My Travels - Whittier, Alaska

WHITTIER

This is the beautiful town of Whitter. It has a population of nearly 200 people.

Click any of the images below to see more images of Portage Lake and the Whittier area!

	A 360 degree panorama of the Portage Lake area. The Anderson tunnel to Whittier is very close-by.
	Portage Lake is an amazingly beautiful glacial lake surrounded by amazing mountains, glaciers and waterfalls. Note the ice from Portage Glacier floating in the lake.
	The wonderful Portage Lake and its magnificent scenery. Amazing blue ice floats in the lake, probably the result of calving of the Portage Glacier.
	Another image of the beautiful Portage Lake. I took approximately 50 images of this area.
	This is an image of the inside of the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel on the way to Whitter. This tunnel is three miles long, and is literally inside a mountain. You can see the railway lines set within the concrete, which means that you are literally driving on a railway line. I was driving at about 30 mph when I took this 1-second image of the dark tunnel, so it was not exactly steady. I obviously could not stop in this one-lane tunnel to take a more steady image.
	The tall building is the Begich Towers: one of two buildings that housed U.S. army soldiers in the 1950's. This building was converted into housing for most of the residents of Whittier. The second building (the Buckner building) was never renovated, and was left to decay since 1964.
	One of the main sea ports at Whittier.
	The majestic Whittier Glacier watches over the town of Whittier. Although the day was very cloudy and drizzling, the glacier seems to be brighter, which suggests that it is sunnier over the glacier.
	Whitter is a port city, and as such, it is a part of a ferry line. Before the Anderson Tunnel was cut into the mountain, Whittier could only be reached by rail, water or air. This ferry was docked in Whittier and about to leave when I got this image.
	A hallway on the 5th floor of the Buckner building. As you travel down this hall, it gets increasingly dark until the fright makes you turn back. Its smelly, its wet, its very dirty, and its extremely CREEPY. Strange noises are emanating from all directions, mainly from birds, flowing water, and falling plaster, but when the sounds are first heard, you have no idea what it is. Again, CREEPY.
	A decayed toilet in one of the officer's quarters in the Buckner building. You can also see sinks with the taps still in them. Unfortunately, the water no longer flows and the sinks are mainly filled with plaster and asbestos.
	I found out that the Buckner building was a military installation by this door on the 4th floor. Note the musty bottom caused by excessive moisture over the 42 years the building has been decaying. Imagine this room back in the 1950's and the officers that once inhabited it. Note the moss on the floor to the left and the old smashed exit sign at the top right.
	A hallway on the 4th floor of the Buckner building. As you travel down this hall, it gets increasingly dark until the fright makes you turn back. Its smelly, its wet, its dirty, and its CREEPY.
	I think this was the dentist's office of the Buckner building. You can see where the dentist would place the film negatives. It has long since been smashed out. Note the impressive art on the tiles.
	This is the movie theatre of the old Buckner building. I fondly call this image "Theatre of the Dead". It literally looks like corpses occupy this theatre, and one will jump out at you. I could not stay in this portion for very long. It was just way too creepy.
	Another image of the "Theatre of the Dead". CREEPY. The projection booth sits at the top; abandoned since 1960, never to show another movie again. I tried to get up into the projection booth, but I could not find any stairs. The stairs might have been removed or had disintegrated over the years.
	This is the Buckner building. It was built in 1953 to house American army officers in the port of Whittier. It was once the largest building in all of Alaska, and sported complete living quarters, doctor and dentist offices, bowling alley, full kitchens, and movie theatre. The building was severely damaged during the great 1964 Alaska earthquake and was subsequently abandoned. It has been steadily decaying for over 40 years, and has been helped along in that respect by vandals. There are no warning signs or fences to keep people out. You can go right on in and inspect the history, the little there is left. It is mostly dank, musty, dark, and CREEPY. I call it "The Jungle Gym for Adults".
	The majestic Whittier Glacier watches over the town of Whittier. Although the day was very cloudy and drizzling, the glacier seems to be brighter, which suggests that it is sunnier over the glacier.
	As I waited to go back through the Anderson Tunnel, I took this image of the automatic gate. The time on the electronic sign is saying that it will be 8 p.m. before I could proceed through the tunnel. That was about 20 minutes after this image was taken.
	A portion of the Whittier Glacier can be seen from the Whittier side of the Anderson Tunnel.

CASTOR HOME	SITE MAP	*ALASKA*

*Whittier* Was Last Modified On May 24, 2010