Los Alamos Little Theatre

This performing arts center, formerly a cafeteria, has a unique connection to the Manhattan Project.

NPS/FELLER

Quick Facts

Location:

Los Alamos, NM

MANAGED BY:

Los Alamos Little Theatre

Amenities

2 listed

Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Behind the barbed-wire fences and armed guards, not far from the laboratory where scientists designed the world’s first nuclear weapons, a group of thespians ran their lines. The members of the Los Alamos Little Theatre Group created a sense of community that transcended the civilian and military divisions that sometimes existed in this top-secret town.   

The Los Alamos community sometimes struggled to find entertainment, isolated as they were atop the mesa. The Los Alamos Little Theatre Group formed in an effort to stave off boredom, and their legacy has lasted through to today. The group performed wherever they could find space until 1971, when they secured permeant headquarters in a wartime cafeteria.  

Project Y, at its core, functioned as a military operation. Various cafeterias and mess halls provided civilians and military personnel with inexpensive meals and gathering places. In 1945, the East Cafeteria opened in Los Alamos with seating capacity for 400 people. East Cafeteria offered a wider variety of foods than other mess halls, and provided a more restful environment with welcoming furnishings and décor, helping to boost morale. Military and civilian workers alike chose to dine at East Cafeteria. 

After the war, the building served as a recreation hall. In 1971, while Los Alamos County was planning to tear down the building, the Little Theatre company stepped in and renovated the old mess hall. Today the building continues to function as a performing arts center supported entirely by volunteers.  Visit the Los Alamos Little Theatre website for more information about their schedule and history. 

Continue Your Journey

 

As you walk around downtown Los Alamos, you can explore the Los Alamos Historical Society campus, which includes the Los Alamos History Museum, Hans Bethe House, Fuller Lodge, Romero Cabin, and Ancestral Pueblo Site. 

Just across Central Ave from Fuller Lodge you'll find Ashley Pond, another centerpiece of the Los Alamos community. On the southern bank of the pond, the Ice House stands as a memorial to the Los Alamos Ranch School days and Project Y. The Bradbury Science Museum has interactive exhibits that share stories from the Manhattan Project and provide a glimpse of historic sites “behind the fence.”