OK. Sante Fe, N.M., is a cool place to visit for sure. Lots of turquoise and silver jewelry, legendary art in galleries, native artisans selling their handmade work in the oldest continuously occupied building in America, and the fabulous food all make it a premier stop in the Southwest U.S.
But in a city this old there’s always more tucked away. But this time, it’s in plain sight.
Sometimes, discovery is just taking a walk to the shops
Located a few blocks from Santa Fe’s city center with art galleries and street vendors, there is an unremarkable building at 109 East Palace that houses a retail arts and crafts business known as The Rainbow Man.
When you find it, and are standing on the sidewalk, FULL STOP and then LOOK DOWN.
Your feet have found a path to the offices inside that were the entry point for the first wave of men and women working on a little top secret called Project Y up on a remote plateau in nearby Los Alamos. They were mostly nuclear scientists, nuclear engineers like my father-in-law, and scholarly research metallurgists.
Many had been picked right out of universities in every part of the country, from Princeton to Berkeley. They were men and women of different dispositions, religious sentiments, married or single, with an average age of only 25 years.
Scientific legends like Richard Feyman, Enrico Fermi, Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, Klaus Fuchs, Hans Bethe, and innumerable others walked through the same door you are standing at from their first sign-up day and beyond during the Project’s intense 27 months.
All of them had one thing in common: take a train to nearby Lamy NM and then report to 109 East Palace in Old Santa Fe.
Dozens of these scientists, engineers, technicians, and other support workers would arrive here on their first day to be checked in, cleared for security, and then ferried up to “the Hill by bus”. The ‘bus’ was actually a fleet of station wagons, trucks, or plain 4 door sedans, rather than anything with a dog logo.
This was the secret first stop for the men and women who worked on the first atomic bomb and its other science projects for the dispersed effort called the Manhattan Project.
Yeah, that Manhattan Project – as in atomic bomb. Welcome to Santa Fe . .
As you enter the courtyard of Rainbow Man’s very nice current arts and crafts shop, if you move to the rear, past the wagon and other displays, you will find a modest plaque on the wall, under a porch roof, that states in chilling simplicity what their work meant.
The real brain behind Palace logistics wasn’t Oppenheimer
If you were a newly hired nuclear engineer or physicist, the primary contact person who would greet you at 109 East Palace was Dorothy Scarritt McKibbin, who became nearly as vital to the intense 27 month project as any of the technically skilled scientists she processed.
She shared the building for 3 years working together with Robert Oppenheimer, the head of The Project, while becoming his sounding board and close confidant.
She became a secretary, a personnel and materiel manager, mother goose for depressed souls, officiator of marriages and agony aunt for couples in love, and eventually friend and confidant of some of the most brilliant minds of the century.
Ultimately, she would become the gentle but firm and efficient supervisor for the front office of the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, a place that did not even exist yet on the map.
Dorothy McKibbin became the gatekeeper of the atomic bomb.
She ended up staying in Sante Fe after the war and after The Project was dissolved – until her death in 1985.
The City of Los Alamos created Dorothy McKibbin Hall in her honor at the Los Alamos Historical Museum after her death and its grand entrance houses the wrought iron gate that was originally used at 109 East Palace.
McKibbin would process each of the new arrivals and keep the overwhelming secretarial work in order, essentially making sure that the top-secret trains ran on time.
Everyone who worked on the bomb came through her doors, because it was her job to issue them the secret passes that would let them through the gates of the secret lab high up in the mountains.
It was all accomplished in the quiet back offices here at 109 East Palace. And they’re still here in this adobe building – and mostly unchanged.
After the end of the war in 1945, McKibbin continued managing the scientific personnel, but this time she was arranging people’s departures. Including her friend Oppenheimer in October of 1945.
The decision as to whether the Los Alamos Laboratory would remain, not to mention the Santa Fe office, took months, but Oppenheimer’s successor, Norris Bradbury, agreed to take over the director’s position for six months.
As is typical in government, he would remain for 25 years. He kept the laboratory open and the Santa Fe office open as well, with McKibbin as its head, churning out all the documents and forms that greased the government machinery.
As you move around Rainbow Man, you’re walking in the hallways and waiting rooms that were used by McGibbon and Oppenheimer during those 27 months.
Sure, there have been modifications over time, but the doorways and exterior windows are the same.
Oppenheimer’s desk was possibly set in here somewhere, but there is no marker, so I was guessing during my visit. This was my best bet due to the fireplace and natural lighting in the dark and cool building.
Imagine being a fly on the wall here . .
Another Portal: The Palace of Governors next door
After soaking up all the tech history from your Rainbow Man visit, give yourself a break and marvel at the creativity of local artisans from the regional Pueblos around Sante Fe at another historic venue.
Literally around the corner from the Rainbow Man Shop in the Santa Fe Historic District sits the adobe Palace of Governors, which has served as the seat of government for the state of New Mexico since 1610.
It is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States.
Since its first week with a roof, it has hosted a steady stream of people. Spanish soldiers, indigenous Pueblo people, nuclear scientists, newly-independent Mexican governors, foreign ambassadors, U.S. military commanders, and even officers of the Confederate army have all passed through its doors.
And it is here that you can catch the next great addition to your silver jewelry collection, like you might at a Gem and Jewelry Show in a regional concert venue. Each registered vendor is vetted for authenticity and heritage by a local committee before they can sell at this prominent site, so you can buy with confidence.
Many contemporary artists continue to work with the same traditions and tools as their ancestors, producing award-winning pieces exhibited here at the Palace of the Governors and at the annual Santa Fe Indian Market.
Other artists may embrace a contemporary approach – blending time-honored techniques with cutting-edge mediums, and even reviving old traditions with a new vision. However they are made, each piece reflects the rich culture and innate skill of our valued Native American artists.
No middlemen, no distribution centers, no retailers – just two folks trading.
There are so many artists here that there is bound to be something for everyone. Since the artist is sitting next to their blanket, you can ask questions about each piece – like its symbolism, tribal heritage, or metallurgy.
It’s a very personal experience, trading one-on-one while on a porch.
Then cool off at the San Miguel Mission
4 blocks south, across the Plaza and towards Alameda Street, you will find another ‘oldest in America’ site worth a walk. It’s the modestly sized Mission of San Miguel. It’s a simple but stunning chapel that is still used for services, and is available for touring.
Yep, built only 118 years after Columbus, it is indeed the oldest U.S. church.
It is often referred to as the oldest church in the United States, since it was originally built around 1610, but it’s unlikely that we are looking at the original structure.
The church has been rebuilt twice, once in the mid 1600s, and again in 1710 following the Pueblo Revolt. As is often the case, earlier parts of the building were reused, but it is not clear which ones.
The boldly-colored wooden reredos, which include a wooden statue of Saint Michael dating back to at least 1709, were added in 1798. They just light up the rear of the church. But I was impressed with the condition of the woodwork.
For over 400 years, the nation’s oldest capital city has experienced a blend of Anglo, Spanish and Native Cultures. Fact-driven scientists, methodical sculptors, mercurial actors, nuclear engineers, callused artisans, visionary painters, and other dreamers have all brought their talents and experience with them.
As a result, incredible and spectacular creations have happened when they immerse themselves in Santa Fe’s unique backdrop of peoples, mountains, and sunsets. You gotta see this place . . .
It’s no wonder it’s Conde Nast’s #2 city to visit in the whole of the U.S.
Sources: Wikipedia, 109 East Palace paperback, Rainbow Man Native Crafts, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Manhattan Voices Project,
