Alphabet Homes
Alphabet Homes
The Neighborhood Built for a Mission
At the height of World War II, the U.S. government urgently needed to house the growing workforce supporting the Hanford Site. What began as a network of temporary camps soon gave way to something far more ambitious: a fully planned community built from the ground up.
The Neighborhood Built for a Mission
Constructed during World War II, the Alphabet Homes were part of the U.S. government's rapid effort to create a livable, functional city for Hanford Site workers and their families. Each home design was designated with a letter, such as the "A House" or "B House," with the layout and size matched to the resident's job, rank, and family size.
These modest but efficient homes were built with speed and practicality in mind, arranged in orderly neighborhoods across Richland's carefully planned street grid. Although originally intended as temporary wartime housing, many of the homes remain occupied today and are cherished by residents as a defining part of Richland's historic character.
The Alphabet Homes represent one of the most complete surviving examples of federally planned wartime housing in the United States. Walking these neighborhoods offers a direct connection to the lives of the people who supported one of the most secretive and significant scientific missions in history.
