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I was in Whittier in 1991, two years after the oil spill. I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. You can ea

by jnellis 12y ago

I was in Whittier in 1991, two years after the oil spill. I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. You can easily see housing dotted around the area and the building sits back a bit from the water. The pictures in this article shows a remodeled building but when I was there it was in some disrepair. And as fishermen from around the prince william sound used to say, "There's no place shittier than Whittier.' I was told the main reason Whittier exists is because it's the only port deep enough to dock warships. I was fishing out of Cordova which you can only get to by plane or boat but if you wanted to go to anchorage, you could take a small car ferry to Whittier.

haroldp 12y ago
> I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. When I was there last in `86, there were a few dwellings (maybe 8-12?) at the Sportsman's Inn and two old shacks right down by the railroad owned by one family of three. On google street maps I can see two or three new freestanding houses. The Shens who ran the better bar lived there. The vast majority of people live in Beggich Towers. It looks about the same now as it did then, and does not seem to have been renovated much. Are you perhaps thinking of the Buckner Building? > There's no place shittier than Whittier Not that I have found so far ;) > I was told the main reason Whittier exists is because it's the only port deep enough to dock warships. Supply ships to support the war effort, more than war ships, per se.
- nemanja 12y ago
  > It looks about the same now as it did then... That is really impressive. The first thing I noticed looking at the building is how well it looks for 1956 construction and particularly given harsh environment. I suppose it's a testament to the great work of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  - haroldp 12y ago
    Most of the Army's engineering in Whittier was pretty amazing. For example, Begich Towers is built on three sections with a gap of six inches through the full height. The gap is closed in with steel, accordion-shaped baffle so that in the frequent earthquakes, they could move independently instead of breaking. On the other hand, hip-roofs simply weren't in the Army handbook, so everything was built with a flat roof. In a town that may get 400 inches of precipitation in some years, most of it snow, it's a recipe for disaster. Many of the smaller buildings roofs (including the school) were destroyed that way. Begich Tower's roof leaks. I mean, you can be on any floor and have your roof leak due to the capillary action through the cracks. The plumbing sucked. You let the water run until it was clear before you started drinking.
deleted 12y ago
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by jnellis 12y ago

haroldp 12y ago

> I'll say that even then there was other housing and not everyone lived in the one building. When I was there last in `86, there were a few dwellings (maybe 8-12?) at the Sportsman's Inn and two old shacks right down by the railroad owned by one family of three. On google street maps I can see two or three new freestanding houses. The Shens who ran the better bar lived there. The vast majority of people live in Beggich Towers. It looks about the same now as it did then, and does not seem to have been renovated much. Are you perhaps thinking of the Buckner Building? > There's no place shittier than Whittier Not that I have found so far ;) > I was told the main reason Whittier exists is because it's the only port deep enough to dock warships. Supply ships to support the war effort, more than war ships, per se.

nemanja 12y ago
> It looks about the same now as it did then... That is really impressive. The first thing I noticed looking at the building is how well it looks for 1956 construction and particularly given harsh environment. I suppose it's a testament to the great work of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- haroldp 12y ago
  Most of the Army's engineering in Whittier was pretty amazing. For example, Begich Towers is built on three sections with a gap of six inches through the full height. The gap is closed in with steel, accordion-shaped baffle so that in the frequent earthquakes, they could move independently instead of breaking. On the other hand, hip-roofs simply weren't in the Army handbook, so everything was built with a flat roof. In a town that may get 400 inches of precipitation in some years, most of it snow, it's a recipe for disaster. Many of the smaller buildings roofs (including the school) were destroyed that way. Begich Tower's roof leaks. I mean, you can be on any floor and have your roof leak due to the capillary action through the cracks. The plumbing sucked. You let the water run until it was clear before you started drinking.

deleted 12y ago

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