“Oppenheimer” Brings Attention Back To Las Vegas
The movie “Oppenheimer” seems to be bringing back attention to Las Vegas. The movie itself is based on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer. A young scientist at the time that ended up being responsible for creating the atomic bomb. After completing his Ph.D. in physics in Germany, Oppenheimer returns to the United States He ended up teaching at the University of California-Berkley.
With all that said, it seems that this film brings back renewed interest in Las Vegas. Going back to back to the early 1950s, all the way up to 1992. The U.S. government setoff a total of 1,021 nuclear tests right here in the state of Nevada! The government also constructed testing areas for nuclear rockets, ramjet engines and more. All this happening in the late 1950s to early 70s!
“Oppenheimer” features Nevada as a backdrop!
Heck, if you do a little history check, you’re going to find that a nuclear blast was more of a tourist attraction than a science project. According to an article by the American Experience, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce put out a bunch of press releases talking about the excitedly the new testing grounds and that is was now one of many attractions Las Vegas had to offer!
Aside from becoming a tourist attraction, the Test Site created new jobs in the state of Nevada! The windfall was also a nice benefit with more than $176 million in federal funds to the area of which two-thirds went right back into back the economy here in Las Vegas. So with testing, many would say it was a “win-win” situation.
With all this said, there is now a renewed interest in the Atomic Bomb Museum right here in Las Vegas on E. Flamingo! Showing off artifacts, exhibits and more, you get a better experience of what was actually going on during those years featured in the movie “Oppenheimer”!
