Oppenheimer House Restoration Campaign

Can you help us restore our national treasure?

Los Alamos Historical Society (LAHS) is rolling out a concentrated campaign to raise money to renovate the J. Robert Oppenheimer home. 

J. Robert Oppenheimer and his family lived in a home on the best street in Los Alamos during his work on the Manhattan Project. It was considered best because the houses on that street, Bathtub Row, were the only ones in town with - you guessed it - bathtubs. Through a generous donation of its previous owners, Bergen “Jerry” and Helene Suydam, the house is now owned by LAHS.

From the beginning, what we now call the Oppenheimer House has been a special property. Built in 1929 for May Connell, the art teacher for the Los Alamos Ranch School, its design was striking.  The stone masonry walls and fireplace as well as large windows may have been one of the reasons that J. Robert Oppenheimer chose this house as his home during the Manhattan Project. But these same features are showing their age.   The house has a charm and is the perfect place to tell the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer for the world. Oppenheimer changed how the world solved problems through Big Science and opened the doors for technology to grow in New Mexico.

While lovingly cared for over the years, the structure requires a great deal of careful renovation before it can be opened to the public as part of our museum campus. In order to ensure that the historical character of the home is maintained and can stand into the future, LAHS is working with MASS Historic Architects and qualified restoration experts to perform this work. As one might imagine, that carries a hefty price tag, currently hovering around $2 million.

Bids have come in substantially higher than anticipated for the first phase of restoration. Electrical upgrades, foundation stabilization, floor care and roof repairs are included in this phase of restoration. 

LAHS board and staff are hoping folks across our great country will want to be a part of this exciting project. “Your donation will directly contribute to the restoration of the house," said Board president Christine Hipp, “so that we may commemorate the life, leadership, and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and inspire a new generation of scientists, writers, artists and leaders.”