History Revisited at Bomb Shelter House

That curious part of the mind takes over when someone says “want to go see a bomb shelter?” For that reason, I had to go see what they were talking about.  Aside from being an impulse adventure, this turned out to be quite a history lesson in itself.

The house that holds this bomb shelter sits on Des Moines’ east side, Dubuque Avenue to be exact, and pretty much is walking distance from the state fairgrounds.  You would drive right by the house (or maybe already have) without even knowing the extension of what’s beneath the home’s foundation.  The property went into foreclosure and is now owned and being renovated by S & G Real Estate, for an upcoming resale onto the market.

When S & G’s owner Matthew Smith and his contractors first came upon their purchase, they had quite a mess ahead of them.  Previous owners had truly let it go, and the place had been resided by homeless residents in between possession.  The crew went into massive clean-up mode, which included tearing out walls, fixtures and installments.  I’m skipping the link to their prequel video, which defines this more precisely.

Matt walks through the shelter two stories underground with Iowa Public Radio crew, preparing for exclusive coverage of the property

I will gladly share with you the two videos that are the most impressive, being the findings of a bombshelter 2 stories underground.  Dug out and built by a Latvian immigrant family in the Cold War era, and hidden from their surrounding neighbors.  What was once complete with underground staircases, barricade doors, hallways, bathroom areas, and a makeshift kitchen is still evident today by the remains of some fixtures.  Many more aspects of this shelter with the many gadgets, tunnels and survival mechanisms are only left to our imagination to try and figure out the purpose behind each constructed element.

It brings back a sense of American and World History, a time in life my parents and teachers talked about, however never one my generation had to experience in the same way those did in the 1950′s & 60′s.  The endless hours and talent put towards constructing this, led by a man who had previously lived overseas fighting in WWII, shows just how real that threat was.

VIDEO: Surreal Estate Stories: The Bomb Shelter Part 1

VIDEO: Surreal Estate Stories: The Bomb Shelter Part 2 

*Special thanks to Matthew Smith for the information & resources.  Stay tuned to Iowa Public Radio for more coverage of the Bomb Shelter House.