The Fallout Shelter Sign: A Cold War Relic
The image above shows a fallout shelter sign on the exterior wall of a building once the site of the Bala Cynwyd Post Office. It is now the headquarters of HLC Industries. The sign is a relic of the Cold War, a time when the threat of nuclear war loomed large.
The United States Civil Defense program created the fallout shelter program in the early 1960s. The program identified buildings that could be used as fallout shelters in case of a nuclear attack. The Office of Civil Defense designed a symbol for the signs that psychologists determined could be easily identified and remembered.
The fallout shelter program declined after the Cold War ended. The signs are no longer maintained by the government, but many are still around as a reminder of that era.