Notes on the Science of Extreme Situations, Paper No. 14
PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE FOR A COLD WAR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
By Walter G. Green III
Copyright 2004 by Walter G. Green III. All rights reserved. Permission to reproduce copies for instructional use and individual copies for personal use as needed is granted to University faculty, researchers, and students.
INTRODUCTION:
(1) The Disaster Relief and Civil Defense office of the City of Portland, Oregon distributed Survival Is Up To You, a 20 page public information brochure on civil defense measures, during the period 1958-1966 (dates determined by the term of office of Governor Mark O. Hatfield who signed a welcoming message in the text) . A folded document from the Portland Target Area Coordinating Council, dated 2 February 1960, was found inserted in the brochure, suggesting that the brochure precedes that date, as do the style of vehicles and clothing shown in the photographs.
(2) Included in the brochure are three photographs of the exterior and interior of an emergency operations center. As no captions are provided for the photographs, the site of this facility cannot be determined. However, it seems probable that it was the emergency operations center of either the City of Portland, a shared facility of the Portland Target Area Coordinating Council (covering Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, Columbia and Hood River Counties in Oregon, Clark County in Washington, and the City of Portland), or the Oregon state emergency operations center.
OBSERVATIONS:
(3) The first photograph (page 4) provides an external view of the facility, apparently constructed by partially excavating a hill side and then covering the building with earth. A trapezoid shaped retaining wall, with a door and a rollup garage door is located at the base of the hill. On the slope above the retaining wall are two rectangular ventilator shaft housings of the type typically used in United States Army coast artillery installations prior to World War II. Rising immediately above the retaining wall, and apparently partly anchored to it, is a four-legged steel tower, with at least four walkways around it at ascending heights. Although what appear to be cable trunks are visible extending up the tower, and there appear to be vertical antennas mounted on two of the walkways, the top of the tower and its antenna array are not visible in the cropped photograph. The photographs are black and white, but color contrast suggests that the retaining wall and ventilator housings were painted white, and that the tower was painted with standard red and white safety markings.
(4) The second and third photographs (page 4) provide interior views of what appears to be an operations room. One is shot diagonally across the room from left rear to right front; the other shows a portion of the front of the room. Based on this it is possible only to provide a rough estimate of the size of the work area – ceiling height at least 15 to 18 feet, length at least 50 to 60 feet, width 50 to 60 feet. At the front of the room a large vertical map board displayed what appears to be an area street and highway map. Access to the full height of the map is provided by a rolling ladder positioned sideways to the map and provided with handrails so that a staff member could work at any level required. Although the ceiling mount for this ladder is not shown, a track system must have been required. Smaller map boards, approximately 6 feet square were located on either side of the main display. Along the right wall (looking toward the front) are at least 7 large paper maps or status sheets – no frames are visible in the picture, suggesting they were pinned, taped, or pasted to the wall. A standard podium, displaying the common circle with triangle civil defense emblem, was located at the front of the room – because this appears in one photograph and not in the other, this podium may have been moveable.
(5) On the floor of the room are pictured at least 9 work area consoles in a square pattern, 3 per row. These are U shaped tables, approximately 12 feet across the front and 9 to 10 feet on the side arms, with a 30 inch work surface. At the front of the table is a low rectangular box, closed to the front and open to the rear, with a vertical support in the middle, which may have been intended as a book case (although the picture does not show any books obviously stored in this area). The tables themselves are mounted on H pattern legs, but appear to be a permanent, rather than folding, installation. Seating is metal folding chairs, with 8 people working at each console, within the area enclosed by the tables. Located centered at the rear of each area is a rectangular box which appears to be a 3 drawer or 4 drawer file cabinet. Although photograph quality is only moderate, there appear to be no telephone instruments at any of the workstations. And there do not appear to be any obvious signs identifying the functional assignments of the consoles.
(6) The second and third pictures show the room apparently fully occupied for an exercise or training session. Of 52 individuals identifiable in the photographs (38 in the larger picture and 14 in the smaller), only 1 appears to be female, and only 1 appears to be dressed in a military or public safety uniform.
QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:
(7) These photographs raise interesting questions for students of the evolution of emergency operations centers. To which jurisdiction or agency did this facility belong? Was this facility constructed as an emergency operations center for civil government, or was this an adaptation of a former military facility? What other support or operational areas were located in this complex? How deeply did the facility extend into the hillside, what protection did it offer against blast, and what protection factor did it offer against fallout? What communications systems were available and what measures were used to assure their survival? How were messages received and directed to and from the various work areas? And what jurisdictions and governmental functions were represented in the center? Answers to these questions by anyone with knowledge of this facility would contribute to a better understanding of how major metropolitan areas prepared to manage response to nuclear attacks in the 1950s and early 1960s.
WORKS CITED:
City of Portland (Oregon), Disaster Relief and Civil Defense. Survival Is Up To You! Portland, Oregon, United States of America; Portland Target Area Coordinating Council; no date.
Portland Target Area Coordinating Council (Oregon). “Policy Statement on Evacuation and Sheltering.“ Portland, Oregon, United States of America; Portland Target Area Coordinating Council; 2 February 1960.