Church Fallout Shelter - Capitol Hill - Oklahoma City, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 26.372 W 097° 31.115
14S E 634460 N 3922795
This Fallout Shelter sign is located on the south side of a large church building in downtown Capitol Hill.
Waymark Code: WMFBAC
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 09/23/2012
Views: 6
Capitol Hill, a district on the south side of Oklahoma City was once expected to become the state capitol. It was later annexed to Oklahoma City. This area became a center for shopping and entertainment during the 1920s and continued through the 1970s. This building was constructed in 1922 as the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and currently is occupied by Templo De Alabanza, a Penecostal church.
On the south wall of this building, facing S.W. 25th Street (Commerce Avenue), above door height is the typical yellow and black Fallout Shelter sign. The capacity was difficult to read, but it appears to indicate a capacity of 100 persons. This building has a partially-exposed basement as the location of the shelter.
In the 1960s, when the U.S. was fearful of an attack from Russia, the Department of Civil Defense was established and shelters were constructed throughout the country, and particularly in Washington D.C. Children in schools had regular Civil Defense Drills where they were taught what to do and where to go in the case of an atomic attack. Your radio program might be interrupted at any time with beeps and the words "This is only a test....." as the Civil Defense systems were tested.
The yellow sign (three triangles inside a circle) could be found in various places in towns, usually in strong, masonry buildings with basements (schools, armories and public buildings) where the maximum protection could be found. The program began to dissolve in the 1970s when funding cuts and apathy prevailed. Today, you will rarely find one of these signs, and it is estimated that only 5 to 10 percent of them remain. Interest has recently surfaced to protect these signs as a part of our history.
Capacity of shelter: 100
Radiation monitoring equipment: Not Listed
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