The Neighborhood Built for a Mission
World War II Heritage Sites
Where History Was Made - And Still Lives
Explore the Tri-Cities' World War II legacy as a designated American World War II Heritage City.
During World War II, the Tri-Cities region underwent one of the most dramatic transformations in American history. Located in southeastern Washington State at the confluence of the Columbia, Snake, and Yakima rivers, the Tri-Cities played a significant role on the national stage. What was once a collection of rural communities became the heart of a top-secret mission, the Manhattan Project, with the construction of the Hanford Site and the rapid development of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick. The region’s remoteness, access to hydropower, and transportation routes made it an ideal location for a mission that demanded both secrecy and speed. Entire towns and tribal villages were displaced, neighborhoods rose overnight, and people from across the country arrived to support a war effort cloaked in secrecy.
Today, you can still see, feel, and walk through this history.
In recognition of its vital role in the war and its efforts to preserve that legacy, the Tri-Cities has been designated an American World War II Heritage City by the U.S. National Park Service. This honor reflects the people, places, and stories that defined a generation and continue to shape the community.
Explore the hidden stories, lasting landmarks, and living legacy of the Manhattan Project and World War II through five distinct themes that bring this chapter of Tri-Cities history to life.
Learn more about how communities across America are recognized through the U.S. National Park Service's American World War II Heritage City Program.
WWII Heritage Regions in The Tri-Cities
Heritage Sites
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In a city built for secrecy and science, Howard Amon Park offered something rare: open space, recreation, and a sense of normal life. Developed during World War II, the park was designed to serve the growing Richland community and boost worker morale.
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Before Richland became the city we know today, it was a federally controlled town managed by engineers and administrators working for the U.S. government. At the center of it all was City Hall — not just a civic building, but a symbol of military-era governance.
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While most Richland residents lived in nearly identical Alphabet Homes during World War II, the Gold Coast reflected the city's next chapter. Built during the Cold War, its larger homes, tree-lined streets, and Columbia River views welcomed many of Hanford's scientists, engineers, and community leaders.
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Once a thriving farm town with schools and churches, Hanford disappeared almost overnight to make way for the Manhattan Project. Its name now belongs to a site, but its history belongs to its people.
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Before commercial jets filled its runways, Pasco’s airport served a higher-stakes mission. During World War II, this airfield became one of the busiest training sites in the country and today, its story lives on in the very same tower that watched it all unfold.
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Before it became a civic gathering space, Vista Field played a quieter but vital wartime role. As a naval auxiliary airfield during World War II, it helped prepare thousands of aviation cadets for missions across the globe.
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Built in 1922, the Pasco–Kennewick Bridge, known locally as the Green Bridge, was the Tri‑Cities’ first vehicular crossing. It shifted the region from isolated ferry towns to a connected community, serving as the only route between Pasco and Kennewick for more than five decades.
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Designed during wartime and built in the aftermath, The Parkway in Richland was no ordinary downtown. It was part of a federally planned experiment in how to create a livable city overnight.
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As thousands of new residents arrived in the Tri-Cities during WWII, one place became a spiritual anchor for Black workers and their families: Morning Star Baptist Church.
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During World War II and the postwar decades, Clover Island evolved from submerged sandbar to strategic Port property. It played a small but meaningful role in supporting regional transportation and workforce life along the Columbia River.
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Kennewick wasn’t part of the Hanford Site, but it felt the impact. During WWII, the city’s downtown grew rapidly to serve the rising population of workers, families, and support staff flooding into the region.
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Overlooking the Columbia River, the REACH Museum connects past to present, tracing the story of the region from ancient landscapes to the Manhattan Project and beyond.
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Housed in a restored 1911 Carnegie Library, the Franklin County Historical Museum brings the story of Pasco’s wartime transformation to life; with a focus on migration, labor, and community resilience.
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In North Richland, a towering submarine sail rises unexpectedly from the earth, a Cold War relic with roots deep in the Hanford Site’s World War II legacy. The USS Triton Sail Park offers a tangible link between wartime science and postwar military innovation.
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Located in near Historic Downtown Kennewick, the Museum at Keewaydin is dedicated to preserving the rich and diverse heritage of East Benton County. From pioneer settlements to local industry and culture, the museum captures the everyday lives and legacies of the people who helped shape the region.
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Located in Prosser, this cemetery became the reinterment site for the White Bluffs community when Hanford was built. It preserves the memory of lives uprooted, and graves moved, as part of one of the largest displacement operations in U.S. history during World War II.
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At Washington State University Tri-Cities, the Hanford History Project preserves the human stories behind one of the most secretive and significant chapters in American history. Through archives, exhibits, and partnerships, the project ensures that the people of Hanford are remembered alongside its science.
