Tri-Cities Official Visitors Guide 2008 - (Page 22) During World War II, Richland was transformed from a quiet farming community, to the bustling Hanford Engineer Works (HEW), an operational personnel housing community. bet Homes Alpha City of Richland riChlanD’s riChlanD historiC golD Coast DistriCt Between 1957 and 1960, the entire town, at least those properties no longer directly associated with day-to-day HEW production and operation, was sold to town residents and business owners. The sale of the town was reportedly the largest single-package real estate transaction in US history at that time. Today, the City of Richland is working hard to preserve the Gold Coast Historic District. And it has developed an “in-fill” program for new home construction throughout the older sections of town. New homes are being built on vacant lots in older neighborhoods using Alphabet Home floor plans. The new homes “fit” the existing character—helping to preserve the history of the area, and revitalize the city. Be sure to stop by the Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science, and Technology to see their Alphabet Home exhibit. Source: City of Richland www.ci.richland.wa.us the best representation of the original Alphabet Homes. You can visit www.ci.richland.wa.us to receive a map of the District. More than 160 homes were built in what is now known as the Gold Coast Historic District. The “Gold Coast” was an informal term coined because it provided housing for white-collar employees, executives, and managers of the HEW, and was later home to many of the community’s high-income professionals. In 1943, Richland was a governmentowned town and HEW employees and family members were the only eligible residents. Security was a major concern, especially during World War II. Background checks were done, police had spare keys to all the homes, the phonebook was marked “Classified,” mail was examined before delivery, and phones were tapped—all as security measures. The government owned everything in them, including the furniture, and they even changed the lightbulbs! The population jumped from 250 to 20,000 residents between 1943 and 1949. And, 5,000 homes were built or transported to the city during the same timeframe under the direction of architect-engineer, G. Albin Pehrson. 3,740 of which were built within a twoyear period. These homes are referred to as Alphabet Homes because each type of home was designated a letter of the alphabet. And the Gold Coast Historic District is newick Man Ken A mud-encrusted skull was found on the City of Kennewick’s Columbia River shoreline during the annual hydroplane races in late July 1996. Dubbed “Kennewick Man” that skull and its 9,000+ year-old skeleton became the center of a debate between scientists who wished to study him and Native American Tribal leaders who wished to rebury him. An exhibit at the East Benton County Historical Society Museum tells the story of Kennewick Man, his finding, and theories about his life and early migration into North America. The exhibit, which opened in January 2006, includes an original skull casting taken when the skeleton was first unearthed. Claimed as ancestor by both The Asatru Folk Assembly (www.runestone.org) and American Indians, Kennewick Man is one of the most complete ancient skeletons ever found. Anthropologists, geochemists, data analysts, and other scientists from across the United States collaborated on the research, which seems to indicate the skull had some European-type facial features. That, according to scientists, could suggest that there were migrations of people other than those strictly out of Asia; giving rise to new ideas on how people populated North and South America, including whether the traditional land bridge theory is out-of-date. Today, the Kennewick Man skeleton is sequestered at the Burke Museum in Seattle where it was taken for repository during the ongoing legal battle between scientists and tribal leaders. More Information on Kennewick Man and the museum’s exhibit can be found at www.owt.com/ebchs and www.kennewick-man.com. 22 www.VisitTri-Cities.com (800) 254-5824 or (509) 735-8486 http://www.ci.richland.wa.us http://www.ci.richland.wa.us http://www.owt.com/ebchs http://www.kennewick-man.com http://www.runestone.org http://www.VisitTri-Cities.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.