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K-25 History Center has grand opening this month

Posted at 1:07 pm February 7, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The K-25 History Center will have a grand opening ceremony on Thursday, February 27.

The ceremony, which will include a ribbon-cutting, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Thursday, February 27, at 652 Enrichment Street in west Oak Ridge.

The K-25 site, now known as Heritage Center, was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the top-secret Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs. K-25 helped enrich uranium for “Little Boy,” a nuclear weapon dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II.

After the war, K-25 enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants through the Cold War. The site was shut down in the mid-1980s, and it is being cleaned up and converted into a private industrial park. The site’s large uranium enrichment buildings have been demolished and so have many of the support buildings. Most of the cleanup is expected to be completed this year.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, History, K-25, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: atomic bombs, Cold War, equipment building, gaseous diffusion, grand opening, Heritage Center, historic preservation, K-25 Building, K-25 History Center, K-25 site, Manhattan Project, North Tower, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, uranium enrichment, viewing tower, World War II

DOE needs more time for K-25 history projects

Posted at 12:08 am February 21, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An outside view showing the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting more time to complete projects to commemorate the historic contributions of the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

Built during World War II, the K-25 site helped enrich uranium for the first atomic bomb used in wartime as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The plant continued to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants after the war, and those who have worked at the site have said it helped win the Cold War.

The history of the site will be honored by preserving the concrete slab of the former K-25 Building, building a Viewing Tower and replica Equipment Building on the south side of the building site, and opening a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the adjacent Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4.

A historical interpretation agreement was signed in August 2012. But it expires this August. And the roughly $20 million worth of projects won’t be complete by then.

DOE is making “good progress,” but “the reality is we need a little more time,” said Dave Adler, acting deputy manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Adler and Steve Cooke, K-25 preservation coordinator for DOE, briefly discussed the proposed amendment to the agreement during a Tuesday evening work session with the Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Government, K-25, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 9731, atomic bomb, Beta 3, Clinton Engineer Works, Cold Wr, Dave Adler, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, gaseous diffusion, Graphite Reactor, Heritage Center, historical interpretation agreement, K-25, K-25 Building, K-25 History Center, K-25 site, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Historic Preservation Act, National Park Service, nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, plutonium production, Steve Cooke, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, viewing tower, World War II, X-10, Y-12

K-25 Equipment Building & Viewing Tower: Design complete, construction funding available

Posted at 9:51 pm January 11, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

An outside view showing the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday evening, Jan. 11, 2019, if the design has changed. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The design is complete and funding is available for the construction of an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower that will help commemorate the history of the K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof.

K-25 was built in Oak Ridge during World War II to help enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. During the war, Oak Ridge enriched the uranium for “Little Boy,” the first atomic bomb used in wartime. “Little Boy” was detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II.

After the war, the four-story, 44-acre K-25 Building and four other large buildings at the K-25 site continued to use a process known as gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Officials say the K-25 site, which is in west Oak Ridge, helped win the Cold War.

After decades of use, the K-25 site was shut down in the mid-1980s, and as part of a cleanup effort in recent years, the five large gaseous diffusion buildings have been demolished. But the history of the K-25 building and the site will live on in a History Center on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4, which is next to K-25’s concrete slab, and at the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower, which will be just west of the History Center.

The History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower will be on the south side of the former K-25 Building. The site is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, History, K-25, K-25, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 9731, atomic bomb, atomic weapons, Beta 3, enrich uranium, enriched uranium, equipment building, gaseous diffusion, Graphite Reactor, history center, K-25, K-25 Building, Little Boy, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Michael Butler, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pre-qualification, request for proposals, RFP, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, viewing tower, World War II, X-10, Y-12

Three subcontracts awarded for new K-25 History Center

Posted at 2:53 pm February 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

This is a rendering of the exterior of the K-25 History Center, center, on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. Also planned are an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

This is a rendering of the exterior of the K-25 History Center, center, on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. Also planned are an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, has awarded three subcontracts totaling more than $5.3 million to construct, conduct site improvements, and fabricate and install exhibits for the K-25 History Center at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

The history center will occupy 7,500 square feet in the second floor of the existing, city-owned Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4. The building is adjacent to the K-25 Building’s 44-acre footprint, which is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The history center will include a theater and interactive galleries that display equipment, artifacts, and other media to highlight the site’s workers and numerous Manhattan Project and Cold War-era accomplishments, a press release said.

