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The circular-shaped community fallout shelter under Interstate 5 in Ravenna was dedicated in March 1963, and was used by the State of Washington as a place to get driver’s licenses. (Courtesy MOHAI) The front of the old community shelter as it looks today on Weedin Place; the escape hatch is visible on the far left, and the space is used for storage by the Washington State Department of Transportation. (Feliks Banel) The distinctive vent for the shelter is visible just west of the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 north of the University District. (Courtesy WSDOT) Seattle Mayor Gordon Clinton, second from left, took part in the ribbon cutting to dedicate the community fallout shelter, which for many years housed an office that issued driver’s licenses, in March 1963. (Courtesy MOHAI) Original plans for the circular-shaped Interstate 5 “Prototype Community Fallout Shelter” in Seattle show a structure 60 feet in diameter, with concrete walls 15 inches thick. Design was by Seattle engineering firm Andersen-Bjornstad-Kane. (Courtesy WSDOT) The federal government envisioned community fallout shelters under freeways around the United States, but the shelter in Seattle was the only one ever built. (Courtesy National Archives) The only shower in the fallout shelter was designed for nuclear decontamination. (Courtesy WSDOT) The vent for the shelter is an odd-looking concrete structure just west of the southbound lanes Interstate 5 in the Ravenna neighborhood. (Feliks Banel) The shelter was equipped with a diesel generator to provide electricity for lighting for occupants. (Courtesy WSDOT) The interior of the old community fallout shelter as it looked a few years ago; it’s now used for storage by the Washington State Department of Transportation. (Courtesy WSDOT) Looking east across the main entrance to the community fallout shelter near Green Lake. (Feliks Banel) Looking west across the main entrance to community fallout shelter near Green Lake. (Feliks Banel)
Seattle’s I-5 fallout shelter