The Cold War sent chills down Americans’ spines when they thought of a nuclear bomb being dropped on their country.
They had been told that it would take mere seconds of exposure to the radiation before the body would become irreversibly harmed and only up to 14 days before they would experience excruciating pain and perish.
On Sept. 15, 1961, President John F. Kennedy informed his constituents that nuclear weapons and the possibility of nuclear war are “facts of life we cannot ignore today.” He planned to modify certain public buildings with fallout shelters where people could seek safety in the event of such a war, a move that instilled fear in Americans and sparked them to take action to protect themselves.
Many people in that era opted to install their own fallout shelter. It became big business for those who began to specialize in emergency shelters.
Protective “bomb-proofs” were used by soldiers during the Civil War. During World War I, troops hid beneath similar shelter constructed from heavy logs and thick dirt.
So while the concept of protecting oneself from such danger wasn’t new, it was one driven out of fear and panic for people in the ’60s.
In a speech President Kennedy delivered on Oct. 6, 1961, he urged Americans to start building their own bomb shelters.
“We owe that kind of insurance to our families and to our country. … The time to start is now. In the coming months, I hope to let every citizen know what steps he can take without delay to protect his family in case of attack. I know you would not want to do less.”
Do-it-yourself pamphlets and booklets quickly circulated across neighborhoods, directing families as to how to build their own. It didn’t take long before backyards were brimming with apocalypse-prepped rooms made out of round metal containers and concrete bunkers.
They were designed to fit underneath the soft green grass, hidden to the human eye except for one or two entryways at ground level. A study conducted at that time indicated that an estimated 70 percent of Americans believed that the nuclear war would happen and by the mid-1960s, an estimated 200,000 shelters were built.
After the threat of such a nuclear war passed, many crumbled underground; others were dug up and discarded. But one underground bomb shelter dating back to the 1970s still stands and is simply shocking.
Currently for sale, this bomb shelter in Las Vegas, Nevada, is priced at a whopping $18 million. And it’s fascinating!
Entrepreneur Girard B. “Jerry” Henderson was one of the individuals frightened of the Cold War’s potential impact and a nuclear bomb. He found fortune through companies like Avon cosmetics and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., but became a household name during those trying times when he created an exhibit at the 1964 New York World’s Fair called “Why Live Underground?”
Jerry spoke from experience, as he lived in his own jaw-dropping underground house until passing away in the early 1980s.
One glimpse at the faux neighborhood he created at 3970 Spencer Street, one would never know that this 1970s suburban home spanning 5,000 square feet was built underground beneath another home.
Jerry designed the home complete with six bathrooms, five bedrooms, a Jacuzzi, a pool, and a dance floor. There’s even a grill hidden inside a boulder!
Artificial trees, rocks and handpainted murals featuring a forest and a natural horizon to try and bring nature into this underground escape. The yard has lights that can be adjusted to simulate the different times of the day and for nighttime, the ceiling can cast twinkling stars on it.
Even more mindblowing is that the home is built inside a concrete and steel bunker totaling 16,936 square feet.
Looking at the photos available from the realtor, this underground home inside the bunker takes you back in time with the decor and interior design dating back to the ’70s. The furniture is incredible and has been meticulously cared for all these years.
Accessing this blast from the past is made easy with an elevator that drops you down into the home that sits 26 feet below the surface. There’s also a staircase secluded in a backyard shed of the above-ground home that leads down the rabbit hole to this spectacular historical home.
It’s crazy that this time capsule home happens to be hidden below the ground in Las Vegas and it’s for sale! Would you buy it if you could afford it?
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