UCOR awarded two subcontracts for construction and site improvements to North Wind Construction Services LLC of Knoxville, and it awarded a third subcontract for exhibit fabrication and installation to Formations Inc. of Portland, Oregon, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Cold War, construction and site improvements, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, exhibit fabrication and installation, Exhibits and displays, Formations Inc., historic preservation, historic preservation agreement, K-25 Building, K-25 History Center, K-25 virtual museum, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, North Wind Construction Services LLC, Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment, URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, viewing tower

The legacy of Bill Wilcox lives on at K-25 History Center

Posted at 10:01 am October 20, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including the history of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at the the former K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian, announces a book published posthumously that was written by Bill Wilcox, a former city historian, former technical director at K-25 and Y-12, and a passionate advocate for historic preservation, including of the former K-25 site. Smith announced the book at a ceremony unveiling plans for a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station at K-25, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

He was a passionate advocate for preserving Oak Ridge’s history.

He was known for his bow ties and captivating storytelling. He once led the effort to save the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge, or at least part of it.

Now the legacy of Bill Wilcox will live on at the K-25 History Center.

Construction on the history center could start early next year on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four. That fire station, previously transferred to the city, is on the south side of the former K-25 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge.

Officials preparing for the construction of the history center gave tours of its future home at the fire station on Thursday. The tours followed a lunchtime celebration that featured tributes to Wilcox and included speeches and presentations by U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge officials, and federal contractors and historic preservation advocates. Wilcox was hailed as the “father of K-25 historic preservation.”

“He would have been really proud,” said Ray Smith, Wilcox’s friend and Y-12 National Security Complex historian and city historian. “His legacy lives on.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, K-25, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 75th anniversary, Alexander Guest House, Alexander Inn, atomic weapons, Bill Wilcox, Clinton Engineer Works, Cold War, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Gordon Fee, Hanford, Heritage Center, Hiroshima, history center, Jay Mullis, K-25 Building, K-25 Historic Preservation, K-25 History Center, K-25: A Brief History of the Manhattan Project’s ‘Biggest’ Secret, K-27, K-29, K-31, K-33, Ken Rueter, Little Boy, Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Mick Wiest, Nagasaki, National Historic Preservation Act, North Tower, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Fire Station Number Four, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Partnership for K-25 Preservation, Ray Smith, Steve Goodpasture, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment, viewing tower, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

You can see the future home of the K-25 History Center on Thursday

Posted at 11:10 pm October 18, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

A rendering of the K-25 History Center at the Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4 at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

A celebratory event on Thursday will formally launch a project to commemorate the history of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a uranium-enrichment site that was once known as K-25 and built to help make the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

Thursday’s celebration will be followed by a public tour from 2 to 4 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge, the event is part of the city’s 75th Anniversary celebration. It will feature a walk-through of the future home of the K-25 History Center, which will be located in the city’s Fire Station Number 4 at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The U.S. Department of Energy and URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR, DOE’s lead cleanup contractor, will unveil plans and the layout for the History Center before construction starts, a press release said.

Large graphics placed throughout the building will provide the visitor a preview of the finished center, the press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, Government, K-25, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: 75th anniversary, atomic weapons, Building K-25, City of Oak Ridge, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, Jay Mullis, K-25, K-25 History Center, K-25 virtual museum, Ken Rueter, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Secret City, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, uranium enrichment, URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, viewing tower, Warren Gooch, World War II

Construction could start this year on K-25 History Center

Posted at 11:37 am May 4, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 History Center and Equipment Building

An image showing the K-25 History Center on the second floor of the city-owned fire station, right, at East Tennessee Technology Park, with the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at left. (Graphic by David Brown/U.S. Department of Energy)

 

Construction could start this year on the K-25 History Center at the East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, federal officials said. Plans also call for an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower at the site. Although the projects depend upon funding, the goal is to finish the work by 2019.

