Hanford Houses

The Tri-Cities of South Central Washington are widely considered the armpit of the Pacific Northwest, but even the human armpit is an erogenous zone, so the combined mini-metropolis of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland situated at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake and Columbia Rivers must have some redeeming features. With that in mind I decided to do a little research on them this last weekend.

Prior to World War II, the history of these towns pretty well paralleled any other shithole desert outpost. But the Manhattan Project changed all that in 1943. The once tiny town of Richland, situated adjacent to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was seized by the Federal government and grew to 25,000 by the end of the war. As a result it has an interesting architectural legacy, the Alphabet Houses. Ranging from spartan pre-fabs to basic colonial boxes, these hastily erected structures have become prized real estate to the point that the Gold Coast neighborhood recently gained a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Well into the 1950s Richland remained a closed town with checkpoints restricting all access. In many ways the community foreshadowed the modern suburban gated community with its narrow range of housing options, restricted access, auto-centric layout and lack of an urban center--all several years before Levittown. While urbanists may decry the effects of this model, there is no denying the city's historical significance.

Due to their proximity and status as an established agriculture and transportation hub, the neighboring towns of Pasco and Kennewick grew as well. However, these cities each retain a small pre-war downtown core at either end of an elegant cable-stayed bridge. Kennewick, while still barely a century old has a nice collection of early 20th century houses and commercial buildings, and thanks to the recent redevelopment on Clover Island, it is experiencing some renewed attention.

The eldest of the three, and still a major agricultural center, Pasco has until recently languished economically on the eastern bank of the Columbia River. Even so, in the last decade as development has exploded in the former irrigated fields along I-182, the new residents rarely if ever venture into the old town, now home to a largely Hispanic population. I know some of the new residents who go so far as to refer to their sprawl as "East Richland".

For all its environmental and developmental ills the Tri-Cities region does have some advantages going for it. The winters are sunny and mild, a welcome escape for many Northwesterners contemplating suicide in February. The summers, while definitely hot are not nearly as bad as in the southwest, with the added advantage of cool evenings with long northern twilight to allow for outdoor enjoyment even in July. The area is home to some world-class wineries and plentiful produce. A lush greenbelt is in development along the Columbia River, and real estate prices are not nearly as astronomical as they have become on the West Side or even in the more desirable parts of the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. While I'll admit my lust for one of those Alphabet Houses, I still don't think that I'd want to live there, but it's not as bad as a first impression would suggest.