Virtual Shelter Tours
Federal Regional Center, FEMA Region 6 Center, Denton, Texas.
(Fomerly) Department of Defense, Office of Civil Defense Region 5 Center
Back in 2001 I put together a full walk-through virtual tour of this facility. It was the first big project I did for this web site. In mid-2001 I contacted FEMA about a tour of the Denton FRC and asked if I could take a set of photos for this web site and they walked me through the center. I photographed most of the facility with the exception of the communications room. That was the only place they didn't allow me to enter. They showed me the air filtering system, power generators, decontamination showers, blast protective valves for the air system (all mentioned in both articles below) and I posted the set of photos on my site. I did see the exterior of the communications room with the EMP (electromagnetic pulse) protective doors that led into the room. (the entire room is EMP protected as well)
I visited the center on two earlier occasions around 1990 and back then it was still in it's full cold-war era condition complete with the old maps on the walls. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a camera that time. The last time I was there was around 2003-4ish and at that time they didn't allow any photos to be taken at all.
In September 2002 FEMA contacted me and asked me to remove the virtual tour from my site. It was in the aftermath of 9-11 attacks and they said they "were concerned about their exposure." I didn't argue and removed the section from my site. I thought about it and decided that since they allowed me to do it in the fist place and were very cooperative then I would honor their request.
Now it's 13 years later (Sept 2014) and after reading the article (linked below) on the FEMA site about the
50th Anniversary of the opening of the Denton Federal Center I thought I would put up this page. I may eventually
put back up some of the photos I took in 2001 because after reading the article it seems that many
of the unique features of the center have been removed or decomissioned. The aerial photo below
of the Denton center has be available on line for years and the news article below that shows an
accurate cutaway shot of the underground center.
See bottom of this page for some old photos I took back
in 2000 of some of the now decomissioned features of the Denton Center.
The FEMA web site page about the Denton FRC (Federal Regional Center)
https://www.fema.gov/region-6-federal-regional-center
Information about the above image from The Portal to Texas History web site. Click Photo To See Larger
Caption: Ariel view of the Federal Center on Loop 288.
Citation: The Federal Center, Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth12432/ : accessed June 29, 2013),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library, Denton, Texas.
News Article about the Denton center.
The May 15, 1961 news (Possibly from the Dallas Morning News) article below and the drawing shown with the article are a very accurate description of the underground center. Over the years I have heard all kinds of crazy stories about the Denton center. In reality there's really not much to it. It's really not much more than a buried small office building. If you read the news article below you will see some terms like "virtually buried city," "underground fortress" and "vast fortress" so it's easy to see from the beginning how the air of mystery about the place got it's start. The drawing below shows a cut away of the underground center looking at it from the southeast corner.
Information about the above image from The Portal to Texas History web site. Click Photo To See Larger
Caption: Aerial view of the Federal Center during construction.
Citation: Aerial View of the Federal Center Construction, Photograph, n.d.; digital image,
(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14707/ : accessed June 29, 2013),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library, Denton, Texas.
Denton Center Photos From 2000
The above linked article on the FEMA site about the Denton Center mentions several features of the center that are no longer used or were removed during the remodel in 2009. I thought it might be ok to include some of my old photos of the center I took back in 2000 since these features are no longer in use or no longer exist.
 Front Entry Blast Door The blast doors were operated hydraulically. The railing was removable so the blast door could be closed. The ladder at bottom of stairs leads up to front escape hatch. |
 Decontamination Shower This shower room was located at the bottom of the entry area. The door with the light coming through past the shower was the exit. |
Power Plant Room
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Water Well Room
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Laundry Room
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 Typical Hallway This is one of the north/south hallways. I can't remember which level or if this hall was in the front or back. The east/west hallways are about half the length of the north/south. |
 A Typical Smaller Office In 2000 The FEMA site mentions a 2009 remodel. This photo was taken in 2000 so I don't know what all has been changed about the place now. |