The K-25 site was one of three large sites built by the federal government in Oak Ridge during World War II to help make the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The other two sites were X-10, which is now known as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Y-12, now the Y-12 National Security Complex.

At K-25, the three history-related facilities will have three missions. The History Center will tell the story of the workers. The Equipment Building will focus on the technology. And the Viewing Tower will show visitors the size of the site. All three facilities will be on the south side of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building.

K-25 used a process called gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and, later, for commercial nuclear power plants. Officials and contractors have said that K-25 helped win the Cold War. The site is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park.

Preserving its history is part of a Memorandum of Agreement that was signed in August 2012 and allowed for the complete demolition of K-25, once the world’s largest building under one roof. The historic preservation work is expected to cost about $20 million total. [Read more…]

Filed Under: K-25, K-25, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, Ben Williams, David Brown, DOE Oak Ridge Office, East Tennessee Technology Park, equipment building, ETTP, gaseous diffusion, Heritage Center, historic preservation, Jay Mullis, K-25, K-25 Building, K-25 History Center, K-25 site, Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, viewing tower, World War II, X-10, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

Planning to preserve history of K-25, which could be part of national park

Posted at 4:38 pm March 25, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 Building Aerial View

Now demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, pictured above, was once used to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Located in west Oak Ridge, the site could become part of a new Manhattan Project National Historical Park. There is a separate effort to preserve K-25’s history; that work could be incorporated into the new park. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

 

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof and part of the one of the largest industrial projects ever, a top-secret program to build the world’s first atomic weapons in World War II.

Today the building is gone—demolition was completed in December 2013—but the stories of what took place inside the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building could live on in a replica equipment building, viewing tower, and history center.

And K-25 could become part of a new Manhattan Project National Historical Park approved by Congress in December and signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 19. The 14-page bill was the culmination of 15 years of work, said Colin Colverson, Manhattan Project Park lead in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

The law recognizes the Manhattan Project as one of the most significant events in U.S. history, with assets and history that must be preserved. It’s considered one of the top scientific achievements of the 20th century, and Oak Ridge residents still marvel at how quickly the three local sites (K-25, X-10, and Y-12) were built and began operating in all-out race to build an atomic bomb before Germany. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Front Page News, Meetings and Events, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, American Museum of Science and Energy, Atomic Heritage Foundation, atomic weapons, B Reactor, Barack Obama, Beta 3, Building 9204-3, Building 9731, City of Oak Ridge, Cold War, Colin Colverson, Congress, Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series, DOE, equipment building, Friends of ORNL, gaseous diffusion, Graphite Reactor, Hanford, Heritage Center, history center, K-25, K-25 Building, K-25 history, Karen Doughty, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Manhattan Project park, Mark Watson, National Park Service, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board, ORNL, Ray Smith, scientific achievement, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Interior, uranium, viewing tower, World War II, X-10, Y-12

With K-25 demolition complete, DOE plans to preserve building ‘footprint’

Posted at 6:52 pm April 11, 2014
By Sara Wise 1 Comment

K-25 Building Demolition March 2014

Demolition work at the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge is complete, and cleanup work is expected to be complete this summer. Pictured above is the former south end of the east wing. (Photo by John Huotari)

Demolition of the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge has been completed. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy looks toward the future and preserving the footprint of the Manhattan Project building.

The building was about 44 acres “under roof,” according to Susan Cange, deputy manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II.

“There was a lot of discussion over the years about whether we could retain a portion of the building as a part of historic preservation,” Cange said. “From a safety and security perspective, it really wasn’t a viable alternative.”

In 2012, Cange and others signed a Memorandum of Agreement, and they envisioned completion of a preservation project within five to seven years. They also agreed to retain the footprint of the building and dedicate it in some way to allow visitors to see the enormity of the former mile-long, U-shaped building. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, ETTP, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Congress, demolition, DOE, equipment building, footprint, Gerald Hilfery and Associates, historic preservation, history cneter, K-25, K-25 Building, Manhattan Project, memorandum of agreement, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Smee + Busby Architecture, Susan Cange, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, viewing tower, virtual museum, World War II

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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