Buckner Building

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The Buckner Building
The Buckner Building

The Buckner Building is a large building in Whittier, Alaska; for many years it was the largest building in Alaska, and was sometimes called the "city under one roof." It was completed in 1953. That it was was seriously damaged in the 1964 Alaska earthquake and was subsequently abandoned is not true. When it was turned over to the city of Whittier by the army it was in good shape. The city did not know what to do with it, so it just sat and fell apart.

Two factors combine to make safe demolition of the building cost-prohibitive: First, there is a fair amount of asbestos in the building. Second, the only land-route in and out of Whittier is through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, so debris would either have to go through the tunnel or be moved on ships.


The building is known to be a local hang out for kids, and is often explored by tourists looking for some mischief. The safety of the building is marginal, due to the asbestos and questionable structural integrity. Floors have been known to fall through. Bears are often found inside the building in the spring, and it is full of ice and precariously dangling pipes, wires, and substructure.

The Buckner Building is complete with subterranean shooting range, a movie theater, jail cells, abandoned medical equipment, and elevators.

Rumors abound of secret passageways leading to an underwater submarine barn and surface-to-surface defensive missile batteries.