The forgotten Cold War: The National Fallout Shelter Survey and the establishment of public shelters

The National Fallout Shelter Survey and Marking Program (NFSS) was a 1961 Kennedy Administration program that, with the help of local architect and engineering companies, located public community fallout shelters in the existing built environment. The shelter spaces were marked, stocked, and mapped. Community Shelter Plans showing the location of available shelters in the area were made with the help of local and state planning personnel. These civil defense shelters were thought to be not only essential to the survival of Americans but an important part of the United States National Defense policy. The public shelters represent a unique part of America's Cold War history and the civilian Cold War experience. Though many public shelters were located in buildings constructed during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this thesis argues that these buildings are a type of Cold War-era resource, one that is distinguished by its use and not its appearance. The thesis includes an examination of the NFSS program nationwide as well as a focused historic context of Denver, Colorado's civil defense program; an analysis of NFSS types; and a case for the preservation of public community fallout shelters.