jwphillips2 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 If you can remember "Duck and cover" you can probably remember bomb shelters as a selling point for houses. I remember visiting a family friend's house in Bellaire (I think it was on Jack street) and touring their bomb shelter. It was fully stocked with food and medicine (he was a doctor) and thinking how lucky he was to have one. Then I thought about the scenario of being the only family to survive the nuclear holocaust and what kind of life that would be. Later, I started finding more and more shelters. The ones downtown were marked CD for Civil Defense and many buildings converted an unused room or two in the basements. You were supposed to tune your AM radio to either 640 or 1240 Mhz. If you see a 50s or 60s radio you'll see the "CD" marked at those frequencies. I remember the Friday siren tests at noon downtown. Pretty chilling thinking about it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Anybody know of any homes listed on MLS with bomb shelters? Could be an interesting selling point for someone with a penchant for mid-century homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) There is no Jack street in Bellaire but I think I know the house your talking about. It was one of those streets off Newcastle. The entrance for the shelter was in the kitchen. The house wasn't that fancy. I think they put most of their money into "the shelter". I'd like to know what material school desks were made from back then. I still remember having drills at Johnston Junior High where we would get under our desks when we hear the sirens. Certainly if those desks could protect us from an atomic bomb they were made from the strongest material known to man. Edited December 11, 2007 by LunaticFringe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Most of the streets on the east side of Newcastle between Bellaire Blvd. and Beechnut are named after people - there's a Jane St., but no Jack (but I don't recall anything like that over there).Maybe it was Jackwood in Meyerland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Jack Street runs between Richmond and Alabama near Spur 527. I second the Jackwood idea. Duck and cover was to protect you from falling ceiling debris. I remember two kinds: "get under the desk" and "everyone line up in the hallway." We were always told it was for tornadoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houwest Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I remember going to look at home fallout shelters in the late 50's. They used to bring them around to shoppiing centers on trailers. The ones I saw were make of fiberglass. Apparently, you just dug a hole in the backyard, inserted the shelter and covered it up. A friend bought a house in Spring Branch in the early 70's that had a fallout shelter. The entrance was like a hatch on a boat. His was mostly full of water by that time. There was also a house in River Oaks, I think on Kirby Dr., that was supposed to be "bomb proof". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marmer Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Yeah, I remember seeing a bunch of those fiberglass ones abandoned in a cow pasture belonging to a local eccentric when I was a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 (edited) Sorry to laugh but I cannot get the song/tune out of my head, "You dropped the bomb on me". Edited December 11, 2007 by Vertigo58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwphillips2 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 Sorry to laugh but I cannot get the song/tune out of my head, "You dropped the bomb on me".Yeah, you have to do the descending whistle with that one....Mr. Fringe, I think the desks were made of "black box" material after all the testing in the classrooms.sevfiv - I think you're right about Jackwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disastro Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Yeah, I remember seeing a bunch of those fiberglass ones abandoned in a cow pasture belonging to a local eccentric when I was a kid.FIBERGLASS????!!!!That would melt in a nuclear detonation....Ridiculous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houwest Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 The home shelters weren't bomb shelters. They were fallout shelters. To survive the blast, you had to get under your magic desk at school. Then, you ran home, very quickly, and jumped in your fallout shelter. After 400-500 years, you come out and everything is cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Whenever I think about building my dream home, I have always considered some sort of shelter below grade and reinforced and stocked. Not necessarily for nukes, but a bad storm, civil unrest, zombies, annoying jehovas witnesses and magazine salesmen. It just always seemed like it made sense if a house was being newly constructed, to have a secure storage area that could double as a shelter in any number of situations.Then again, I also want a shooting range in my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 (edited) The home shelters weren't bomb shelters. They were fallout shelters. To survive the blast, you had to get under your magic desk at school. Then, you ran home, very quickly, and jumped in your fallout shelter. After 400-500 years, you come out and everything is cool. Had to wipe away the tears of laughter from that one! Just one look at historical Hiroshima pics/film tells all. Remember the controversial and disturbing 1983 film "The Day After?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After Very depressing, never wanted to see the whole thing. Even to this day. Ok, now I'm bummed out. Edited December 12, 2007 by Vertigo58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Yeah, The Day After was one of the first TV movies that really shocked the nation. Everybody watched it, and nobody would watch it again. I was waaaaay to young to have seen that. Bad memories to this day.Back on the subject of fallout shelters -- there is a massive one underneath the Macy's (Foley's) downtown. Most of the supplies were auctioned off in the late 90's. KHOU's Doug Miller went down there and did a story about it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Whenever I think about building my dream home, I have always considered some sort of shelter below grade and reinforced and stocked. Not necessarily for nukes, but a bad storm, civil unrest, zombies, annoying jehovas witnesses and magazine salesmen. It just always seemed like it made sense if a house was being newly constructed, to have a secure storage area that could double as a shelter in any number of situations.Then again, I also want a shooting range in my house.I'm glad there's someone besides me that's concerned about zombie attacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 (edited) Had to wipe away the tears of laughter from that one!Just one look at historical Hiroshima pics/film tells all. Remember the controversial and disturbing 1983 film "The Day After?