![]() From overhead, the muffled sounds of I-5 traffic filter into the shelter. A giant concrete pillar in the center of the shelter supports the 18-inch-thick concrete roof of the 3,000-square-foot room. From the folding metal chairs to the impossibly small bathrooms, to the institutional green and mauve color scheme, the fallout shelter is government utilitarianism at its best. Very little of the fallout shelter is designed for aesthetic appeal or comfort. Of course, had there been a nuclear blast and had I been one of the 200 people the shelter was designed to serve, I doubt I would have cared much about the interior decorating or the lack of heat. ![]() ![]() This place literally puts the "cold" in Cold War. It's also a lot like walking into a refrigerator. Walking up the stark concrete tunnel into the heart of the fallout shelter is a bit like stepping back in time. Today, it sits empty – a snapshot of Cold War history hidden beneath the highway. Later, it was used as a Department of Licensing office and a WSDOT records storage facility. But if you happen to know the man with the key (and I do), you'll quickly find out that this storage facility has an intriguing history.įorty-seven years ago, it was dedicated as an innovative public fallout shelter. Tucked under the southbound lanes of I-5 at north end of the Ravenna bridge is an innocuous metal gate with a graffiti-covered sign reading "Washington State Department of Transportation: District 1 Record Center." To the casual observer, it's just another door to just another WSDOT storage facility.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |