Whittier: The Town That Was a Secret, Then a Bunker, Then Itself

Most towns have a "welcome" sign. Whittier has a schedule. To enter this town, you must drive through a single-lane, two-and-a-half-mile mountain tunnel that only opens for cars once an hour. If you miss your window, the mountain simply says "no."

In this episode of Drive-Thru Towns, host Andrew Wilcox takes us through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel and into a vertical community tucked away in a radar-invisible Alaskan fjord. Originally built as a top-secret WWII military base to provide a deep-water, ice-free port, Whittier was designed for isolation. Today, nearly the entire population lives under one roof in the 14-story Begich Towers, a former Army barracks turned civilian "city."

From the haunting, asbestos-filled ruins of the Buckner Building to the interior hallways that connect the school, post office, and police station, we explore what happens when a military fortress becomes a hometown.

If you’re fascinated by the "City Under One Roof," follow the show on Spotify for more stories from the road less traveled.

• Instagram: @50statefamily

• LinkedIn: Andrew Wilcox

• Email: wilcoxlegal@gmail.com

• Host: Andrew Wilcox

• Theme Music: Special thanks to Chloe Jones for the atmospheric and resonant score. Visit her at chloejonesmusic.co.uk.

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