A Secret Nuclear Hideaway
In 1957, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev boasted about his country’s missiles, challenging the U.S. to a “peaceful rocket contest.” By 1961, with John F. Kennedy newly elected as president, fears of nuclear war reached new heights. As a security measure, officials secretly built a fallout shelter for Kennedy on Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Construction and Location
Situated at the Tom Nevers Naval Facility, an isolated submarine listening post on the island, the bunker was crafted from Quonset huts and covered in earth to shield from radiation. In the event of a nuclear strike, Kennedy and his family would be evacuated to Nantucket to survive the first 30 days of fallout.
Abandoned After Kennedy’s Death
Though completed in the early 1960s, Kennedy never visited the shelter. It remained untouched after his assassination in 1963 and was largely forgotten. Today, the shelter, closed to the public, sits abandoned, with local officials debating its future preservation.
Efforts to Preserve History
Historians and preservationists advocate turning the bunker into a museum, highlighting Nantucket’s unique role in Cold War defense. However, the site’s future remains uncertain as it deteriorates, with few resources allocated to its maintenance or restoration.
Kennedy’s Forgotten Cold War Bunker 🧵
In 1957, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev challenged the U.S. to a “peaceful rocket contest.” By 1961, with John F. Kennedy in office, nuclear fears surged, leading to a hidden fallout shelter’s construction on Nantucket, meant to secure… pic.twitter.com/bgxDhCCZJW
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