COMMUNITY LIVING UNDER ONE ROOF

Whittier, Alaska, is a town of about 200 people, almost all of whom live in a 14-story former Army barracks built in 1956.
The building, called Begich Towers, holds a police station, a health clinic, a church, and a laundromat. Its hallways resemble those of a school or a detention center.

The 14-storey block also has its own post office, convenience store Kozy Korner, video store and city offices, where the community of around 200 people carry out their daily business.
Begich Towers, known as BTI, was built along with Buckner Building as the most remote Cold War military base, its ice-free port used for bringing goods into Alaska.
But Buckner was abandoned just seven years after completion, when the military realised it didn’t have much use for such a far-flung outpost, Gizmodo reports. Now, almost nothing but BTI, and a bar, survives in the area.
Thousands of visitors flock to the unusual spot in summer, but in winter the city receives an average 6.4m of snow, and is buffeted by strong winds. The extreme weather can mean people hardly go out.
“It’s hard to stay healthy in a town like this,” says Ms Thompson, who runs fitness classes as well as teaching.
“Our weather is extremely challenging, and we don’t have a fitness centre or gym except at the school. It just becomes normal to not move.”
Most people are employed by the City of Whittier, working on snow clearance, building maintenance and city administration.
According to Brenda Tolman, a resident since 1982, “Whittier magnifies what people are about. We certainly don’t all love each other here, but we help each other, and we bond because of whatever it is that attracts you here.”