Thousands of Milwaukeeans had them in the 1950s -- residential bomb shelters, right in their basements.
At the height of the Cold War, people were building reinforced concrete rooms on their property, with enough space to shield the family from nuclear annihilation. At least that was the sales pitch.
At the height of the Cold War, people were building reinforced concrete rooms on their property, with enough space to shield the family from nuclear annihilation. At least that was the sales pitch.
Take a look at this vintage newspaper ad, uncovered by OnMilwaukee's Bobby Tanzilo
In the event of an attack, homeowners would be able to close a heavy door to seal the space to increase their chances of survival to "8 out of 10" according to the ad. Plus, they got a radiation detection kit; not bad for $895!
Bomb shelters like these still exist in Milwaukee basements, though they don't quite look as dramatic as the one in the ad. Bobby Tanzilo got tipped off to one and had the chance to visit this week for Urban Spelunking.
Listen to the podcast below and check out his complete story at OnMilwaukee.com.
