As of: February 27, 2024, 8:03 p.m
By: Kilian Bäuml
Comments
Press
Split
In the Alaskan wilderness lies a unique place: Whittier.
Almost the entire population lives in a single building - for a good reason.
Whittier, Alaska – In the wilderness of the northernmost state of the USA, Alaska, lies a place that stands out for its uniqueness.
The “Wilderness Tower”, about 60 kilometers away from any civilization, houses around 300 people under its roof.
In contrast to Germany, where many people have the dream of owning their own home, in Whittier almost all residents live in a single building.
This may sound strange to many, but there are valid reasons for the “city in the house”.
Whittier is only accessible through tunnels: “It’s a very strange town”
Whittier, a place full of special features, is located in a secluded location about 60 kilometers from the city of Anchorage.
The building, officially called Begich Towers, reveals its peculiarities upon arrival.
“It's a very strange town because there's only one way in and one way out,” resident Lee Shuford told
CBSNews
.
In the Alaskan wilderness, the 14-story building, in which around 300 people live, is hardly noticeable.
© IMAGO/xdvlcomx
To reach Whittier, one must pass through a two-mile-long tunnel through a mountain.
The place is not accessible through the tunnel at night because it is closed off - Whittier is therefore cut off from the rest of the world until morning.
The tunnel has only existed for about 15 years, previously the site was only accessible via the port, reports the
Economic Times
.
But why is almost the entire place in this one building?
Begich Towers defies the weather: almost the entire town lives in one house
The building was originally built in the wilderness as barracks during the Cold War.
After the military left the place, the Alaska Railroad took over the building.
According to the station, she now owns almost the entire place.
According to Mayor Dave Dickason, the lack of private land is one of the reasons why no more houses are being built.
About 85 percent of residents live in Begich Towers, and there's good reason for that.
Whittier is located in a region of Alaska that experiences very changeable weather.
Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h are not uncommon.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), this corresponds to a severe storm with wind force ten that can break trees and damage houses.
Even one meter of snow is not unusual in this region.
By housing the town's most important facilities in one building, residents can protect themselves from the extreme weather.
Millions of clicks on social media – “city in the house” on 14 floors
In fact, Whittier residents rarely have a reason to leave the house.
The 14 floors of the building contain a supermarket, a post office, a church and a police station.
Even a school, attended by around 50 students, is connected to the building by a tunnel.
Almost everything that is available in other cities is in this building.
It's not just in the USA that people sometimes live strangely, there are also unusual apartments in Bremen.
My news
Lotto winner and husband died: mystery about the whereabouts of the 192 million fortune
Avalanche alarm: Italy evacuates valley – read curfew for residents
Six correct numbers and still no lottery jackpot: the pair is left empty-handed due to an error
One year after record low tide: water is back - now Lake Garda is running overflowing
Ex-RAF member Daniela Klette (65) arrested in Berlin - how investigators discovered her. read
Cars demolished: Nightmare rockfall hits holidaymakers at Italian Soul Reading
Videos about the building reach millions of people on TikTok and are fascinating.
But life in the building also has its downsides.
“Nobody here really has a date because we all grew up together and that would be kind of weird,” explains one resident.
However, residents report that they are getting used to the remoteness of the place.
“It’s known as the strangest town in Alaska,” Dickason said.
We can only hope that the neighbors get along well, unlike in another house where the neighbors stick angry notes on their doors.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
Find out more about our AI principles here.