NO Adventure

this thing is across the street from my house… I tried going into it once, but didn’t have a flashlight… went back a few days later and they welded the door shut! Can you send me those videos? Would LOVE to see them.

Chris

I earned my HAM license there in ’80 with the old MTA amateur radio club (now no longer.) It was starting to show signs of age then, but there were supposed to be plans in the works to rehab it, guess it didn’t happen, like so many other things that would have been good for N.O.!
I believe that I would like to se it refurbished and returned to service. But that probably wont happen either.

Glad I came across your site. I would love to see you have an adventure at the Old Lakeview School in th 5900 block of Milne in Lakeview. I got in years before Katrina and it was pretty neat. I imagine it is a wasteland now.
ab

Very cool! I had no idea that is what that was. It’s like something from the TV show LOST. All that’s missing is the button that saves the world. (and the Dharma Initiative jumpsuits)

man yall crazy.but it was pretty kool too watch.

I think that I took a tour of this place back in Kindergarten…..1968.

I found a link to the presentation to the Lakeview Civic Association which outlines the plans to incorporate this shelter into a “Lake Area Katrina Memorial”:

http://www.lakeviewcivic.org/PRFILES/Lake%20Area%20Katrina%20Memorial-web_13NOV2008.pdf

Man I have always,Always,ALWAYS wondered just what the hell was in there! Video was REALLY cool too man!!! I admire you guys for your sense of adventure and exploration. I have always lived in the NO metro area (St.Rose to be exact) but moved to mid city 3 MONTHS before the storm. What timing huh?! Been fascinated by that place ever since I was a kid when me and my dad would pass by it on the way to his boat slip in the marina and he would tell me about that period in history when they built that place and what it was like living in constant fear of an all out nuclear war with the reds. Glad I finally got to see although not in person thanks to you guys! Something else yall might be interested in to BTW… It’s called camp Parapay(i’m sure i spelled that wrong) located not too far from where yall were at near the river. Know a guy that lives in a small mobile home right directly next to it. used to be a confederate tunnel of some sort a long time ago. supposed to go on for quite a ways(almost to the lake from what my friend tells me)still there tho. don’t know what condition its in tho. might be worth checkin out… let me know have gear. will travel =D Thanks again guys. later

Corey V – good suggestion, that was “Camp Parapet” you’re thinking of, I think? It is between Jefferson Hwy and River Road about one block off Causeway Blvd. It was an old Confederate fortification and the only part of this remaining is an old powder magazine, which you can see from Causeway Blvd.

(if you take Causeway all the way to the river, you’ll see it off to the left between Jeff Hwy and River Road).

I think sometime in the last couple years they opened it to the general public. I forgot about it until after the event so I’ll have to wait another 100 years for the next time they do this, I guess.

that was very interesting i grew up in lakeview since the year i was born in 95 and i always saw that place before katrina and it really fascinated me cause i knew about but i though it was a presidential bunker….the video was really great and gross but the body on the second floor really creeped me out with the satan symbol….thats realy scary but that graffitti has prob been there long time….wonder how that place must hav looked before katrina

I was the Deputy Director of New Orleans Civil Defense (NOCD) from 1980 through 1984. My office was in the lower level of the “bomb shelter”. Prior to that I was a volunteer with NOCD for over 20 years. I resigned in 1984 because of my frustration with city politics that severly hampered the ability of NOCD to be a truly effective agency.
The shelter was officially opened in 1962 and designated as a regional emergency operations center (EOC) for southeast Louisiana. However, NOCD offices and operations remained at New Orleans City Hall until the middle 1970s. During that period, the EOC was used only during emergencies and for disaster exercises, training classes, etc. In the 1970s, because City Hall needed the space for other purposes, NOCD offices and personnel were moved to the EOC. There it remained until the early 1990s. Because of the cost to maintain the building, and a dispute over who was responsible for the maintenance, emergency management operations moved back to City Hall to a small cubby hole on the ninth floor.
I have been told that the water in the EOC is not due to cracks in the walls but to condensation since the air conditioning was shut down when the building was abandoned and left open and unsecured. The circular wall, the base, and the domed roof of the building are constructed of three-foot thick high density steel reinforced concrete.
It would probably be too costly, unless a federal grant could be obtained, to renovate and modernize the building. It is, however, a well-built structure that could be put to good use as an EOC or, perhaps, as an extension of the Cold War Museum.
I enjoyed watching the videos. I was concerned about air quality, dangerous fumes, hazardous materials, and living organisms including those that wiggle in the dark. I hope that you guys didn’t suffer any ill-effects.
I would be interested to know if there is anyone else out there that sees a potential for a refurbished building.

How big is it meaning how many floors was it and how long wide! thanks

I was a telephone installer-repairman for So. Central Bell Telco in the 1970′s and 1980′s in eastern New Orleans and I had the experience of installing local telephone lines in the fallout shelter for use with voice analog telephones and fax modems.
It was in fair shape back then and I was able to explore much of the shelter. It was one of the most unique experiences of my telephone career.

that sure looks like a lot of fun but those guys are about one breath away from dying. They just entered a big confined space with no fforced ventilation and no atmosphere monitoring equipment to make sure the air is safe to breathe. The “air” in that building could be full of carbon dioxide, methane, or hydrogen sulfide from decomposition of the sludge on the floors and under the dirty water. They said the air was “thin” and it probably has a lot of carbon dioxide in it. These guys are risking their lives. It looks like a lot of fun but they should invest in some monitoring equipment or big fans to pull some air through the shelter.

see Lou Reese’s comment of Jan 22 for the ‘full’ story-short for Politics. It was a great facility that would have served us well in Katrina.