the intersection of Central Avenue and Bathtub Row, near Fuller Lodge. The dedication occured on May 19, 2011, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren of both men present for the ceremony.

Dedication photo
On the day of the dedication this historic photo was taken of three distinct groups of people: On the left, are the members of the Council-Appointed Committee, assigned the task of spearheading the production of the portrait bronzes. Susanne Vertel, the sculptor who created the two pieces, stands within that group with the red rose on her lapel. Next, are the Los Alamos County Council members and the group on the right is made up of Oppenheimer and Groves family members. (Photo courtesy of Leslie Bucklin)

In addition to the photo of Oppenheimer and Groves, this month’s calendar features all 141 atomic shots that occured in May from 1952-1989. Unfortunately, that means there wasn’t room for some May events, but you can find some of them at the Atomic Heritage Foundation timeline at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History web site.

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April 2025 Atomic Tourism Calendar

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This month’s featured image looks southeast across the Columbia River to the B Reactor on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the Hanford Reach.

The Hanford Reach is a free-flowing section of the Columbia River which is the only section that is not tidal nor part of a reservoir. Most of this flows through the Hanford Site. The Reach was created as a National Monument in 2000 encompassing the original security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The image was taken from a pullout on northbound WA-24 on the north side of the Columbia River, just east of the Vernita Bridge. From this vantage point, visitors can see nearly all of the remaining buildings, processing plants, and reactors of the Hanford Site.

Also this month, you’ll find some interesting atomic events that occured in April over the years as well as 88 atomic shots that occured organized by day.

If you visit the Hanford Reach, be sure to visit the REACH museum in Richland which provides geographical, biological, and historical displays of the area from Ancestral land usage, through early settlements, to the Manhattan Project, and current communities and wildlife.

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