whittier secret operations and its aftermath

Last August, while Jason was busy travelling in Europe, I had my share of fun in Alaska. My oldest friend (all the way from the first grade) came to visit me with her boyfriend. We loaded up the car and travelled from Fairbanks to Whittier and back again. Short version of the trip: 1200 miles (out of which 2.2 miles in a tunnel), a wolf, a pod of belugas, four brown bears, two eagles, numerous ground squirrels, one deserted army barrack, one small day hike, several glaciers, several sea otters, one ulu, five hotels, one lawn, two campgrounds, and quite a bit of rain.

Interesting tidbit from Whittier: the town used to be a secret army harbour, sealed from outsiders. The only way to get in was through a railroad tunnel or by boat. During the height of the secret operations, there were over 2000 soldiers living in Whittier. In 1953 the army built "the largest building in Alaska" at the time, "a city within a city" to house and entertain the soldiers. Mere seven years later, in 1960 the army left the town, and only 100 civilians stayed behind. They did not need all the housing that was constructed, so Buckner building was left uninhabited. This huge abandoned barrack overshadows the city, large enough to fit a cruise ship inside. Asbestos contamination prevents the demolition of the building (or rather, no one wants to pay for the cost of dealing with asbestos) and in true Alaska fashion, the building is just sitting there.

Today, 90% of the inhabitants of Whittier live in the Begich Tower, used to house soldiers, and the remaining 10% are in the apartment complex build for the officers. In other words, all the inhabitants of the city are living in just two buildings.