almost all 200 plus residents of small Alaskan town live in same building

[Liberal_in_LA]

In the small Alaskan town of Whittier, which sees up to 250 inches of snow annually, nearly all of the 218 residents live in one multi-story house.
Surrounded by only mountains and the sea, the remote town is so isolated that it's only accessible by North America's longest one way tunnel, which stretches for two and a half miles.
But the tunnel, which alternates directions every half an hour, closes at 11pm until re-opening at 5:30 the following morning.

The building, called Begich Tower, houses the town's entire neighborhood, including the local police department, a school, an indoor playground, two convenience stores, a B&B, a laundromat and the post office.





It is only accessible by a two-and-a-half mile, one-way tunnel, which alternates directions during the day



Most residents work for the port, as boat mechanics, but a few do drive out to work outside the community



The creation of the 14-story building began in 1953 by the U.S. Army, but came into civilian ownership a few years later when the Army left the town.


http://www.inquisitr.com/1970702/entire-alaska-towns-lives-under-one-roof-at-begich-tower-in-whitier/
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3019575/The-small-town-Alaska-lives-roof.html#ixzz3Vzdaf0VK

[el_bryanto]

1. prototype arcology?

Sometimes the world really is stranger than you expect. At least they have cats.

Bryant

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. more

The store

June Miller has a bed and breakfast on the top two floors of Begich Towers called June's Whittier Condo Suites.

"She outfitted all of the bed and breakfast [rooms] with binoculars. ... Most people in town, particularly on the harbor side of the building, seem to have binoculars," Sheehy says.

"A lot of people keep them there to watch whales breaching and mountain goats grazing and things like that," Young says. "But June always told us that these are basically for finding out if your husband's at the bar."

Downstairs at the Kozy Korner grocery store, employee Gary Carr sits behind a computer.
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/18/378162264/welcome-to-whittier-alaska-a-community-under-one-roof

[el_bryanto]

9. Cats and binoculars? Sign me up! nt

[yuiyoshida]

2. I would be curious to

know who the landlord is. Probably someone who can evict the Mayor or Police if they don't co operate...can you just imagine?

[snooper2]

3. I was more curious about the gene pool being large enough LOL

everyone is related at some point in time

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. they get lots of cruise ship visitors.

[Drahthaardogs]

31. They are a halfhour from Anchorage

I used to go there all the time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. it is a condo

Incorporated in 1974, the Begich Towers Condominium Association of Apartment Owners is a 196 unit condominium community located in Whittier, Alaska. This 14 story building houses not only private condominiums but also City offices, the Police Department, A medical clinic, the Post Office, a grocery store, a Laundromat, a vending snack area, and Bed & Breakfast units!

The next scheduled Regular Board meeting will be on Thursday,
March 19 , 2015 at 6:00 pm in the 15th floor Homeowners' Lounge. Homeowners are encouraged to attend!
http://begichtowers.com/

[yuiyoshida]

7. Condominium Association of Apartment Owners ...

Tries to imagine Phil Hendrie doing bits about this place!!

[hughee99]

8. Sorry I'm late for the meeting fellas, traffic was hell. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. lol

[PufPuf23]

11. Reminds me of the habitats, domes, and tents of KS Robinson's Mars Trilogy

Only have red Red Mars and started Green Mars this AM.

Worked in SE Alaska on and off in early 1990s; the small Tlingit town of Kake loaded the entire town on a chartered cruise ship to go for a week in Juneau for Christmas shopping.

[lapfog_1]

29. more like "The World Inside" by Robert Silverberg

Urbmon prototype.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside

[OregonBlue]

12. I've been there. You have to load your car or RV on freight cars and go through the tunnel in the

car. It's very long and very dark. When you finally come out of the tunnel you're way south of Anchorage on the Kenai Peninsula. Whittier and the area around it it stunningly beautiful. Huge mountains and the cleanest air ever.

[Warpy]

14. It would be a lot nicer in winter

than using a snowmobile to get to a food store in -40 weather.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. Actually, you can drive through now.

Trains and cars alternate use of the tunnel. Back in the old days you had to ride over on the train like you mention.

[KamaAina]

42. As a non-driver, that always seemed like an ideal situation to me

now I'll bet you can't get doodley-squat at those two convenience stores, because everyone (but me) can drive to Anchorage.

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. how long is the train ride?

[OregonBlue]

47. You know I can't remember now but it seems like it was maybe an hour? Not sure. You're really not

going very far it's just that you are going straight through a mountain and it's very dark so it seems like it goes on forever. LOL.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I stayed in the Begich Towers one weekend

with my ex-husband who was doing some welding work over there. The apartments are old, but not bad. Whittier is in a beautiful location and is a jumping off spot for glacier cruises and other Prince William Sound sightseeing.

[Blue_In_AK]

16. Even more interesting in Whittier is the abandoned Buckner Building,

which is really cool to explore, although somewhat spooky.

http://www.wuhwild.com/the-abandoned-cold-war-buckner-building-of-whittier/

[LanternWaste]

17. The Buckner Building *is* pretty fascinating!

The Buckner Building *is* pretty fascinating! I read the story you provided and thought to myself, "a bomb-proof building can never hold a candle to nature!"

