There was a time back in the day, with an emphasis on the 50s, when the fear of nuclear conflict was so rife that it resulted in the widespread construction of fallout shelters across the United States, and also beyond.
These heavily fortified underground bunkers were stocked to the brim with all manners of supplies and built to withstand massive amounts of radiation. They stood as sturdy symbols of both preparation and seemingly inescapable paranoia in an era that was dominated by severely heightened tensions.
We’ll look at some of the best images we could find from the era of fallout shelters. It’s remarkable how the people in the photographs could muster such believable smiles.
1. A U.S. family sits in their newly forged fallout shelter back in 1955.
The colorization adds a layer of complexity to an already striking image of the fallout shelter era.
2. Delivery of the new bomb shelter, Richmond, VA, 1960
Those were not easy to deliver at all.
3. A Family Fallout Shelter display at a home modeling show, 1958
Those fallout shelter companies really loved to show off their stuff.
4. John Stufflebean and family in their fallout shelter in Tucson in April 1961
Just imagine what it must’ve felt like to have to crawl down into those fallout shelters all of the time.
5. Teenagers stock nuclear fallout shelters in Boston, 1965
They had to make sure that those fallout shelters were stocked to the brim.
6. Fallout shelter in the backyard in the 1950s
I’m not loving how close the kid’s biking activities are to the actual fallout shelter. That just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
7. A family shops for a fallout shelter in 1961
Fallout shelters during that time certainly weren’t cheap, but I guess they could’ve been a lot worse.
8. Looks like quite the cozy fallout shelter if we’ve ever seen one
People were more than ready to make the extra effort to ensure that their fallout shelters sustained maximal cozy levels.
9. A fallout shelter back in the 50s. Every family was trying to get their hands on one
The economy family type fallout shelters must’ve been surefire winners.
10. 1951 photo of a model showing off this West Los Angeles bomb shelter at 10333 Santa Monica Boulevard
They tried their hardest to make those fallout shelters as inviting as possible.
11. They spared no expense on the fallout shelter marketing efforts
Having a fallout shelter accompanied by a whole outdoor pool aesthetic was an interesting approach, for sure.
12. Boys building a bomb shelter in Minnesota during the nuclear anxiety of the Cold War (1952)
This might be one of the less inviting fallout shelters that we’ve seen.
13. They got the den and the fallout shelter combined. That’s a win.
Clutch move with opting for the dual-purpose room in the fallout shelter. Looks like it could end up being a tad bit crammed though.
14. Boy Scouts fallout shelter parade float, 1950s
Those were stern times, but they did their best to lighten spirits with the fallout shelter parades.
15. A mother and her children made a practice run for their $5,000 steel backyard fallout shelter in Sacramento, CA, in 1961
Just the act of practicing runs to the fallout shelter in the event of a doomsday event had to have been a tad bit anxiety-inducing.
