A pot bust on the tenth floor led to the police donating hydroponic equipment to Whittiers school for a vegetable garden, which Joey Lipscomb oversaw through eighth grade. What is now the Begich Towers was part of that plan. Gary Carr works at the Kozy Korner Store, one of Whittiers two grocery stores. Because it doesn't matter where you came from, how much money you have, you know, we're all just here in this town trying to make it work.". Your browser is not currently supported. / CBS News. What is now the Begich Towers was part of that plan. The structure stands 14 stories high with a rectangular plan and a flat roof. To get there we drove some 60 miles from Anchorage, and then waited for nearly an hour to pass through a 2.5 mile-long, one-lane railroad tunnel that cuts through the middle of a mountain. The Begich Towers Condos in Whittier AK are a great place to call home. And for good reason: Sustained winds of sixty miles per hour are not uncommon. Explore selling options, sales history, home details and more on . The first floor of the building had almost everything a city needs to function. In 1964, the area was hit by a tsunami caused by the Good Friday earthquake, but the damage was not extensive. Most Whittier residents love the tiny towns remote status. Located around 60 miles southeast of Anchorage, the town of Whittier has a 14-storey building that also houses a health clinic, police station and convenience store. Begich Towers is essentially a fully functional condo that is equipped to take care of most of the residents needs in-house. Those who stayed behind occupied the first four floors of the Hodge Building; other floors remained unoccupied. The Kozy Korner grocery store is stocked with essentials. $175.00. Brokered And Advertised By: Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group Listing Agent: Michael Schwartz. 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. Behind Whittiers everyday peculiarities is a community thoroughly circumscribed by geography, architecture, and weather. You have to be willing to work with each other.". There are benefits to living in the Begich Towers. 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. Begich was flying with House majority leader Hale Boggs from Anchorage to Juneau when the incident occurred. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}604620N 1484108W / 60.77222N 148.68556W / 60.77222; -148.68556 ", Anna added, "I feel like it's made us better people. Due to the small population, everyone is familiar with each other in the house, they often roam around the house in slippers and pajamas, even when they go on business. And if you have pet reindeer, you can keep them in a pen behind the building. They were engineering marvels, built to withstand bomb blasts, earthquakes, fires, and 60+ mile-per-hour winds all while housing up to 1,000 troops indoors across its 150 studio, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Author Bio: Katrina is a top producing Realtor from Anchorage, AK. The flat-roofed Hodge Building was the militarys residential tower, built for bachelors quarters and family housing. Do additional legal protections exist for the LGBTQ community at the state level in Alaska? That said, it's a hard place for a social life. The area where modern-day Whittier sits was developed during World War II, when it was chosen as the place to build a military harbor and a logistics base for the US Army. But in fact, the opposite happenedpeople moved out.). from . "It really isn't," the mayor responded. Bob Prunella was brought to Whittier as an interim city manager, but he's now stayed here for two years. Avoid Scams and Fraud. The plumbing system is certainly overworked. that are written by the members of this community. Whats it like inside? The other is the Buckner building. The Begich Towers Condominium is a building in the small city of Whittier, Alaska. When it was finished, it was the longest tunnel in America. The name of the 14-floor building is The Begich Tower which is the residence for nearly the entire population of the city. (800) 525-7452. In 1998 reconstruction began to convert the rail-only Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnelfor dual-use, allowing vehicular access as well. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them Heres A One Stop App For All The Needs! The Pre-K through 12th grade student population of Whittier Community School typically ranges from 30-40 students. Begich Towers is an interesting housing complex where 95% of the Whittier population lives in this one 14 story condo building. In 1974, the Begich Towers Condominium Association of Apartment Owners Inc. became the official manager of the entire structure.[4]. He was born and raised in Whittier, and came back because it's home. (Some residents opposed the tunnel retrofit, afraid that it would bring an influx of people to town. In the darkest days of winter you can sometimes find teachers in the garden, sitting underneath the natural spectrum grow lights. Ed Hedges lives year-round on a 28-foot sailboat with his cat, Whatever. Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students, Watch Live: Garland testifies amid ongoing special counsel investigations. It is a must see in Whittier . It is one of Alaska's most famous buildings, mostly, because more than half of Whittier lives here. You can find Condos for sale in Begich Towers (if there are any available today) as well as all available Whittier AK Condos for sale on my website. Begich Towers serves as a cozy condominium which features a post office, general store, police station, laundromat, hospital, mayors office, and a heated indoor pool. Grounds are kept in excellent condition. In addition to the residential areas, the building contains the basic services for condo owners and guests: a post office, a general store and a laundromat. It's kind of a community under one roof. Private Walking Tour in Whittier AK. The first floor of the building had almost everything a city needs to function. Over 700,000 people visit Whittier annually, but most tourists dont stay in town for longer than an afternoon, if that. It was a long, Brutalist monolith nestled into the side of the mountain on the east side of town, and served as the operational headquarters for the military. (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.). She misses being at a school with sports teams, dance classes, and proms. The U.S. government returned to Whittier at the onset of the Cold War. It was built by the military during the Cold War as a no-frills barracks. Nov 2020 Solo. Shuford, originally from North Carolina, now lives on the 12th floor of what some describe as the "Wilderness Tower." After the army left in 1960, Whittier citizens took over the building's 196 units. 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. Over the years the building has started to look a little rundown. Home Details for 401 Begich Towers Property Information Year Built Year Built: 1940 LGBTQ Local Legal Protections Homes for Rent Near 401 Begich Towers Off Market Homes Near 401 Begich Towers 401 Begich Towers, Whittier, AK 99693 is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 740 sqft property built in 1940. The Hodge Building was part of a larger project meant to include the construction of ten other similar buildings for military use. Because the winters are so ferocious, the towns only playground is indoors. Your email address will not be published. Each office independently owned and operated. But is it? During this time Whittier was a SECRET installation known as H-12. The building has Internet access and cable, and most rooms have WiFi. Whittier started to emerge from the Armys shadow when the city was officially incorporated in 1969. Though there are two small grocery stores in Whittier, people tend to do most of their shopping in Anchorage, braving 60 miles of icy highway to do so. The Whittier Glacier and the eponymous town were named for American poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Regarding the dating question, she said, "Nobody really dates here because we all grew up together and that'd be kinda weird. It was promoted as the City Under One Roof.. All rights reserved. Another Good Friday disaster would strike in March of 1989. 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. He was a violent racist and he hated blacks and Natives, so I always thought that building reflected him: all torn-down and abandoned.. These Are The 13 Families In The World That Apparently Control Everything - From Politics To Terrorism, After Viral Shower Selfie, R Madhavan's New Look Is Making Women Go Weak In Their Knees Again. Theres no money in it, she says, but its nothing to me and its a big deal for them, so what the fuck, why not blow their skirts up?. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mayor Lester Lunceford recently moved from Whittier to Anchorage; his is a part-time, unpaid position, so he commutes into town when he can. A 1956 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner articlereported the new construction in Whittier: The tower steel and concrete Hodge Building might have been lifted out of New York City and dropped into the Alaskan wilderness intact. Whittier is surrounded by breathtaking mountains and home to majestic animals such as reindeer who live in a small enclosure just outside of Begich Towers, and humpback whales who frolic in the pristine waters of Prince William Sound. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, Top Dems push Fox News to stop promoting "propaganda" about 2020 election, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35, Pandemic-era food benefits end for millions of Americans as costs rise. Whittier started out in the mid-1950s as a military outpost. When we shot this photo, the wind was blowing upwards of 60 mph and there were no other customers in the bar. In addition, we feature unusual hotels and restaurants. Check The Alaska Marine Highways Website for a current Port Schedule for Whittier AK. The tower is actually three structures mashed into one: an east building, a middle building, and a west building, combined over four years from 1953 to 1957. ", "That there's nothing to do here," said Shen. Begich Towers also features a small bed and breakfast so that visitors can experience Whitters warm sense of community. "These are for finding out if your husband's at the bar! Business development is a challenge, as there is very limited buildable land in Whittier. Find AK real estate agents The former Army barracks is often described. One benefit of living at BTI is that kids dont need jackets when they go to school in the winter because the towns school was built immediately behind Begich Towers; it connects to the base of the west tower via an underground tunnel, which shields the kids from Whittiers extreme winter weather. Thank you for reading about Begich Towers Condos in Whittier AK. In addition to the residential units, the first floor has several businesses: