Whittier, Alaska – A Manifesto. Rachel Finfer UPenn- Arch 711
1. Whittier came to be as the southern terminus of the Alaska Railroad in the early 1940s. It was a strategic location for an army base, as it was a port that was ice-free year round, often visually obscured by bad weather, and a convenient location for keeping tabs on the Soviet Union. A 1941 Army press release announced Whittier as the town’s name. The release read: “EVER HEARD OF THIS PLACE? WELL, YOU WILL”1 2. Whittier is a tiny town with a tagline: the “town under one roof”. This “one roof” is Beigich Towers International (BTI). 214 people live in Whittier, and of them, about 180 live in BTI. [2][3]
3. Whittier is named after the glacier that abuts the town, which is named after John Greenleaf Whittier, a poet who wrote many odes to winter.4 4. Whittier, Alaska is not the only thing named after John Greenleaf Whittier. Whittier, California; Whittier, Iowa; and neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Denver all share the same namesake. Greenleaf, Idaho remembers the same man in a different way. Whittier College, Whittier Law School, Whittier Education Campus all share his name. Whittier’s intent is not to be revolutionary. 5 5. Whittier is an isolated town—the nearest urban outpost is Anchorage, 60 miles away. A two-and-a-half-mile tunnel separates the two, with the Prince William Sound flanking Whittier on the other side. 6. The tunnel is the second longest in North America, boring through the seemingly impenetrable Maynard Mountain.6 It was built solely for rail travel, but opened to cars 16 years ago, allowing the cars to drive over the train tracks in one-directional shifts, opening every hour or so. The residents feared Whittier would grow and change. Many signed a petition to prevent the tunnel’s opening. But instead, about 50 people left.7 Before the tunnel became bi-modal, cars were loaded onto a railroad flatcar. Whittier was slowly becoming connected.8 7. When the tunnel opened to cars, eight safe houses were built to ease the claustrophobia, and jet engines were installed to circulate air after every trip. 9 It was hard for Whittier to connect. 8. To make the journey more inviting, the tunnel’s entrance is a rather comforting A-frame façade, inviting its guests into the mountain’s underbelly. However, the tunnel closes at night and costs $12 roundtrip, making the trek to Anchorage quite a commitment in terms of time, logistics, and cash.[10][11] 9. Surprisingly, the tunnel has a five-star rating on Yelp.12 10. Whittier is the wettest city in the United States, receiving 197 inches of rain and 241 inches of snowfall annually. High winds, reaching up to 80 mph, constantly torment the area. In the summer months the town becomes flooded instead with daylight and visitors. Its population skyrockets with seasonal fisherman and other workers. 13 11. After World War II, once Whittier had proved its merit as an army base, the army invested millions to ensure it could function permanently. Two buildings were designed to house the entire town. The crown jewel of the construction effort was the Buckner Building; complete with a library, hospital, photographer’s darkroom, hobby store, post office, barbershop, six-cell jail, bake shop, movie theater, four-lane bowling alley, and an indoor shooting range. 14 The other, slightly less magnificent building is the BTI. Today, the