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The Pile Under the Stands

The first nuclear reactor went up in the middle of a city, and the university's president was not asked.

Collection: Chicago · USA · Open in OpenStreetMap

Drawing of the 1942 reactor at Stagg Field
Drawing of the 1942 reactor at Stagg Field · Melvin A. Miller, Argonne National Laboratory, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Listen to this place’s story in Peplos.

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How to install the early version through TestFlight
  1. Get TestFlight. Tap the button, then go to the App Store from Apple’s page. TestFlight is Apple’s free app for early versions.
  2. Come back here and tap the button again. In TestFlight, accept the invitation and install Peplos.

After installing Peplos, return to this page and tap “Open this place in Peplos”.

How the story begins

Norman Hilberry stood on a balcony with an axe. If the reaction ran away, he was to cut a rope and let an emergency rod drop. Samuel Allison stood ready with a bucket of cadmium solution, to throw over the pile. They were in a squash court under the west stands of the University of Chicago's football field, on this ground, on 2 December 1942. The first nuclear reactor was meant to go up out of town, at Argonne.

The rest is in the app. Peplos plays the full story when you reach the place. You can also listen ahead of time.

Visiting

South Ellis Avenue on the University of Chicago campus, outside Regenstein Library. Open campus, free to see from the path at any time.

Sources

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