a laundry mat, Post Office, condo association offices and more. The purpose of the bomb-proof mid-centuryHodge Building was to support a remote logistics station in Whittier, Alaska. Outsiders have called Whittier the strangest town in Alaska. Three years later, the Army transferred ownership of the two giant Cold War-era buildings (Buckner & Hodge) to the state of Alaska, which then deeded them to Whittier in 1973. Some features of this website may not work until you update to a supported browser. Adjustment is not easy, nor guaranteed, for those who make an attempt. Are you sure you want to report this blog entry as spam? The boiler is a problem, and most people complain about the drab military colors inside. Seward Highway south to Portage Road, go east to, Free Community and Demographic Reports for Whittier, Access detailed information on Whittier Community School, Home Prices in Anchorage Alaska for March 2018, Home Prices in Anchorage Alaska for February 2018, Home Prices in Anchorage Alaska for November 2017, View all Activerain Blog Posts By Katrina Benton. "In Guam I used to sneak out of the house, so my dad moved us to the perfect place: the tunnel closes at night, so there's nowhere to sneak out to. Shuford said. Perhaps the best reason to live in Begich Towers is its perceived invincibility. Begich Towers Condominium Association of Apartment Owners Inc. Employment protections include being fired, denied employment, or otherwise discriminated against by an employer. Society. In the winter he keeps warm with space heaters and staves off boredom by watching movies and reading books on his iPad. Directions by Sea: The Alaska Marine Highway serves the community of Whittier, AK with passenger service onboard the M/V Aurora. Adventure Tours. On Good Friday in March of 1964, the second most powerful earthquake in recorded history buckled the floor underneath Prince William Sound, registering a whopping 9.2 magnitude on the Richter scale. The Begich Tower where everyone lives together, Police station to hospital everything inside one building, 'Itna Showoff', Internet Reacts To Urvashi Rautela Spending Rs 93 Lakhs For Her Birthday Bash, 'Suck Up To Serial Sexual Perverts Like Sajid Khan', Sona Mohapatra's Indirect Jibe At Shehnaaz Gill, Was There A Tiff Between Nawazuddin Siddiqui And Irrfan Khan? Use the map to locate points of interest like shopping, restaurants, andhealth care services. Did you know about these amazing buildings before? The buildings former jail, now apartment 411, was appraised at $19,500 and listed for sale in 1976: the old jail, complete with bars on both bedroom doors, steel bunks hanging from the wall, three authentic bullet holes in the walls and window sill, plus a front view of the city, small boat harbor, and Prince William Sound.. Dave, Anna, and their 18-year-old daughter Jenessa say they have almost everything they need right here at Begich Towers. "There's not a lot of, you know, single people in their twenties and thirties here I mean, I don't know why!" Surrounded by cascading waterfalls, with views of an inlet filled with whales, otters and puffins, tucked below a rocky mountain vista sits the Begich Towers. More Info. The description and property data below may have been provided by a third party, the homeowner or public records. "It's like, no, it's not! Jim carves figures of Alaskan animals out of native Alaskan ivory. The 14-story building is a former Army barracks built in 1956, yet it houses all the amenities youd 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.Photo via California Sunday Magazine. This means that although there is a pervasive smell of marijuana in Begich Towers, the police can do little about it. Of the thirteen Whittier residents who perished in the Good Friday (or Great Alaskan) Earthquake, only one body was recovered. June's Whittier Bed and Breakfast Condos is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Whittier, offering many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. When the second largest earthquake in recorded history leveled much of southern Alaska in 1964, the 14-story Cold War relic was one of few structures to survive. One unique feature, there is a pedestrian tunnel linking the complex to the . But it poses such a liability hazard that the city finally put a fence around it last fall. Drop by Begich Towers today. During the summer months, when the sun shines 22 hours a dayvisitors from around the world who are curious about life in Begich Towers flock to Whittier. Reviewed on /Date(1606051739000+0800)/ carlsonstephanie. Begich Towers residents rarely have to brave Alaskas icy winds and blinding snow at the height of winter if they dont want to because virtually anything they may need is conveniently located a few short minutes from their doorstep. It also has radar-unfriendly claustrophobic topography and famously terrible weather, which obscures visibility for much of the year. During winter months, auto traffic is allowed through twice an hourfifteen minutes for outbound traffic, and fifteen minutes for inbound. Nothings going to burn down.. "You know, you get to thinking, Oh man, the tunnel's the only way out. Post with kindness. Its a concrete building, Good Friday (or Great Alaskan) Earthquake, Where to Download and Play RetroPie ROMs with Emulators, 5 reasons why a student needs to follow the daily routine, Summer Will Never Be Hot Again with These Home Cooling Tips, Canadas Approach to Online Gambling Over the Years, Employee Motivation: How