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_After Very depressing, never wanted to see the whole thing. Even to this day. Ok, now I'm bummed out. Anyone have a link to where I can watch this online? I'm glad there's someone besides me that's concerned about zombie attacks. What else is there to worry about? Zombie Proof Cabin? Edited December 12, 2007 by gwilson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Anyone have a link to where I can watch this online? Only a Youtube for now, Brace yourself It's the aftermath that really grinds your stomach. Not feeling well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Only a Youtube for now, Brace yourself It's the aftermath that really grinds your stomach. Not feeling well. I found that part but I don't want to watch until I can see the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disastro Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I found that part but I don't want to watch until I can see the whole thing.It could still happen.The Russians recently began bombing run training and today we face the Chinese AND a much improved Russian nuclear arsenal. Not to mention terrorists possibly coming over the Mexico border with God knows what...and, um, no warning there at all if that attack happens.Is the world safer? I think not.I think we need those big shelters again, actually... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Whenever I think about building my dream home, I have always considered some sort of shelter below grade and reinforced and stocked. Not necessarily for nukes, but a bad storm, civil unrest, zombies, annoying jehovas witnesses and magazine salesmen. It just always seemed like it made sense if a house was being newly constructed, to have a secure storage area that could double as a shelter in any number of situations.Then again, I also want a shooting range in my house. Ditto, and ditto. When I was in middle school, I set up the next best thing to an indoor shooting range--an outdoor range in the back yard. We weren't zoned for it, but when you have a crooked cop next door and lots of illegal immigrants in the neighborhood, you get to do a lot of things that aren't kosher. > As for the shelter, I went to a gun show at the GRB about a year ago, and there were some folks selling walk-in steel-fab shelters that could be installed in interior rooms of a home, and as long as the home was out of a flood plain, Harris County would subsidize the installation. I don't know that it'd suffice for a nuclear explosion, but it is rated to withstand any tornado imaginable and could probably withstand a Mormon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Ditto, and ditto. When I was in middle school, I set up the next best thing to an indoor shooting range--an outdoor range in the back yard. We weren't zoned for it, but when you have a crooked cop next door and lots of illegal immigrants in the neighborhood, you get to do a lot of things that aren't kosher. >As for the shelter, I went to a gun show at the GRB about a year ago, and there were some folks selling walk-in steel-fab shelters that could be installed in interior rooms of a home, and as long as the home was out of a flood plain, Harris County would subsidize the installation. I don't know that it'd suffice for a nuclear explosion, but it is rated to withstand any tornado imaginable and could probably withstand a Mormon. Jehovas Witnesses are far worse than Mormons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 It could still happen.The Russians recently began bombing run training and today we face the Chinese AND a much improved Russian nuclear arsenal. Not to mention terrorists possibly coming over the Mexico border with God knows what...and, um, no warning there at all if that attack happens. Is the world safer? I think not. I think we need those big shelters again, actually... We can always ride on the missile Texas Style as in : "How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb" Yee-hah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwphillips2 Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) There are a few other considerations than just hiding out. Air filtration, waste water, fresh water, food, those pesky zombies, etc. By the way, you can keep up your skills with a little extra practice. link to trapThese are portable and cheap, just don't miss if you set it up in the living room.A new feature name may help gain acceptance such as, Zombie Excluder Device or something similar. Edited December 13, 2007 by jwphillips2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Jehovas Witnesses are far worse than Mormons.And large asteroid strikes are far worse than tornados. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo58 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 There are a few other considerations than just hiding out. Air filtration, waste water, fresh water, food, those pesky zombies, etc. By the way, you can keep up your skills with a little extra practice. link to trap These are portable and cheap, just don't miss if you set it up in the living room. A new feature name may help gain acceptance such as, Zombie Excluder Device or something similar. GULFTON hood is the first thing that came to mind. Could make a mint on that contraption out there. Oops! Not really as you would get robbed of your $ shortly afterwards. Now back to bomb shelter topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 And large asteroid strikes are far worse than tornados.<-- Mormon (albeit not a very good one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 <-- Mormon (albeit not a very good one).[Niche kicks self] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwilson Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 [Niche kicks self]rofl, no worries. I'm of the "i can take a joke and can't figure out why others can't" breed.=o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastwood79 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Really? You guys think that TV movie was a distrubing depiction of a nuclear bomb? All it made me think of was how far we've come in visual effects. I always thought the nightmare in Terminator 2 was pretty scary (and accurate?). (you might not want to watch if you're squeamish)Granted - there I think it's supposed to be a hydrogen bomb, but...close enough. Anyway, watching that again makes me want to go shelter shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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