Abandoned for Decades, the Atom Smasher Was the World's First Particle Accelerator

It may sound like a scene from a post-apocalyptic film, but it's something you can experience for yourself on the outskirts of downtown Pittsburgh. Because that's where the strange-looking object is resting, laid on its side, on an empty and overgrown lot.

Even though the Atom Smasher rests only a few feet away from a residential area, the scenario is eerie, to say the least. But what is this strange object that's been abandoned for decades? Well, it's a massive Van de Graaff electrostatic generator.

Invented by Robert J. Van de Graaff in 1929, it uses a moving belt to accumulate electric charge on a hollow metal globe on the top of an insulated column. It produces very high voltage direct current (DC) electricity at low current levels.

Originally developed as a particle accelerator for physics research, Van de Graaff generators are still being used for nuclear research and nuclear medicine.

The Atom Smasher was a bit more complex, as it used two high-speed belts and had various ions injected into the upper part of its accelerator tube. Built in 1937 and operated by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, it was the first industrial Van de Graaff generator in the world.

Set up in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania, it was used to discover the photofission of uranium and thorium in 1940, which marked the beginning of nuclear research for civilian applications. In short, the Westinghouse Atom Smasher was a big deal back in the day. And word has it that some of the research done with it may have been used in the Manhattan Project, which spawned the first nuclear weapons.

Used only briefly after World War II, the accelerator was decommissioned in 1958, after most of its internals were transferred to a different Westinghouse facility. But it remained atop its building for about six decades. The latter was demolished in 2015, three years after the property surrounding the Atom Smasher was purchased by a real estate developer.

In 2013, a plan to build an educational facility with the accelerator as a centerpiece was discussed, but the project was deemed too expensive at more than $4 million and shelved.

The land owner who planned to build apartments on the site said that the Atom Smasher would be placed on a new concrete pedestal and repainted, but that plan was never carried out either.

Fast forward to 2022 and the Atom Smasher is still laying on its side, looking like a giant lightbulb. Most of the debris surrounding it has been hauled away in recent months, but the lot remains a sad sight. One that shows one of the country’s most important pieces of nuclear history rotting away completely ignored by the authorities.

While still in one piece, the bulb-like accelerator shows signs of rust and some damage from when it was laid on its side. But amazingly enough, the large "W" painted in red is still visible.

So, where exactly is the Atom Smasher located? It's about 10 miles (16 km) east of downtown Pittsburgh, near the border of Forest Hills and Chalfant in Allegheny County, PA. You won't be able to see it from the Lincoln Highway (Route 30) because it's hidden behind a residential neighborhood, but the pear-shaped contraption is fully visible from a narrow alley on the other side of the facility.

Keep in mind that the Atom Smasher is on a private property surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

If you don't make it there anytime soon, the footage below provides a good view of this rather bizarre roadside attraction.