You’re now at the bottom of the Bunker, directly below the kitchen. The areas down here were designed mostly for food storage. Feeding 500 Bunker residents for a month took enormous planning and considerable supplies. The walk-in cold storage was stocked with fresh vegetables, fruit, and meat. When fresh food ran out after a week of lockdown, Bunker residents would have then relied on packaged military rations.

A small elevator brought food directly to the kitchen. Every day for over 30 years, the Bunker kitchen served four meals a day to the hundreds of military and civilian staff stationed here. Thousands upon thousands of meals were stored in this area.

The walk-in cold storage had a grim dual purpose. During a lockdown, no one could go outside. Everyone had to wait for the radiation levels to drop. In the meantime, if anyone died inside the Bunker, their burial would also have to wait. The cold storage would have acted as a morgue, storing cadavers until a safe burial was possible.

Watch your step as you exit. A raised floodguard on the floor would have protected storage areas if the grease trap to your right spilled out.