Isolated, the place houses an entire community under one roof
In a remote corner of Alaska, surrounded by icy mountains and the sea of Prince William Sound, there is a town that looks like something out of a social experiment or a science fiction script.
In Whittier, practically the entire population lives under one roof. There are around 270 people who share the same address, the same elevator and, often, the same stories.
Discover the city where everyone knows each other and lives in the same building
The epicenter of this curious community life is Begich Towers, a 14-story building built by the United States Army in the 1950s, during the Cold War.
According to the website BBC Travelthe building was erected to house military personnel and their families in a strategic and difficult to access region. Over time, the barracks became a city, and the building became a collective home.
Today, Begich Towers houses almost everything Whittier needs to function. According to the The Guardianthe building houses apartments, post office, supermarket, school, church, doctor’s office and even a police station.
It is a kind of “vertical city”, created not out of futuristic aesthetics, but out of pure necessity. After all, winter in Alaska isn’t exactly friendly: snowstorms, winds of up to 100 km/h and freezing temperatures make isolation a matter of survival.
Therefore, the idea of bringing the entire community together in one building ended up becoming a practical solution. Most residents rarely need to leave the building during the winter, as there is even an underground tunnel that connects Begich Towers to the local school.
But living side by side with practically the entire city also has its challenges. The inhabitants know each neighbor by name, they know who arrived, who traveled and who fought. “It’s impossible to keep secrets for long,” one resident told BBC News.
Still, Whittier remains one of the most unique communities on the planet, a curious reminder that when the cold sets in and the outside world becomes inhospitable, human warmth can fit entirely inside a building.
Follow the Portal 6 on Instagram: and stay up to date with the latest news from Goiânia!
