City of Dallas, Civil Defense Old Emergency Operations Center Virtual Tour EOC Tour Main Outside the EOC Front Entry Dormitory Communications Operations Room Radef/Operations Mayor's Office Mens Restroom Mechanical Room AirFilterSystem Kitchen Hallway Outside Entrance Back to Shelter Tours Main Back to Civil Defense Museum Main		This virtual tour of the old Dallas Civil Defense Emergency Operations shelter was originally posted on this site in 2001. I tried to arrange this section as a walk-through virtual tour using the links at the bottom of each page but the individual page links on the left are probably easier to use. Each page covers a section of the shelter with a clickable master floorplan at the bottom of this page which also links to each area of the shelter. I was able to visit this shelter again in 2003 while accompanying a reporter with the Dallas Morning News who wrote a a story for the paper about the shelter. During the 2003 visit I was able to get more photos of things I missed in 2001. In early 2010 I completely rebuilt this section by reprocessing all the images and adding a number of documents. I would like to thank the good people at the museum where the shelter is located for allowing me to visit the shelter which made this possible. This headline and rendering of the Dallas Health and Science Museum with the proposed "Civil Defense Command Post" was featured on the front page of the May 22,1959 issue of The Dallas Times Herald. This artist's rendering is interesting, I can't figure out what is going on in the underground room. It looks like a giant atom is being displayed on a huge oval viewing screen of some sort. Here is the building as it was in 2001 and is today. Formerly known as the Health and Science Museum, this building is now the secondary building to the Science Place at Fair Park in Dallas Texas. Article from March 17, 1960 Issue of The Dallas Morning News (click images to see larger) Shelter History The old Dallas Civil Defense Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is located under the playground in front of the Science Place Planetarium Building at Fair Park in Dallas Tx. This EOC was to function as a relocation shelter for Dallas govt. officials in the event of a nuclear attack. It was from this shelter that officials would have tried to coordinate recovery efforts involving community shelters, radiological monitors, police, fire, sanitation and other services. Construction of the EOC lasted from 1960 to 1961 at a cost of $120,000. The City of Dallas paid $60,000 and the Federal govt. paid the additional $60,000. This shelter is a blast shelter in the true sense of the term. It is equipped with large concrete and steel blast doors which bolt shut when closed for sealing purposes. The exterior blast door is plainly visible next to the sidewalk on the southeast side of the building. The EOC also is equipped with air ventilators containing "anti-blast valves" which would close to prevent blast pressure from entering the shelter. The air circulation system was built with a separate air filtration room complete with a wall of air filters to remove fallout contaminants from the incoming air. According to a March 27, 1962 Dallas Times Herald article the shelter was officially opened on April 1st, 1962 at 3pm. The shelter is now closed to any public access and is only used for storage purposes by the Science Place. Statement Letter From Co. John W. Mayo May 24, 1961 May 24, 1961 PDF File May 24, 1961 Image File In March 2010 during a visit to the Dallas Municipal Archives I found this letter from the Dallas City-County Civil Defense and Disaster Commission thanking the various organizations involved in the construction of the Dallas Emergency Operations Center. The document is viewable in PDF or JPG image format. The copy is a little fuzzy but I think it's readable. Dallas EOC Floorplan From Dallas Civil Defense Operations Plan September 1974 Click On The Plan To Go To The Page For That Area Click Here To See A Larger Image Of The EOC Plan A- Front Entry E-Operations Room I-Men's Restroom B-Women's Restroom F-Radef Operations J-Mechanical Room C-Communications Room G-Mayor's Office K-Air Filtering/Escape Hatch D-Dormitory H-Kitchen L-Outside Entry I would like to thank the personnel at the Science Place for allowing us to take the photos of the shelter and The Dallas Public Library, Dallas history section for digging up the old newspaper articles. Newspaper articles and photos were reprinted with the permission of the Dallas Morning News. Go to Entry Back to Shelter Tours Main