Underground School
In 1959, plans were drawn up to build an underground elementary school near Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It would have doubled as a fallout shelter. Daily Ardmoreite - May 18, 1959 The plans for that school were eventually dropped due to cost, but in 1962 an underground school/fallout shelter was opened in Artesia, New Mexico (near Roswell). It was named Abo Elementary School, and it remained open until 1995. I think it still is the only fully underground school ever built in the U.S. Wikipedia notes that many students there suffered from an unusual fear — that in the event of a nuclear war they would survive while their parents would die: Teachers often described Abo's students as less likely to cause trouble, more attentive, and less likely to require discipline. On the other hand, many of those same students described heightened awareness of the possibility of nuclear war, and some were terrified that they could be orphaned in the event of war. One of the most substantial fears raised by students involved the 2,160 person capacity of the school. In the event of a war, only the first 2,160 people would be allowed into the school for shelter, which would likely have left the majority of Artesia's nearly 12,000 residents, including the parents of some of Abo's students, without any shelter in the event of a nuclear attack. Delaware County Daily Times - Aug 29, 1962
Daily Ardmoreite - May 18, 1959
The plans for that school were eventually dropped due to cost, but in 1962 an underground school/fallout shelter was opened in Artesia, New Mexico (near Roswell). It was named Abo Elementary School, and it remained open until 1995. I think it still is the only fully underground school ever built in the U.S.
Wikipedia notes that many students there suffered from an unusual fear — that in the event of a nuclear war they would survive while their parents would die:
Delaware County Daily Times - Aug 29, 1962
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