I'm a sucker for abandoned beauties, and am always delightfully surprised when I'm introduced to one I've never heard of before. Thanks!

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. interesting. So there is more than one building in town.

[NickB79]

30. Sounds like a Vault from Fallout!

/revision/latest?cb=20110116001328

[ND-Dem]

33. "abandoned as unsafe," yet it still looks pretty good after not being maintained for 50 years.

[FuzzyRabbit]

34. Video and article about the Bucker Building

http://www.adn.com/video/49th-estate-whittier-alaskas-buckner-building

[KamaAina]

43. Abandoned?

What happened? Did a baseball roll through its legs?

[JaneyVee]

18. Is it owned by Senator Begich?

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I believe it was named after his dad.

It was originally called the Hodge Building but became the Begich Condo Assn. in 1974. Nick Begich was killed in a plane crash in 1972.

http://begichtowers.com/history.html

[joeybee12]

20. And I've been there!

Whittier is where the inland passge cruises set out from and return...it is kind of weird seeing all the ships and only that building...it is an an incredibly beautiful area.

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. you are lucky. I imagine it's beautiful

[joeybee12]

23. This was July...surrounded by huge snow-covered mountains...

I remember thinking, God, I'd love to work a summer season here.

[OregonBlue]

24. Agreed. I was there in late spring and it was stunning.

[joeybee12]

41. I think I'd get claustraphobic in the winter, though...

But to wake up to those mountains every day...wow!

[OregonBlue]

45. Yes, it is only for people who truly like being alone. I do and I don't get much of it since I'm

raising my grandkids but it would be nice the rest of the year. When I was there you had to take the train out to go anywhere. Apparently you can drive through the tunnel now so you would be able to get out and go to Anchorage, Homer, etc.

Alaska is so beautiful but even now it's not for sun lovers or people who don't like quiet.

[joeybee12]

46. Took my father on a cruise for his 90th...

So we went there via train...I had forgotten about that tunnel...they keep it open one way half the day for the people arriving for the cruises, and the other way for the people who are departing the cruises that have just docked.

[OregonBlue]

48. What a nice present for dad. Lovely trip isn't it. Good for you!!!

[joeybee12]

49. It's really the only way to see that part of Alaska...

especially for a 90-year-old! He was fairly mobile at the time, but still it was a lot easier to be escorted and have things done for you.

[OregonBlue]

52. Yes and it was wonderful of you to let him experience it. It is so beautiful!!

[JI7]

25. i would like to see it

[Sancho]

26. In the 1950's I lived in that building when it was a military base.

Fascinating....

[Liberal_in_LA]

27. wow!

[HERVEPA]

28. I was there for a cruise. Bus had to get on train to go through the tunnel.

They mentiooned people living there called "Prisoner of Whittier"

[Recursion]

35. This was the idea behind Crystal City near DC

A single space where people live, work, shop, etc without ever going outside. Some people love it; occasionally people go crazy.

[Major Nikon]

36. When I go to DC I stay in Crystal City

I suspect you are referring to the underground part. There's not really much there other than retail shops from what I've seen of it. There is access to the Metro and a couple of hotels.

[Recursion]

37. Back when it was built it was in the middle of cow pastures, remember

It was a futurist/new-urbanist attempt in the 1960's and 1970's to give DoD workers a single place to live, work, and play (ArNG and a few other bureaus opened huge offices there, since closed). Both it and the Pentagon were put where they were because the land was so cheap(!). The city has sprawled in around it since then, but it was meant to be just the apartments, offices, and the underground on their own.

[Major Nikon]

38. There's still a few large organizations there

The Consumer Electronics Association comes to mind. I like staying there because there's some decent restaurants within walking distance and it has easy access to the Metro.

[Recursion]

39. And northern Virginia's only strip club

With a completely innocent name, which has led to more than a few visiting grandparents making a Huge Mistake.

The restaurants have gotten much better in the past decade or so; back in the late 90s that whole Crystal Drive area was just blank building fronts, and the underground was essentially deserted.

[Major Nikon]

40. I don't remember the name of it

But it's in the same area as several restaurants I've visited. There's a kabob place near there that has some pretty good food.

[KamaAina]

44. So that's why the Pentagon isn't in DC!

I always wondered if there was some -ish reason it was in Va.

[Recursion]

50. Well, it gets even more confusing: some of the complex actually *is* in DC

DC actually goes to the southern end of the "boundary channel" (which is parallel to the Potomac and a few hundred feet south of it at that point), so the GW parkway and VA 110 are, when they pass by the Pentagon, actually in DC.

The government got that land when they seized it during the Civil War (what's now the Pentagon and Arlington Cemetary used to be Robert E. Lee's house), so it was available 70 years later when they needed a big DoD office building.

Going back even further, all of Arlington and Alexandria City were in DC from 1800 to IIRC the mid 1820's, when they were receded to Virginia as part of whichever slavery compromise that was.

[PowerToThePeople]

51. Communism!