Originally, Whittier Alaska was going to have at least a
dozen enormous buildings. Only two of them were ever actually built: the
Buckner Building, which is now abandoned, and the Hodge Building, now called Begich
Towers. Whittier was meant to be a military harbor and logistics base for the
US Army – something that probably made more sense in the early 50’s than it
does today. The Buckner Building (it was once Alaska’s largest building) had bachelor
quarters for 1,000 soldiers, as well as a mess hall, cinema, bowling alley, and
jail. Begich Towers is a fourteen-story edifice with 196 condos as well as a
few amenities for residents and guests: a post office, a general store, a
laundromat and a small Baptist church. Roughly 90% of Whittier’s year-round
population lives right here: the “town under one roof.” You can visit Whittier in
summer with Princess or Holland America cruise lines. But wintering there isn’t
for the faint of heart.
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