El Parkway
Civic Life in a Government-Owned Town
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.
The Parkway served as Richland’s central business and civic district, developed as part of the Army Corps of Engineers’ plan for a fully functional town to support Hanford. Located near Richland City Hall and surrounded by government housing, it was built to be walkable, efficient, and secure, a civilian-friendly face to a classified mission.
Grocery stores, offices, cafes, and community services lined the tree-shaded streets. Because Richland was federally operated until the 1950s, these spaces were tightly managed, from the architecture down to who got which lease.
Today, The Parkway remains a bustling corridor of restaurants and businesses, but its WWII-era layout and architecture still tell the story of a city planned not just for people, but for purpose.
