This is one of the best illustrations I’ve seen of a fallout shelter from the 1950s. The dark lighting and grim, industrious nature of the family reflect the way a real family might have behaved during an attack.
Michael Amrine, who edited the well-regarded Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, wrote the text and provides sane, sober, and completely do-able advice.
Popular Science styled this home shelter as more than just a shelter: they called it a “family foxhole” or “refuge.”
Unlike other bomb shelters, no major building was advocated–just some lally columns to support joists, bracing, shutters. This was all about locating the right spot in your basement and how to stock it, not about building a new shelter from scratch in the backyard.
Click to Enlarge to 1125 x 762 px:
Source: Popular Science March 1951
