New York's Real Role In the Manhattan Project

A New York Times reporter takes a fascinating trip around Manhattan with author Robert Norris, who has chronicled the actual New York roots of the original Manhattan Project in a new book.

The article, and certainly the book, are full of surprises. Nondescript buildings in Chelsea and at Columbia University once housed vast quantities of uranium, Norris says. From the article:

Passing students and pedestrians answered "no" and "kind of" when asked if they knew of the atom breakthroughs at Pupin Hall. Dr. Norris said the Manhattan Project, at its peak, employed 700 people at Columbia. At one point, the football team was recruited to move tons of uranium. That work, he said, eventually led to the world’s first nuclear reactor.

The name itself comes from simple bureaucratic language, rather than any super-secret code name. The project's initial headquarters was in an unremarkable building across from City Hall Park, where the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters were located.

Initially the project was dubbed "Laboratory for the Development of
Substitute Materials," but organizers decided that would draw too much attention, and rechristened it using a standard Army regional designation. Thus: the Manhattan Engineer District, later shortened to the Manhattan Project.

Take the tour with the Times, it's a fascinating read even if you're not a New Yorker.
Why They Called It the Manhattan Project [New York Times]

Image: New York's Woolworth Building, which housed a front company hiding top-secret bomb development. Credit: Vidiot, via Flickr.)