Whittier Alaska - almost the whole town (272) lives in one building

[underpants]

The city is notable for the fact that almost all of its residents live in the Begich Towers Condominium, earning it the nickname of a "town under one roof"



The town of Whittier, Alaska, is known for having nearly the entire population living in a single apartment building.

The building is called Begich Towers, a 14-story apartment complex that houses about 90% of the town's residents (total: 272). This has earned Whittier the nickname of a "town under one roof".

The building, originally constructed as an army barracks, now serves as a cozy condominium featuring a post office, general store, police station, laundromat, health clinic, mayor's office, and a heated indoor pool.

Whittier, Alaska is accessible only by air or through a single-lane tunnel that stretches over two miles through neighboring Maynard Mountain. The town's weather conditions can be harsh during winter, making the Begich Towers a convenient and practical living solution for the residents.

In addition to the Begich Towers, there is a second condo building in the town where the remaining residents live. The town's school and gym are located in a separate structure but are connected to the Begich Towers by a tunnel, allowing for easy access during the winter months.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittier,_Alaska

[Nittersing]

1. And, apparently,

every resident owns at least one boat!

[underpants]

3. Yep

Apparently it’s a cruise ship port.

[Chainfire]

2. It would be hard to keep any secrets in that town.

[underpants]

4. No kidding

[callous taoboy]

5. Whittier is an interesting place.

I had the best Halibut fish and chips there- hands down the best fish and chips ever. Driving through the incredible Anton Anderson tunnel to get to the town was very cool. At 2.5 miles, it's the longest highway tunnel in North America.

[underpants]

6. Sounds delicious

I’m guessing the tunnel is lighted….?
Big enough for trucks?

[callous taoboy]

8. It is lighted and very wide.

They send the train through there as well.

[underpants]

11. Yeah I've seen pics

Including a turn around spot and a safe house.

[canuckledragger]

7. I was just reading up on arcologies last night.

And this is one of the real life examples that popped up.

Arcologies are basically self contained, self sufficient cities or towns. Very hard to fully create in reality, which is why idealized versions show up in sci-fi stories. The one in Alaska is one that comes close by description though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology

[underpants]

10. Interesting

Didn’t know that.

[Emile]

9. I would worry an avalanche or mudslide could

wipe out the building.

[LudwigPastorius]

14. Yeah, I think I'd want to live on the top floor.

The Prince William Sound Tsunami of 1964 generated waves 95 feet above low tide, and did serious damage to Whittier.

The waves destroyed two saw mills; the Union Oil Company tank farm, wharf and buildings; the Alaska Railroad depot; numerous frame dwellings; and the railroad ramp handling towers at the army pier.

They also caused great damage to the small boat harbor. The tsunami killed thirteen people at Whittier, then a community of 70 people.

[flying rabbit]

12. Here's an excellent video of a guy going there to check it out

[Chakaconcarne]

15. Fascinating... thanks so much for sharing.

[electric_blue68]

13. This popped up on my FB feed yesterday. I called it Science Fictiony.

Ty, canuckledragger for the arcology term. 👍

[underpants]

17. The first pic I posted reminded me of Station 13

at least the beginning of that series

[Niagara]

16. A 772 sqft 2 bed 1 bath is listed for 220K.

With the lack of inventory, I would imagine the bidding wars get crazy.


https://www.trulia.com/home/100-kenai-st-808-whittier-ak-99693-2072100224

[Floyd R. Turbo]

18. And they all share one

bathroom!

[XanaDUer2]

19. Wow

[tanyev]

20. Wonder how many of them moved to Alaska to "get away from it all"?

That’s a little too much community closeness for me.

[underpants]

21. I guess they knew what they were getting into.

As mentioned above, pretty hard to keep secrets in a setting like that.

[Alpeduez21]

22. Truth be told

It’s not any funnier than any place else

[debm55]

23. I couldn't live like that

[XanaDUer2]

24. Odd nt

[Niagara]

25. I'll admit that I didn't read through the Wikipedia link that you provided

I've been fascinated by this OP and I've discovered a few interesting tidbits.



1. The road tunnel to enter or exit Whittier opens at 5:30 am and closes at either 10:30pm or 11:15pm. I got 2 different times from two different sources. In the event of an actual medical emergency, emergency responders are allowed to drive through the tunnel to and from Anchorage as long as the train is not traveling through the tunnel.


2. Most of the land in this town is either federally owned or owned by the Railroad. So if someone needs or wants to live in this town, this is the only housing available. The top 2 floors are used as bed and breakfast accommodations for tourists. Renting an apartment is also an option.


3. This building has 3 separate sections and there's support in between that goes down to the ground. The 13 people who perished in the 1964 tsunami were outside the building. It's not clear to me (in the YouTube video provided) if those 13 people were in another building or were literally outside.


4. There's a diversity of people who live here. The majority being Samoan.

&t=514s

[underpants]

27. Wow. Great information

The videos (one above) are great. Thanks.

[Niagara]

28. You're welcome, Underpants.

I thought the video in post #12 was interesting as well.

[intrepidity]

26. "The Shining"

Wonder why that film comes to mind?

I don't think I could live there. All of the advantages of living in a remote wilderness are offset by the actual living conditions. You've gotta be pretty chill to accept that. The kids--as everywhere, of course--have no choice; I bet it is really tough for some of them.

It'd basically be a penal colony for me.