Let there be light... an eerie, glowing radioactive cloud sort of light

Rodney Hoffman submitted this to Boing Boing recently:

In the early 1950s, several above-ground atom bomb tests at the Nevada Proving Ground were visible in Los Angeles. Here, the March 1, 1955 blast lights up the pre-dawn sky behind the Los Angeles City Hall.

This photo and five similar ones from 1951-1955 are from the Los Angeles Public Library Photo Database. Search for "bomb nevada" to bring up all six thumbnail photos with descriptions.

No photographer name is credited with this [or other] photo[s], but the library database description reads:

An A-bomb blast set off in Nevada at 4:36 a.m., on April 18, 1953, was judged by early risers to have been the most sensational of any seen so far. The blast made the eastern horizon as "bright as day."

See all six photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Nuclear Test | Nevada | Atomic Bomb | Los Angeles | BurningTaper.com | Burning Taper