to Empower Your Team Motivation, Comprehending the Difficulties of Android Device Management. The structure is notable for being the residence for nearly the entire population of the city as well as containing many of its public facilities. A visitor recounted a conversation with the resident volunteer firefighter when apainfully loud fire alarm went off inside BTI. Proving the Whittier experience is not for everyone, it hasmixed reviews on TripAdvisor. Part of the heating system has been replaced. Some people love it because IT CAN BE REALLY SOCIAL. If there is a fire, at least everyone will stay warm. It was built by the military in 1956 for soldiers and their families and later became a home for civilians in 1973. They also had a lot of civil rights actions here [in Alaska] in the forties; the Natives werent even allowed to sit in the movie theater with white people. booj. The population of the city is over 200 people. When the Army pulled out of Whittier in 1960, the handful of remaining residents turned BTI into a condo, but the Buckner Building was simply abandoned. The monthly dues cover the heat, electricity, exterior and groundsmaintenance, garbage service, water and sewer service, and snow removal. Most in BTI have binoculars sitting by the window. Whittier, Alaska, on Prince William Sound. "I read yellow is a happy color," Dempster said. Most condos have extensively updated and remodeled since then. ]. Even a school called Whittier School is connected to a tunnel on the ground floor of the West tower so students can walk to school without going out in the cold during winter. Though Begich Towers and the Buckner Building provide much of Whittiers intrigue, they arent the only structures in town. In the 1950s the United States government built a bunker of a residential skyscraper in the Alaskan wilderness. In the basement of the Hodge Building, the plastic-lined water containers were also undisturbed. Fastest Charging On Any Nord Phone Ever & Other Reasons Why OnePlus Nord 2T Is Worth Every Penny! If you wish to report an issue or seek an accommodation, please, 442-H New York Standard Operating Procedures. ", Gary Carr works at the Kozy Korner Store, which is housed on the ground floor of Begich Towers. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Directions by Land: From Anchorage, take the Seward Highway south to Portage Road, go east to Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to City Center of Whittier. First published on May 23, 2021 / 9:54 AM. Whittier Harbor, which never freezes, is one of the most desired in the area. A small percentage of the population lives in Whittier Manor, a low-rise condo that overlooks the clanking rail yard, and a couple of people live on their boats year round. What is now the Begich Towers was part of that plan. Gain valuable insight into the Whittier AK community by looking at household incomes, crime risk, education levels attained, and the potential for extreme weather. 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 Light and bright apartment style condos you would expect to find for sale in the Begich Towers Condos in Whittier AK are going to range between 511 and 1827 square feet. When the sun returns to the sky, residents pour out of BTI in shorts and T-shirts. The Buckner, as it was called, was the social center for the posts military, civilian and dependent population. The only way to get to Whittier is to drive through a one-lane railroad tunnel through the middle of a mountain. Disclaimer: ActiveRain, Inc. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. The listing content relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the IDX Program of Alaska Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (AK MLS). Both were constructed in the wake of World War II along with the railroad leading in, a combined $55 million build that . It now owns almost all of the inhabitable land in Whittier. the property described as unit 104, begich towers condominiums, as shown on the floor plans filed in the office of the recorder of the anchorage recording district, third judicial district, state of alaska, under plat number "'74-1, and as identified in the declaration recorded march 26, 1974, book 2, page 571, and in any The state of Alaska is rugged and beautiful beyond compare. "You do! It was designed to house a 1500-man garrison with its own chapel, command offices, brig, TV station, PX, theater, laundry facilities, barber, an enormous mess hall, craft shop, a bowling alley, a shooting range, commissary, bakery, dispensary, and private rooms for officers and NCOs. The school is connected to the towers via a tunnel. Each office independently owned and operated. It was named the Hodge Building in memory of Colonel William Walter Hodge, commander of the 93rd Engineer Regiment on the Alcan Highway. It was built in 1954 . The exterior of the building is getting power-washed and painted and inside the tan colored hallways have been replaced by bright yellow. Take the elevator up to the 3rd floor to see a doctor if you're not feeling well. Ironically, when the conversion was finished, more people moved out. A handful of single-story industrial and municipal buildings sit between BTI and the harbor. Instead, on the edge of town, there stands a 14-story building called Begich Towers a former Army barracks, resembling an aging hotel, where most of the town's 200 residents live. 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.
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