Bomb Shelters, Part I
Ever since the Russians exploded an atomic bomb on September 3, 1949, safety-minded Americans have built bomb shelters to protect themselves from the effects of nuclear explosions. President Eisenhower createdthe Federal Civil Defense Administration which provided do-it-yourself bomb shelter plans. President Kennedy recommended "a fallout shelter for everybody, as rapidly as possible." Many public buildings of the period were built with large bomb shelters that could protect hundreds of people. Those who built personal bomb shelters often did so in secret, as a precaution against invading neighbors.

The U.S. government authorized the construction of numerous bomb shelters to protect people and institutions indispensible to national security. There is a bunker underneath the White House to protect the President and his family, and another at Camp David in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. A government relocation facility (no longer operational) was built beneath the lush garden landscape at Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The North American Air Defense Command(NORAD) resides under 2,000 feet of granite in the Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs, Colorado. An "underground Pentagon" is located inside Raven Rock Mountain near Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania. The National Archives has a protective vault beneath it not for people but for precious documents including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and even the United Kingdom's Magna Charta.

Bomb shelters gradually fell out of vogue as detente set in. Now that the Cold War is over, most people wanting fortified structures are seeking protection from theft, kidnapping, and extreme weather such as hurricanes or tornados. Even so, the demand for bomb shelters has not disappeared entirely. Modern bomb shelters with state-of-the-art equipment are still in production.

To be continuned.

Part II
Part III - served up by Oven @ 5:18 PM