Franklin Fallout Shelter - Shawnee, OK - Civil Defense Fallout Shelters on Waymarking.com

On the southeast corner of the former Ben Franklin School at 214 S. Pennsylvania is one of the vintage Fallout Shelter signs, as this building was once the location of a community shelter against atomic attack during the Cold War of the 1960s.

In the 1960s, when the U.S. was fearful of an attack from Russian, 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.

This two-story brick school served as a Fallout Shelter. The capacity of this particular shelter was small, considering the size of the building - only 60 persons. Access could be gained from a basement entrance on the south side of the school.

Capacity of shelter: 60 Radiation monitoring equipment: Not Listed

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