The 14-story building is a former Army barracks built in 1956, yet it houses all the amenities you'd expect from a small town: a laundromat, health clinic, corner store, police station, church, video store, city offices and the homes of nearly 200 residents. "I can remember the old tough Alaskan style, you party all night till five in the morning, and then you went to the cannery at seven to start pitching fish. It looks depressing.' [ Before the tunnel conversion began, BTI condos sold for, o back to your condo and shut the door so you can avoid the noise. And it is strange: residents wander through the halls of BTI in pajamas; there is a provision on fish slime in the condo association guidelines; a pair of reindeer lives in a pen out front. The Buckner Building housed, among other things, a bowling alley, a movie theater, a shooting range, a barbershop, and a six-cell jail. Begich Towers: Tour the most famous building in Whittier, Man charged in 1994 sexual abuse cold case, Fairview neighborhood to receive $537K in federal grant to reconnect community, Alaska groups celebrate Juneteenth, Indigenous Peoples Day becoming city holidays. Because villages in remote areas may go many months without a visit from an itinerant dentist, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has started a dental health aide program--the first of its kind in the United States. As of 2015, only one of the two boilers serving Begich Towers was functional, but it experienced major maintenance-related issues almost daily. make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. From amenities to availability, the community staff will be ready to help you find your perfect apartment. Because I dont know where it wants to go. Some residents would like to see growth and economic development in Whittier, but theres a sizable group who would just rather be left alone. The two largest of those are the Buckner Building and the Begich Towers. The name of the 14-floor building is The Begich Tower which is the residence for nearly the entire population of the city. The Anchor Inn, a combination hotel, bar, and restaurantthe only bar or restaurant open year-roundis a five-minute walk from BTI. It's accessible, but also very remote. The Hodge and the Buckner Composite building, dubbed a city under one roof, are the largest most modern inhabited structures built by the Corps of Engineers since the Pentagon.. The school (yes, there is one; it's connected to the building by, you guessed it, yet another tunnel) currently has about 50 students ages 3-18. While most of the town was destroyed, the rail lines, docks, deep water wells, and massive concrete buildings remained largely intact. Today the ACS building is home to the Anchor Inn. There are 198 units, and in the bottom of the building is the police office, a gym, the city clerk's office and a store. Perhaps the best reason to live in Begich Towers is its perceived invincibility. Brenda Tolman is known for the two reindeer she keeps in a pen across the street from Begich Towers, but she also spends much of her time making wood carvings, dolls, jewelry and other crafts to sell to tourists at her shop on the harbor. The town of Whittier is situated on the western end of the Prince William Sound, about 75 miles southeast of Anchorage and somewhat centrally located on the southern coast of Alaska. Its a concrete building. Luckily there is a drain in the middle of the floor, because church is held in the basement of Begich Towers. Whittier started out in the mid-1950s as a military outpost. It was built by the military in 1956 for soldiers and their families and later became a home for civilians in 1973. Access detailed information on Whittier Community School,school ratings, test scores by grade, student-teacher ratio, and much more. The town does seem to attract those searching for separation of something: Establishment. Viewing: Begich Towers | Desktop Version | Listing Updated: 01/20/2023, Matanuska-Susitna Borough Apartments (142), Anchorage School District Apartments (603). Society. The military eventually withdrew from Whittier before the Cold War facilities were fully utilized, leaving the mostly vacant buildings to the town. Reviewed on /Date(1606051739000+0800)/ carlsonstephanie. I got so many comments on my TikTok saying, 'It looks sad. June Miller runs June's Whittier Condo Suites, a bed and breakfast on the fourteenth and fifteenth floors of Begich Towers. Others dont make it through the first winter, and liken the experience to being in jail. "No kid in this school can sit in the back of the classroom and not do something. The building is composed of brick and steel, making it safe . It also has radar-unfriendly claustrophobic topography and famously terrible weather, which obscures visibility for much of the year. Thank you for reading about Begich Towers Condos in Whittier AK. "You know, you get to thinking, Oh man, the tunnel's the only way out. The weather might prevent you from leaving the building for months at a time but you can go to the Kozy Korner grocery store in pajamas and slippers. On December 17th, 1945 the Army allowed the Alaska Railroad Company (the towns chief non-government tenant) to assume operations in Whittier. (There once was a combination video rental store and tanning salon, but its been closed for a while now.) After the tunnel conversion, the trip to drive through cost travelers just $12. Its a concrete building, he said. [2] After the war, the military planned to develop a large complex in the area. Begich Towers Condos in Whittier AK have an active Home Owner's Association with dues of about $250 to $550 per month depending upon the size of the unit. Find AK real estate agents Begich Towers residents can even set up a meeting with the Whittier mayor, police chief, or head physician without reaching for their coat and scarf. Whittier is relatively close to Anchorage, Alaskabut it is still difficult to access. Also, visit our Weird Attractions, Whittier, Alaska: One Building Houses A Whole Town, Crater of