Whittier is a city at the head of the Passage Canal in the U.S. state of Alaska, about 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Anchorage. The city is within the Chugach Census Area, one of the two entities established in 2019 when the former Valdez–Cordova Census Area was dissolved. At the 2010 census the population was 220, up from 182 in 2000.
Whittier, Alaska is nestled on the shore of Prince William Sound, one hour south of Anchorage. But the beautiful natural setting is no match for its strangeness. The only way in and out of Whittier is a single-lane, one-way tunnel that changes direction every half hour. The tunnel closes at 10pm each night, 5pm in the winter, locking everyone in for the night. No exceptions.
Of the 200 people who live in Whittier year-round, 180 of them live in a single 14-story apartment building. Winter starts in early October and rages on for 7 months of near-total darkness and an average 9 feet of snow at -20 F and wind gusts of up to 80 MPH. Most residents of the tower don’t venture out unless they have to, or until the 2-story high snow drifts melt away in May and the cruise ships arrive. The 30 schoolchildren who were born there have no choice, but most of its residents voluntarily live in this strange community and call it home.
According to en.wikipedia and vimeo.com
