Are Cold War-era nuclear fallout shelters still in Charlotte? Here are the sites
In the wake of the first use of the atomic bomb and the widespread fear triggered by the Cold War, nuclear fallout shelters began to spring up throughout the U.S. to protect from the potential of an unprecedented act of war striking the country.
From private homes to rural properties and media outlets, Charlotte was not immune from the phenomenon, with multiple shelters built in the area. And while many bunkers are a historical relics of a bygone era, some are still choosing to construct new fallout shelters.
Here’s what to know about fallout shelters in Charlotte:
History of fallout shelters
The concept of nuclear fallout shelters sprung up after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan during World War II, per the Smithsonian.
In the bombs’ wake, the U.S. government launched the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1951. The department distributed “nearly half a billion” pamphlets to the American people that included depictions of shelters.
“Decidedly suburban, heteronormative, and middle class in nature, this visual of white American families carefully lining shelter shelves with canned goods or taking their children by the hand as they walked toward their underground refuges broadcast a clear government-sanctioned message: A family that is together, well organized and ready could survive the next war,” the Smithsonian states.
As the Cold War stretched, so did fear of a potential nuclear attack. And families, businesses, and government agencies continued to see fallout shelters as useful.
In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy administration created the Emergency Broadcasting System, which at the time included bunkers at radio stations throughout the country, NPR reported. The idea was that even during an attack, the president would still be able to address the nation.
Fallout shelters in Charlotte
Many fallout shelters in the Charlotte area were built during the 1960s as concerns about a nuclear conflict with the Soviet Union continued.
In November 1962, The Charlotte Observer reported that its own building was equipped as a fallout shelter, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission notes.
And in 1963, a shelter was constructed underneath WBT’s radio station as part of the Emergency Broadcasting System, per NPR.
Businesses invested in bunkers, too, including AT&T, who opened a facility in Stanfield in 1967. Less than an hour outside of Charlotte, that facility has “60,000 square feet of space encased in 2,100 tons of steel and 10,000 cubic yards of concrete,” WFAE reported previously.
Inside, it’s a multi-story structure with “a kitchen, bathrooms, showers, a 12,000-gallon water tank (and) central air conditioning,” per WFAE, and was last put up for sale in 2003.
Decades after the Cold War winded down, even the occasional homebuyer will still find a shelter.
In 2017, WCNC shared the story of a couple who found a 50-foot room about 20 feet under the South Charlotte home they were looking to buy. It was estimated that the shelter was built in the 1960s by the house’s original owner, WCNC reported.
Are fallout shelters still being built?
Although fallout shelters may seem like a relic of a previous era, some across the country still embrace the idea.
There are companies in various states that build bunkers for people who want one on their property, and there are even “bunker brokers,” the New York Times reported, that help connect prospective buyers with builders.
The Times’ report found that some homeowners want one as preparation for a potential “doomsday” situation, while others simply use them as additional living space for their homes.
And the government is still in the bunker business, too.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency put millions into the National Public Warning System, a network of “specially designated commercial and public radio broadcast stations” with special facilities for working “with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public.”
“FEMA equips NPWS stations with backup communications equipment and power generators that enable them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after an emergency event,” the agency says.
