A City of the Future in the Desert
As the explosive growth of the Hanford project outgrew the temporary camps established for workers, DuPont contracted Gustav Albin Pehrson from Spokane, Washington to develop a more permanent community. The product was a master planned city that mixed walkability and the emerging utilization of vehicles. "Alphabet" homes, named for the limited designs and layouts, lined the streets as a solution to the need for buildings to be fabricated quickly and effectively. Although generally simple in their appearance, they afforded the occupants amenities and a quality of life that was elevated for that time. Hundreds of these homes exist today in the central part of Richland.