Here's what it's like to visit Whittier, Alaska — the 'town under one roof'

How small is Whittier? About 217 people live there, and it's accessible only by boat or a one-way, one-lane tunnel.

But the strangest thing about this town is that nearly all of its residents live in the same building, Begich Towers, a Cold War-era army barracks built in 1974. A police station, grocery store, clinic, church, convenience store, and school are all housed within the structure.

Begich Towers also has a bed and breakfast, and guests are welcome to come and observe how life goes on in the near one-structure town. Reddit user was curious to check out Whittier, so he visited the town during his last vacation. His girlfriend took plenty of photos and she shared them with us along with their observations of the peculiar town.

"This is what you see when you first approach Whittier," he writes. "The 2.5 mile tunnel that you have to pass through to enter the town is one lane only — they switch the direction of travel every 30 minutes. You have to wait at these lights until they let you go."

"This is the entrance to the tunnel."

"Traveling through the tunnel, it makes you feel a little claustrophobic. By the time you're nearing the end, this is definitely a welcome sight."

"This is the condo that *almost* everyone in the town lives in."

"Here's a closer look at the entrance..."

"...and its many floors."

"There are reindeer in a pen right in front of the condo."

"This is the abandoned building where people lived back when this town was still a military base. This building was once the largest building in the state of Alaska — now it is abandoned."

"Here's a zoomed-in look."

"It looks pretty creepy as the sun starts to go down."

"It gives off a kind of "Silent Hill" vibe."

"You can see pretty much the whole town from the top floor of the condo."

"Here are some pictures of the condo we spent the night in. It feels cozier than you would imagine."

"Here's the bedroom."

"The hallway."

"Another bedroom."

"The view out the window."

"The reindeer pen as seen from above."

"There is a slight misconception about this town. Not everyone lives in the same building. I'd say about 80% do, but there are also some apartments separate from the main building. Also, while there is a grocery store inside the building, there is a bigger store in the town, about the size of the inside of a gas station. I didn't get any pics, unfortunately."

"This is the grocery store inside the main building."

"Video rentals in the grocery store."

"Storage underneath the main building. Each tenant gets a small storage area for things they can't fit in their small apartments."

"The view from inside the condo."

"Thanks for checking out our adventure!"

Here's what it's like to visit Whittier, Alaska — the 'town under one roof'

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