Scandinavian American. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1945-1958, 1956-10-01
New Rock Shelters
For 10000 People
In Stockholm, viii
Serve As Garages

Serve As Garages
STOCKHOLM new rock
shelters, among the largest in
Sweden and particularly interest
ing in many ways, have been in
augurated in Stockholm. One has
been blasted into the granite
bluffs on the south shore of the
inner harbor, while the other has
been built in the rocks farther
north, but still near the center of
the capital. In the event of an
emergency, the southern shelter
will be able to accommodate 20, 900
and the northern unit 10000 peo-
pie. They will then be self-con-
tanned underground cities, COM
plete with hospitals, supplies, wa
ter, sewage, and electric lighting
and heating. The shelters, how
ever, have been designed for
peacetime use in the first place.
A cooperative automobile organi-
cation has rented the largest one
from the civil-defense authori-
ties, and it will now serve as a
garage for fire hundred cars, with
repair shops, filling stations,
stores and restaurant. The in
come from these will pay in the
long run for at least 40 per cent
of the building costs, estimated to
total about Is million kronor. The
garage shelter farther north has
a capacity Of $50 cars and has
been rented by private. automo-
bile dealer.
Within the huge cavern in the
southern bluffs stands a five
story concrete building, which in
cludes the three-story main shell
ter, or garage, with a length of
about 1000 feet and a width at
the bottom of 40 feet. Above, there
is protective rock shell shell of
sventy-five feet, which according
to experts would crumble only as
the result of a direct hit by an
H-bomb. The ventilation system
has a capacity of one million cubic
feet per hour and provides for
filtering facilities even if the
shelter should be surrounded by
radioactive fumes. One hundred
and thirty aerotempers will coun-
teract the heat generated in the
case of large crowds of people be-
ing locked in the Theoretically
closed cave. An entirely independ-
ent power plant would take over
if the electric current should be
cut off from the outside. The job
of blasting the new shelters was
greatly facilitated by the modern
Swedish tunneling methods, using
Observation-Disclosures drilling
equipment.
The large main entrance hall to
the shelter on the south shore is
tiled in pleasing light blue and
yellow shades, while the polished
concrete floor of the shelter itself
has soft red color. The three
large floors of the garage, or
main shelter, will be painted in
different hues, which will help car
owners, or people seeking protec-
ton, find their own sections. While
the shelter will be able to take
care of 10000 in an emergency,
it Is not thought today that that
many would actually be able to
reach it after an afraid warning
followed by the discharge of a
modern bomb. According to the
revised evacuation plans for
Stockholm, a nucleus population
of only about $4,000 will be left
within the city, and only approx
mately ten per cent of these, it is
calculated, would use the southern
garage shelter. After work on
the project had started, the shell
ter, therefore, was redsigned to
serve as temporary home for
about 5000 people, rather than as
a sardine-box refuge for 10000.