Casea Peterson grew up archery hunting, fishing, and camping throughout the Pacific Northwest. Motivated by her love for the outdoors she moved to Alaska to attend school and to spend time exploring the last frontier. If she doesn’t have a pen in hand or her nose in a book, she can be found out on a lake or up in the woods around a fire with friends.
Can you imagine that the old and decrepit Buckner Building in Whittier used to be the talk of the town all over the state of Alaska?
If you don’t believe me, you soon will after I tell you all the incredibly cool things the Buckner Building used to be before time and mother nature took their toll. The Buckner Building, which used to proudly be one of the largest in Alaska, was a U.S. Military building named after General Simon Buckner, the highest-ranking Pacific Theater U.S. Military Officer who died in action during WWI.
The Buckner Building was constructed by the military in 1953 but its doors were closed soon after in 1966 when the military port in Whittier was scuttled. The building was meant to serve as a support base for regional military operations in Alaska.
The residents of Whittier were proud that the building was constructed in their little town. Whittier is known as the gateway to the Prince William Sound and its proximity to Anchorage coupled with its highly accessible port made it the perfect spot for the Buckner Building.
The building suffered some damage in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, but its 6 floors and 2 basement levels were only slightly affected and nothing was damaged at a structural level.
The Buckner Building is called the "City Under One Roof" because it literally is an entire city. It has a mess hall, sleeping quarters, movie theater, bakery, bowling alley, post office, library, and even a radio station. It was constructed to house up to 1,000 people and served as an all indoor recreational, medical, and administrative facility.
In more recent years the building has been fenced off due to trespassers; mainly tourists who're interested in getting a closer look at such a historical site. However, the building is too dangerous for people to be wandering around in. It's not that people are damaging the property, but the building itself is no longer safe. From bears wandering around inside to the danger of asbestos, the Buckner Building was closed off for the public's own safety and nothing else.
Even though it’s run down, the Buckner Building still proves to be somewhat useful as a ski park for this guy!
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