Civil Defense in Detroit

One of my hobbies is of Civil Defense in Michigan from the late 1940's thru to the 1980's. With most of my focus on Detroit. I've toured the Civil Defense building in Palmer park. I've photographed many of the old yellow sirens and fallout shelters.
But one of the one items that for the past 3 years of searching I cannot find a detroit Fallout Shelter map. It may have been called a Community Shelter Plan, or something about with the Fallout Shelter sign on it. There would've been 1000's handed out in the 1960's. I understand that this may be a far out kinda topic, But I figured I'd post the question to see if anyone can help.

For those of you that may not know or remember the signs, an example is shown below
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3401/...5db1c64445.jpg

Somewere which means "still in parents basement". I should have a Fallout Shelter book with the CD logo on. But with me and getting stuff done you will most likely have found what you are looking for.
I hear stories from the custodians I work with every once in a while about the stuff that was stockpiled in the shelters.

We had a neighbor who "sneaked" a fallout shelter beneath his garage, next to his inground pool in the neighborhood where I grew up. Poor guy had no idea that everyone knew about it. His teenaged daughters would use it as a party room when mom and dad were gone for their numerous weekend trips.

Does anyone remember the Nike Missiles around Detroit?

I remember that Palmer Park civil defense building well, CD. I lived in the PP general area for over 20 years as a kid and young adult.

Wasn't the Nike site was downriver, somewhere around Trenton?

I recall my mom talking about Nike missiles at Heilmann park on 7 mile [[Moross) just east of Hayes.

I don't know how they handled it in the suburban schools, but in Detroit, when I was in elementary school in the 50's and early 60's, when we heard the 10 bells, we grabbed our cardboard and headed down to the basement. I hated having to duck under all those low pipes, and I'm sure the teachers hated it even more. Sitting on the cold cement, and then they would turn off the lights for a few seconds. Talk about dark! Anyone attend DPS high school, such as Denby, in the 50's or 60's? Where did the students go for "air raid" drills? The Auditorium? Hallways? Basement? I don't think the basement was accessible enough to get 2700 students down there quickly.

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Originally Posted by Gary

I remember that Palmer Park civil defense building well, CD. I lived in the PP general area for over 20 years as a kid and young adult.

Wasn't the Nike site was downriver, somewhere around Trenton?

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There were lots of Nike sites around detroit.
16 around and in Detroit

Site ID Geographic Location
D-06 Utica
D-14 Selfridge ANG Base
D-15DC Selfridge ANG Base
D-16 Selfridge ANG Base
D-17 Algonac/Marine City
D-23 Detroit City Airport - Detroit
D-26 Belle Isle - Detroit
D-51 Grosse Ile
D-54 Riverview/Wyandotte
D-57 Newport
D-58 Carleton
D-61 Detroit Metro Airport
D-69 Rouge Park - Detroit
D-86 Franklin/Bingham
D-87 Commerce/Union Lake
D-97 Auburn Hills

Many of these sites are wiped clean. Some still have parts still there.
I've driven by the Newport site, and a bunch of buildings and concrete things are there. If you drive by Selfridge, you can see the some of the launcher pits on South River road.
The Auburn Hills site it at the northeast corner of where I-75 and M-59 meet. Oakland county fire school is built right on top of that site. all that's left there is some old school barbed wire fencing.

http://nikehercules.tripod.com/sitemenu.html website has links to old aerial photo's of the sites

Take a look a the Civil Defense Fallout Shelter category in waymarking.com.

The category has over 300 waymarks, each with a description, GPS coordinates, and a photo.

Around 1975, I helped clear out the Fallout Shelter supplies closet at Music Hall. It was in the basement dressing room area under the stage.

Man, those crackers were D.R.Y.

grumpyoldlady:
In my elementary school, we had drills for responding to a nuclear attack. In sixth grade, it was my job to close two of the shades on the windows if the alarm rang. We were then supposed to move to the internal corridor and crouch with heads between knees and hands on our heads.
I remember thinking at the time: At least I might get a glimpse of any mushroom cloud or flash through the windows, before we were all killed!
The nuns, of course, would protect us with their rosaries...

Around 1998 some friends and I gained access to the United Artists building. In the basement, down a long slightly graded ramp was a huge room of solid concrete which had partitions built up in it. Most of them had fallen away, but the room held what was the most significant collection of fallout shelter survival items I have come across in 20+ years of Detroit urban spelunking. There were literally hundreds of boxes and barrels piled up 15 feet. Many of the boxes were crackers, but a lot were medicinal items bearing the "MORPHINE REMOVED" stamp. A lot of iodine, gauze, and anti-diarrhea medication, which to me was the creepiest thing there. I have been a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction and movies since I was a kid, and that room brought it home in a way I really can't explain. Maybe it was the vault like aspect of the room, or maybe just the sheer mass of items, but it really gave me the chills.

