Los Alamos in Los Alamos County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Hans Bethe House

Los Alamos Historical Walking Tour

Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025

1. Hans Bethe House Marker

Inscription. The original dwelling on this site, a small staff cottage for the Los Alamos Ranch School, burned in 1931. The replacement stone home served the school's finance director, Fred Rousseau. During World War II, Edwin McMillan, who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in chemistry, and his wife Elsie lived here. Right after the war, Hans Bethe, the 1967 winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, and his wife Rose moved in. Hans particularly enjoyed soaking in the tub. Although he only lived in the house for six months, the building is named in honor of Hans Bethe for his significant contributions to scientific work in Los Alamos. Today, the Hans Bethe House is part of the Los Alamos History Museum, housing the Cold War Gallery, with exhibits featuring the role Los Alamos played in that conflict and what everyday life was like in the community.

Below: What are now known as the Hans Bethe House, left, and the Oppenheimer House, right, during the Los Alamos Ranch School era, circa 1930s. Right top to bottom: Han Bethe, winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in physics; Hans Bethe, his son Henry, Enrico Fermi and his son, Giulio explore the Los Alamos countryside in a U.S. Army jeep, circa early 1950s. (photo courtesy Los Alamos Historical Society)

Pick up a copy of the Historical Walking Tour Guide at the Los Alamos History Museum, Bradbury

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Science Museum, Los Alamos Nature Center, any of the Visitor Centers, or one of the visitor guide kiosks around town. Download one by scanning the QR code, or go to visitlosalamos.org.

Erected by Los Alamos.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1931.

Location. 35° 53.021′ N, 106° 18.084′ W. Marker is in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in Los Alamos County. It is at the intersection of 19th Street and Nectar Drive, on the right when traveling south on 19th Street. The marker is located along the walkway in front of the house. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1350 Bathtub Row, Los Alamos NM 87544, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern New Mexico.

It is also in the American Southwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Oppenheimer House (here, next to this marker); Victory Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to the Harold Agnew Cold War Gallery in the Hans Bethe House (within shouting distance of this marker); Hitching Rail (within shouting distance of this marker); The History is Here Campaign (within shouting distance of this marker); A Sense of Place (within shouting distance of this marker); Bathtub Row (within shouting

Hans Bethe House Marker (left side) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025

2. Hans Bethe House Marker (left side)

distance of this marker); The Big House (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Alamos.

Also see . . .
1. Los Alamos where discoveries are made. Los Alamos County (Submitted on April 7, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

2. Historical Walking Tour Map. Los Alamos Historical Museum

Walk from the Stone Age to the atomic age. Your walking tour spans eight centuries of Los Alamos history, from ancestral Pueblos, through homesteading on the Pajarito Plateau, to the future of science and technology. We hope that it will be just the beginning of your acquaintance with Los Alamos.

(Submitted on April 8, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

3. Hans Bethe. Wikipedia

In 1931, Bethe developed the Bethe ansatz, which is a method for finding the exact solutions for the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of certain one-dimensional quantum many-body models. In 1939, Bethe published a paper which established the CNO cycle as the primary energy source for heavier stars in the main sequence classification of stars, which earned him a Nobel Prize in 1967. During World War II, Bethe was head of the Theoretical Division at the secret Los Alamos
Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025

3. The view of the front of the Hans Bethe House
National Laboratory that developed the first atomic bombs. There he played a key role in calculating the critical mass of the weapons and developing the theory behind the implosion method used in both the Trinity test and the "Fat Man" weapon dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.

(Submitted on April 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The living room of the Hans Bethe House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, March 25, 2025

4. The living room of the Hans Bethe House

Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 306 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 10, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.