Diamonds: A Wealth of Buried Gems in Arkansas, A little piece of London in Arizona Lake Havasu Citys London Bridge, Devon Island: Canadas Remote Martian Island, Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp: Floridas Mystical Retreat. Gary grew up in the hills of Arkansas, where he watched the Little Rock Crisis unfold on his TV screen. Walk a little into the room and you will see government offices, as well as Kozy Korner convenience store, a shop where everyone is shopping. But is it? The problems were traced back to the hydronic loop using water, which was susceptible to freezing, instead of a mixture of domestic water and glycol, which lowers the freezing point and prevents pipes from bursting due to ambient temperature drops below zero degrees Celsius. If there is a fire, at least everyone will stay warm. And if you have pet reindeer, you can keep them in a pen behind the building. ]. In 1974, the large, extraordinarily secure building became a large condominium complex, ideally suited to shield residents from the harsh Alaskan climate. On the buildings top two floors are Junes Whittier Condo Suites, a residents bed and breakfast operation with nearly a dozen suites ranging from $155 to $265 a night. Those who stayed behind occupied the first four floors of the Hodge Building; other floors remained unoccupied. Since the vehicular passage in the tunnel is one lane, inbound and outbound traffic is staggered in fifteen minute intervals twice per hour; in the winter this shrinks to five-minute windows to keep the tunnel warm. Hes been here ever since. The tower was built in the 1950s and features elevators. BTI may not have everything you want, but it has everything you need. About an. Contact Address: 110 Kenai Street Whittier, AK 99693 Phone Number: (907) 472-2484 Home AK Whittier Begich Towers Apartments Report an Issue Contact this Property (907) 472-2484 The city officials are readily accessible on a daily basis. During World War II the US Army set up military facilities in what is now the town of Whittier. Most Whittier residents love the tiny towns remote status. Most condos have extensively updated and remodeled since then. The 14-story Begich Towers Incorporated, known around these parts simply as BTI, is probably the last thing you'd expect to see in an outpost as remote as this. We recommend viewing REMAX.com and it's affiliated sites on one of the following browsers: Begich Towers, Whittier, AK Real Estate and Homes for Sale. The building was designed in 1953 to host the headquarters of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Today the asking price has risen to $35,000. She misses being at a school with sports teams, dance classes, and proms. In 2000 the tunnel was retrofitted to accommodate cars, but before that, the train sometimes came through only once a week, so residents were well-protected from whatever they might be running away from. Anyone who wanted to bring a car or truck into the town had to ship their vehicle into town via boat or train. This has earned Whittier the nickname of a "town under one roof". Some people love it because IT CAN BE REALLY SOCIAL. The City Under One Roof (aka Buckner Building, pictured below) was completed in 1953. In the summertime you can look out and see whales breaching in the harbor, or mountain goats grazing on the slopes across the water, but mostly people use binoculars to spy on their neighbors. A fitness centre and several cafes located near the house have also been built to the service of local residents. Some keep them for watching whales or goats grazing, but one resident admits theyre for determining if your husbands at the bar.. Too costly and dangerous to demolish, the building is still there today. Begich was flying with House majority leader Hale Boggs from Anchorage to Juneau when the incident occurred. Katrina BentonKeller Williams Realty Hire a professional, positive, and proactive nationwideteam of Realtorsto help you sell or buyyour next home! The Buckner Building over here was named after General Buckner. When we shot this photo, the wind was blowing upwards of 60 mph and there were no other customers in the bar. Experience Whittier living at Begich Towers. The exterior of the building is getting power-washed and painted and inside the tan colored hallways have been replaced by bright yellow. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The east tower was built first, followed by the middle tower, and finally the west tower, which was finished in 1957. Great 2 Bedroom Condo with beautiful views of the mountains. "Yeah, it's a very strange town, because there's only one way in and one way out," said resident Lee Shuford. At night the tunnel is closed. (Whittier has an EMT team but no hospital, so in the case of a nighttime emergency, a police officer has to run ahead of the ambulance to unlock each of the four gates inside the tunnel.). Heres How To Choose, Where To Buy & More. The first floor of the building had almost everything a city needs to function. After the army left in 1960, Whittier citizens took over the building's 196 units. Most of the town people work in a deep-water port located a few hundred meters from their home. The structure is notable for operating like a small-scale arcology, being the residence for nearly the entire population of the city, as well as containing many of its public facilities. In Whittier, Alaska, almost the entire population of 318 year-round residents live under one roof. The next day we were on the ground floor at the grocery store when a painfully loud fire alarm went off. A museum about the Japanese occupation of Alaska during World War II, an abandoned army barracks called the Buckner Building which once housed Whittier residents as Begich Towers does today, and a handful of delectable restaurants that serve fresh seafood are some other points of interest. Over the years the building has started to look a little rundown. The drive through tunnel closes every night at 10:30 pm. 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