Wartime Boomtown
Alphabet Homes
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.
A City of the Future in the Desert
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.
