Chronicling the Public Fallout Shelter Over Fifty Years Later
VINTAGE PHOTOS
The photos below are vintage photos of Fallout Shelters or civil defense signs in and around the Boston area. Many of these were taken in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and some already appear in other articles on this site.
These photos are owned by their respective collections, have been used under free use or Creative Commons licensing, and no portion of any photo has been altered in any way (including the file name).
Governor John Volpe hangs the first Fallout Shelter sign in Massachusetts at the State House on November 5, 1962 (Source: National Archives).Governor John Volpe hangs the second Fallout Shelter sign in Massachusetts at the State House on November 5, 1962. This and all exterior signs at the State House have since been removed. (Source: National Archives).A Fallout Shelter sign is seen on the Suffolk County Courthouse in Boston on November 5, 1962. This and all exterior signs have since been removed. (Source: National Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign is hung on the outside of Christopher Columbus High School in Boston’s North End on December 3, 1962. This sign is now gone but one exterior sign remains on the building (Source: National Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign leading to and pointing to shelters areas at Christopher Columbus High School in Boston’s North End on December 3, 1962 (Source: National Archives)An interior Fallout Shelter sign with a marked capacity of 200 is seen in hanging in the cafeteria of Christopher Columbus High School in Boston’s North End on December 3, 1962. (Source: National Archives)Two Fallout Shelter signs hanging on the Department of Public Works Building on Nashua Street in Boston on December 5, 1962. This building would later become the Registry of Motor Vehicles, and was demolished in 2000. When the building was razed, the last air raid siren in the city was on the roof. (Source: National Archives)Dept. Public Works, Boston, Mass. Associate Commissioner, George C. Tompouras; and Asst. Chief, Engineer, James F. Kelley with an interior Fallout Shelter sign and an older CD Shelter sign at the Dept. of Public Works Building on Nashua Street in Boston on December 5, 1962 (Source: National Archives)Postmaster General J. Edward Day pulls the drapes displaying the ABCD poster on the special vehicle used for the collection of the Accelerated Business Collection Delivery mail with Boston Mayor John Collins on April 26, 1963. Behind them is a Fallout Shelter sign on the McCormack Post Office and Federal Building, which was one of the largest shelters in the city with a capacity of over 10,000. (Source: City of Boston Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign outside of 20 Charles Street, Boston on July 25, 1971 (Source: City of Boston Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign to the right of the door of then Boston City Hall (now Old City Hall) on School Street in May 1963 (Source: City of Boston Archives)Fallout Shelter signs on State Theater and the Crabtree Building on Washington Street in Boston during the 1960’s (Source: City of Boston Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign on The Pilgrim Theater on Washington Street in Boston in the 1960’s. This building was demolished and a residential building is now in it’s place. (Source: City of Boston Archives)The marquee of the E.M. Loews Theater and a Fallout Shelter sign on the front on January 7, 1965. This is one of the only buildings remaining from the old Combat Zone Theaters, and is now a Chinese restaurant. (Source: City of Boston Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign on the former Army & Navy YMCA in Charlestown in the 1960’s. The building has since been demolished. (Source: City of Boston Archives)
Two photos showing the former Boston Fire Department station at 194 Broadway with a Fallout Shelter sign on the front. The first photo also shows an air raid siren on the roof. Both photos were taken in 1969, just before the building was demolished in the 1970s. (Source: City of Boston Archives [1] [2] )A Fallout Shelter sign seen outside of 20 Hudson Street in Chinatown around the time of the Bicentennial in 1976. The sign remains today but was moved during renovations. (Source: City of Boston Archives)A Fallout Shelter sign on 27 State Street in Boston in the background of a commemoration of the Boston Massacre site on March 5, 1976. The shadow of a removed sign is seen on 31 State Street above and to the left of the station wagon. (Source: City of Boston Archives)This far away photo taken of the demolition of 10 State Street shows Fallout Shelter signs on both 27 and 31 State Street (to the left of the Old State House) and was taken on December 30, 1965. The sign on 31 was removed sometime between this photo and the 1976 photo above. (Source: City of Boston Archives)This photo, likely taken inside of Haymarket Station on May 13, 1966 shows a “CD Shelter Area” sign on a fence. Most downtown subway stations were designated as Fallout Shelters, and the last sign in the system came down in 2014 when Government Center was demolished and renovated. (Source: City of Boston Archives)This photo inside Adams Square Station in 1963 shows another “CD Shelter Area” sign on the left wall. Adams Square was demolished when construction began for the new Boston City Hall in 1963. (Source: City of Boston Archives)Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and Bishop Riley next to an interior Fallout Shelter sign in the basement cafeteria of Most Precious Blood School in Hyde Park (now Roxbury Prep). Mayor Flynn held office from 1984-1993, and this picture was estimated between 1984 and 1987. This sign was removed by 2011. (Source: City of Boston Archives)This photo taken at the Watertown Arsenal in 1962 shows a “CD Shelter” sign, similar to the one in the Dept. of Public Works building above. (Source: Digital Commonwealth)
Former Boston School Committee Chair Louise Day Hicks passes a Fallout Shelter sign with an unnamed Boston Police officer as she leaves Boston City Hospital in this photo dated June 17, 1965. This portion of the hospital was part of the original Boston City Hospital campus near Albany Street, and after City Hospital and University Hospital merged to form Boston Medical Center in 1996, many of the original buildings from City Hospital were heavily renovated or demolished. (Source: Digital Commonwealth)
Know of or have a vintage photo showing something civil defense or Fallout Shelter related? Let us know.
Fallout Five Zero 