Fallen Pioneer of the Atomic Age

The Westinghouse Atom Smasher was a 5-megavolt Van de Graaff electrostatic nuclear accelerator built in 1937 by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation at its Research Laboratories in Forest Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

As indicated by the red tag on the map below, the site is located just off Ardmore Boulevard, U.S. Route 30 in the town of Chalfant, just past Forest Hills.

The first industrial-sized Van de Graaff generator in the world, the Westinghouse Atom Smasher marked the beginning of nuclear research for civilian applications. Fiber belts spinning inside of a giant vacuum tube produced a high-voltage static charge. Here’s a schematic of the generator.

The atom-smasher quickly proved instrumental in the development of practical applications for nuclear science in the generation of electric power. In 1940, it was used to discover the fission of the elements Uranium and Thorium.

But after the development of the atomic bomb and the end of World War II, scientific research turned its attention to newer equipment. Also, it was determined that the iron used in construction had become brittle with use and age. The generator was last switched on in 1958.

Yet, it was not forgotten.

In 1985, the atom smasher was designated an Electrical Engineering Milestone by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission designated it as at historic landmark in 2010.

With the collapse of Westinghouse Electric in the 1990’s, the site itself was abandoned. In 2012, the property surrounding the atom smasher was purchased by P&L Investments, which initially expressed an interest in saving it. 

In 2013, the Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh named the Atom Smasher as one of the city’s top 10 preservation opportunities. But three years later, the structure was in significant disrepair. After workers laid bricks to brace the fall, the tower’s supports were removed, and it was tipped over.

That’s how it remains today.