Atomic-Age Shopping, Still Open for Business
Uptown Shopping Center
In the middle of a war-fueled boom, Richland needed more than reactors : it needed groceries, barbers, and a place to buy socks. The Uptown Shopping Center emerged to meet the everyday needs of workers and families in a government-built city.
A Modern Marketplace in a Wartime Town
Constructed in 1949 but designed during the Manhattan Project years, the Uptown Shopping Center replaced earlier temporary storefronts with a permanent, walkable commercial hub. Located near Alphabet House neighborhoods, it offered essential goods and services, all monitored by the federal government.
Though it opened just after WWII, its creation was a direct result of wartime planning and postwar transition. With clean mid-century lines, integrated parking, and block-long canopies, the Uptown was one of the earliest examples of modern suburban shopping in the Northwest.
Today, it’s still a vibrant retail and arts district, and one of the few WWII-era planned commercial zones that evolved along with the city that built it.