Originally built as army barracks during the Cold War, Begich Towers is now home to almost all 272 residents of Whittier, Alaska, a remote outpost near the Passage Canal.
Whittier, Alaska isn’t your typical small town. Located about 60 miles away from Anchorage and only accessible via boat or a single tunnel in and out of town, Whittier has a tiny population of about 272 people.
It’s not the size or location that makes Whittier unique, though; it’s that nearly all of those residents live in a single building: Begich Towers.
The 14-story condominium was completed in 1957 and originally served as a military structure during the Cold War. The U.S. Army had planned to build numerous towers in the remote region near the Passage Canal, but only two were ever completed. And only the Hodge Building (the original name of Begich Towers) was successfully repurposed for residential living.
Life in Begich Towers isn’t always easy, and to some outsiders, it might seem odd or lonely, but many who live there are happy to call it home.
Almost all 272 residents of Whittier, Alaska reside in the building.tan_i_tsing/Instagram
The History Of Begich Towers
When the U.S. Army opened the Hodge Building and the Buckner Building in Whittier in the 1950s, the media quickly took notice of the "two-building city."
The Arizona Daily Star reported on Whittier's history shortly after the buildings opened. Whittier, like Anchorage, traces its origins to the Alaskan railroad system, and Whittier was initially set up as a rail-belt townsite reserve. Anchorage, of course, developed into a much larger city, but Whittier did not. By World War II, the U.S. Army had established Whittier as a place to support the war effort and serve as a supply route for the Alaska Railroad.
Wikimedia CommonsWhittier, Alaska, from above.
Whittier was difficult to get to, and the tundra winds and snowy winters made it an unlikely setting for a sprawling town. So during the Cold War, the U.S. Army constructed two towers, the Hodge Building and the Buckner Building, for U.S. soldiers and their families to use as barracks. The Buckner Building was especially impressive, including living quarters for at least 1,200 people, as well as facilities like a bowling alley, a theater, and a bakery.
But by 1960, the Army had moved operations away from the area. Though the Buckner Building was unfortunately abandoned, the Hodge Building was converted into a residential building and renamed, in 1972, to Begich Towers Condominium, in memory of Alaska Rep. Nick Begich Sr., who had disappeared while on a flight in the region and likely died in a plane crash.
Begich was never found. He and the three men who were on board with him — U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, Begich's aide Russell Brown, and the pilot Don Jonz — were soon officially declared dead.
The Begich Towers Condominium remains home to most of Whittier's 272 residents today. Still a largely self-sufficient structure, just like it was back in its military days, Begich Towers shields the locals from the region's snowy winters, rainy summers, and tundra winds.
Whittier, once a "two-building city," is now often described as a "town under one roof." So what makes people want to live here?
Daily Life In The "Town Under One Roof"
"A lot of people don't stay here because they think it feels like prison," Begich Towers resident Terry Bender told High Country News. "I just laugh. I tell everybody, 'We all live in the same house, we just have separate bedrooms.'"
To many people who live in Whittier, finding a sense of solitude has always been the point. Ever since the military left the region, a small group of people have congregated here with a dream of creating a city unlike any other. It's always been a small community, but a tight-knit one.
"Whittier magnifies what people are about," said Brenda Tolman, who moved to the town in 1982. "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."
To some of Begich Towers' residents, the decision to move to the "one-house town" was also a rejection of the modernity often linked to bigger cities. All the essentials are right there in the building with them.
Indeed, the structure boasts a grocery store, a health clinic, a post office, a church, a playground, an indoor garden, and even a police station. It also includes some underground tunnels that lead to the few other buildings in Whittier, like the local school and nearby shops.
H. Mark Weidman Photography/Alamy Stock PhotoThe Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the only way in or out of Whittier, Alaska, by car or train.
"We don't need all of the big box stores," Dave Dickason, the mayor of Whittier, Alaska, said to CBS News in 2021. "We don't need all of the big box stores. We don't need all of the so-called conveniences of a large city."
Dickason's daughter, Jenessa, had also started posting about life in Whittier on TikTok around that time, where she received millions of views and countless questions about the town. Some asked if the community was like a cult, and others noted that it seemed depressing to live there.
"The community here, it's so nice that you don't really ever feel sad," she explained. "And you always have someone to talk to."
Begich Towers is a place of paradoxes. Most residents agree there is "nothing to do," but "everything's here," particularly when it comes to neighbors. It's clear that no one ends up living there by accident.
"For me, it's just home," Erika Thompson, a teacher living in Begich Towers, told NPR. "For the most part, you know everybody. It's a community under one roof. We have everything we need."
It might not be for everyone, but life in Begich Towers is a unique alternative to the hustle and bustle of big cities and even other small towns. And, as many residents have pointed out, you can't beat the view.
Next, visit Urueña, Spain, the town that houses more books than people. Then, check out Picher, Oklahoma, America's most toxic ghost town.