We found another stash of items in the basement of St. Stanislaus School at Chene & Medbury. A couple of barrels, and a lot of crackers, two large tins to a case stamped 1962. The thing that struck me was the fact that you needed an opener to get to the crackers! The tins were maybe 1'x1'x2', with a round soup can type lid on the top. Any standard can opener would have workd, but alas none were included. We were curious about the crackers, and tried for literally 30 minutes to open one can, wrecking 1/3 of the contents in the process. God help you if you were without a can opener when the bombs fell.

I have been collecting Detroit related Civil Defence items as I come across them. I have gotten shelter signs, hard boiled pith helmets, police arm bands, a couple of gieger counters, manuals and the like. My most recent aquisition is an ad from American City magazine from 1956 for Chrysler Air Raid Siren division touting their newest siren which was being installed downtown at several locations including the roof of the Book Cadillac.

I recommend anyone with an interest in general Civil Defence to visit conelrad.com. They have a great collection of cold war era information.

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Originally Posted by Krawlspace

. The thing that struck me was the fact that you needed an opener to get to the crackers! The tins were maybe 1'x1'x2', with a round soup can type lid on the top. Any standard can opener would have worked, but alas none were included. We were curious about the crackers, and tried for literally 30 minutes to open one can, wrecking 1/3 of the contents in the process. God help you if you were without a can opener when the bombs fell.

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In the cardboard barrels marked Sanitation kits, there is one can opener per barrel.
I managed to get into Wilbur Wright school and in the basement under the stairs was like 20 water barrels, most of them that I checked still had full bags of water in them[[I hope that they weren't 1962 water) But most of the bags let go and rusted out the bottoms, the floor had lots of water. Also there were a few cases of crackers still on the floor, but upstairs there was lots of empty boxes. I guess some homeless folks got into them and ate the crackers. [[ i bet they got sick) I was able to get one unopened tin of crackers, and a lid from a water barrel [[the one I have was missing the top). There is one outside sign left and one trashed inside sign. All the other signs have been taken. I'd like to go into some other shelters, but so far alot of the vacant buildings are filled with water.

The one place i'd like to go is into some of the highrises. and find some of the shelter signs that say "in Corridor" or "on Floors".

On a side note. The shelter sign on Cobo Lower entrance #1 has been removed[[or taken) I keep forgetting to go back inside and check it out. I think I know where the shelter space is, but have always wondered the capacity number.

This post has photos of a Memorial Day Parade in Harper Woods which has a Nike launcher as one of the floats.

http://detroitfunk.com/?p=632

Good morning,
I seem to recall a "Nike" site near 10 Mile rd. and ryan rd. in Warren. This would have been sometime in the mid to late 1950's. Does anyone else remember a site in that area? Thanks for any info you can supply.

We had civil defense boxes in one of the galleys,sublevels,at the Ann Arbor Wastewater Treatment Plant.They were there until the late 80s.The boxes were filled with crackers wrapped in heavy wax paper.What vintage they were,I don't know.I won't say what dripped on the dozens of boxes.The boxes rotted away,the crackers were still dry.

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Originally Posted by MiMitch

Good morning,
I seem to recall a "Nike" site near 10 Mile rd. and ryan rd. in Warren. This would have been sometime in the mid to late 1950's. Does anyone else remember a site in that area? Thanks for any info you can supply.

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That wasn't a Nike site, it was an anti-aircraft artillery site. It would have been dismantled when the Nikes came on line.

AAA sites around Detroit, ~1953-1956:

Attachment 1065

Back on the old forum there was a thread about a NIKE site on Chrysler property?. My Uncle came to Detroit to serve at the Grosse Ile site,Which is why he met my Aunt. Of all the stories that I have heard they mainly revolve around crackers.

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Originally Posted by MikeM

That wasn't a Nike site, it was an anti-aircraft artillery site. It would have been dismantled when the Nikes came on line.

AAA sites around Detroit, ~1953-1956:

Attachment 1065

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Thank you for the up-date. My grand-father owned a bar/tavern on Ryan Rd. and I recall seeing soldiers in the bar when we use to visit him.. Thanks again for the new info.

I don't know what was in those crackers.They,CD,must have had millions of these crackers stored around the country.They ended up in landfills and are still there.The crackers are still edible?I also remember seeing cans of water!Bet that tasted good too.

I went to Peace Lutheran at E. Warren and Balfour from '70-77, they still had the water drums and boxes down in the basement, we had drills occasionally where we had to go down there. Anyone possibly been in the school recently?