Buckner Building

The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964, also known as the Good Friday Earthquake, significantly affected the town of Whittier. The quake itself lasted 5 minutes and remains the most powerful recorded earthquake in North American history, registering 8.4 on the Richter scale (by the way, Alaska has twice as many earthquakes per year as all the other U.S. states combined). An ensuing 43 ft. tidal wave devastated Whittier, and 14 of the town's 30 permanent residents lost their lives. 

Construction of the Buckner Building (the only other large structure in Whittier besides Begich Tower, where we stayed) was completed in 1953. Meant to house thousands of troops and their families after the post-WWII discovery that Whittier was strategically located to be a deep ice-free port and railyard for Alaska during the Cold War, the building was abandoned after suffering Good Friday's damage. This left empty, at the time, the largest structure in Alaska, inside: a movie theatre, bowling alley, school, pool, gym, jail, and housing.

It has since been colossally looted and vandalized, a canvas on which delinquents tattoo very poor poetry (incredibly, they find the post-huffing self-restraint to reserve some paint for obscenities). Grizzlies find it an accommodating location for hibernation, and there have been several alleged sightings of "Bloody Bob" (we didn't have the pleasure).

We headed in with a (weak dental) headlamp, a non-video camera which only allows 2 minute clips of action, and 2/3 of our party unsure of their commitment to exploring the most interesting forgotten edifice we've encountered. Apologies and enjoy.