The Diefenbunker, nicknamed after Canadian Prime Minister
John G. Diefenbaker who ordered its construction, was a massive
complex of underground office spaces, sleeping quarters,
broadcasting facilities and decontamination chambers. Built secretly
between 1959 and 1961 just outside of Ottawa, the Diefenbunker was
designed to protect government officials in the event of a nuclear attack.
Fortunately, the bunker never served its intended purpose,
although the Diefenbaker government did make plans to use it during
the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. The bunker remained operational
for 33 years, mainly as a communications centre for the Canadian
Armed Forces and in 1994 was declared a National Historic Site
and has now been turned into a Cold War Museum.
Photographed at Carp, Ontario, Canada.
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