Harley Cowan is a photographer and practicing architect based in Portland, Oregon.
Harley’s interest in large format photography led to a research fellowship in architectural heritage documentation and preservation in the Library of Congress. Harley grew up in Richland, Washington adjacent to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. B Reactor completed in 1944 as part of the Manhattan Project, the world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor which produced plutonium for nuclear bombs detonated at Trinity, New Mexico, and Nagasaki, Japan. Arguably the greatest engineering feat of the 20th Century, and the most terrible, a Promethean altar of science, it has long held a fascination. Harley’s photo documentation of the Manhattan Project first began in 2017 when he was granted access to the Hanford Site and B Reactor by the Department of Energy.
For the past century, the large format camera has been the traditional tool to interpret and record architectural and engineering heritage because it allows for in-camera perspective correction, its sheet film provides greater resolution than other formats, and it satisfies a 500-year archival standard required by the Library of Congress. There was a time when photographers established themselves with work produced for a private or federal documentation program such as the Farm Security Administration or Works Progress Administration. Unlike previous New Deal programs following the Great Depression, three federal documentation programs are on-going and active today. The Historic American Buildings Survey was established in 1933 as a joint venture between the National Park Service, the American Institute of Architects, and the Library of Congress as a way to preserve American built history. Historic American Engineering Record was added in 1969 to record American industry and infrastructure. The Historic American Landscapes Survey was created in 2000 with the mandate to follow strict guidelines for black & white, large format, film photography. As a contemporary photographer, Harley believes early practice within these programs provides a valuable foundation upon which to build.
A graduate of Washington State University, Harley also served as a member of the Professional Advisory Board for WSU’s School of Design & Construction for eight years. Early in his career, Harley spent six years working in the nuclear industry, his studies also taking him to Far Eastern State Technical University in Vladivostok, Russia.
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
A Cathedral of Science
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
This is the loading face of B Reactor (1944), the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor which produced the plutonium for the Trinity Test in Los Alamos, New Mexico and the Fat Man bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
B Reactor with C Reactor (cocooned) on the horizon. The locomotive and rail cars, now on permanent display, were used to transport spent fuel from reactors to the 200 Area for processing and separation. The steel superstructure at the right of the frame is to allow for maintenance and removal of the reactor’s horizontal control rods.B Reactor (1944)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
Looking northwest toward B Reactor.
B Reactor - Looking north to B Reactor from C Reactor.The Far Side
The south side of B Reactor is referred to as the far side because it is opposite from the Control Room. The most critical walls, those around the reactor core, are reinforced, cast-in-place concrete. Other walls were constructed of concrete brick and block, which could be completed faster.
Transfer & Storage
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
An access door into the transfer and storage area on the far side of B Reactor and adjacent mechanical ductwork.
Vertical Safety Rods
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The vertical safety rods (VSR) are used to rapidly shut down the chain reaction in an emergency. The rods contain boron, a neutron absorbing material which "poisons" the chain reaction by robbing it of free neutrons. Each circular hopper contained a sixty foot long safety rod which, during operation, would be suspended by the cables up above the reactor core. In an emergency or a power outage they would drop by gravity into the reactor. The rods have articulated segments so that even if an earthquake shifted the graphite blocks of the core, they could still snake their way down. Piping on the far wall was part of a last ditch safety system, tanks (no longer extant) filled with liquid boron solution which could be poured down the VSR channels. Wet graphite would make the reactor useless so, a few years after B Reactor began operating, the liquid boron system was replaced with the "Ball-X" system, spheres of boron encased in nickel. These could also pour down the VSR channels but be vacuumed out later. At the left in front of the short stair is one of the vacuums--it looks like a rocket.
Scram Panel
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
This is part of the Control Room within B Reactor. These Venturi valve gauges monitor cooling water across the 2,004 process tubes containing fissile uranium fuel slugs.
Don't cause a scram.
Control Room
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
A broader view of the reactor operator's console and scram panel within the Control Room. This chair is an original. Today, a different chair is placed here during tour season.
Years ago, I was on a tour here and Dee McCullough, the reactor operator who was on duty the first night of operation, was acting as a docent. This chair was in place but had a rope across the arms. I was talking with Dee as the group moved on. He leaned over conspiratorially and asked, "Do you want to sit in it?" I said, "Is that permitted?" He said, "Well... it's my chair so I think I can decide!"
Reactor Operator's Station
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
This is the reactor operator's console inside B Reactor. The clocks have been set to the time when B Reactor went critical on September 26th, 1944, marking the world's first self-sustaining chain reaction.
Control Panel
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
This console in the Control Room is part of the monitoring instrumentation.
Ballast Tanks
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
Looking at the underside of the ballast tanks and the connection to the accumulators. 4x4 wood posts provide a "soft brake" if the ballast tanks were to crash down in an emergency. The system pumps are in the background.
Tagged Out
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
Here a hand-painted, wooden warning tag prevents workers from closing a cooling system valve at Wiring Harness
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
This wiring harness for the temperature monitoring equipment for B Reactor's bioshield, is hand-tied wax string. Circuits are hand-soldered. A Ray-o-Vac D-Cell supplies a constant flow of electricity to the circuitry.
Diesel Oil
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
Diesel oil tank at B Reactor.
The Bruggemann Warehouse (1907)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The Bruggemann Warehouse on the Hanford Reservation. This was abandoned with the creation of the reservation. This view is looking north inside the main storage space. Three pairs of carriage doors face east.The Bruggemann Warehouse (1907)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The Bruggemann Warehouse on the Hanford Reservation. This was abandoned with the creation of the reservation. West and south façades shown.
Allard Pump House (1908)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The Allard Pump House on what is now the Hanford Reservation supplied Columbia River water to the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs and irrigated thousands of acres of farmland. Fill has been added on the south side of the building. Originally, the building as surrounded by water and access was from the bank via bridge.
Allard Pump House (1908)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The interior of the Allard Pump House looking west. This building was currently being used as the residence for a pair of barn owls.
Hanford High School (1916)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
Hanford High School, abandoned with the creation of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Little else exists of the town of Hanford, Washington.
Rehabilitation of the White Bluffs Bank (1909)Rehabilitation of the White Bluffs Bank (1909)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The White Bluffs Bank, currently under restoration. This is the only building remaining at the abandoned town of White Bluffs, evacuated for the creation of the Hanford Reservation. The block building still contains its safe. The existing wooden window frames and sashes, thanks to the desiccating climate, were mostly salvageable and were repaired and reglazed.
The White Bluffs Bank (1909)
Manhattan Project Nat’l Historical Park, Washington (2017)
The White Bluffs Bank, currently under restoration, is the only building remaining at the abandoned town of White Bluffs, evacuated for the creation of the Hanford Reservation. Note the hand-painted sign, added after the bank was no longer in use, is being preserved in situ. It warns Hanford workers to "inspect, detect, and correct fire hazards," a serious problem at abandoned townsites.
Harley Cowan is a photographer and practicing architect based in Portland, Oregon.
