# Do you still see Civil Defense signs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394 "2011-05-27T03:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/1 "2011-05-27T03:43:43Z")
While passing an elementary school in Tacoma this afternoon, I was suprised to see a “Fallout Shelter” sign prominently displayed near the doorway. Do you ever see this sign or similar Civil Defense signs around your area? And could they still be used as shelters? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/2 "2011-05-27T04:33:35Z")
I don’t see any more air raid sirens in our area. The two I was aware of are gone. I’m guessing it’s been 15 years or more. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/3 "2011-05-27T04:42:20Z")
I haven’t seen one in ages. I grew up just outside of DC in the 60’s, and they were everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/4 "2011-05-27T09:08:09Z")
I’ve seen the fallout shelter signs on some government buildings. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/5 "2011-05-27T09:52:05Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I don’t see any more air raid sirens in our area. The two I was aware of are gone. I’m guessing it’s been 15 years or more. I believe it is the first Tuesday of every month that the sirens are tested in Stockholm. Not sure of the rest of Sweden gets it. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/6 "2011-05-27T14:19:30Z")
My old apartment in NYC had signs for the fallout shelter in the basement. I shudder to think what was actually in there. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/7 "2011-05-27T14:40:23Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I don’t see any more air raid sirens in our area. The two I was aware of are gone. I’m guessing it’s been 15 years or more. You still see them in the Midwest, though now their primary use is as tornado sirens. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/8 "2011-05-27T14:51:24Z")
I’ve seen Fallout Shelter signs, but not that I think about it, I’ve guess I’ve never seen them on new construction. I think the only place I’ve seen them was on the stairs leading down to the basement in my high school. I assume the signs are still there. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/9 "2011-05-27T14:53:35Z")
I still see them in older county courthouses occassionally. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/10 "2011-05-27T15:47:27Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > I still see them in older county courthouses occassionally. That’s the last place I saw one - county courthouse built back in the early 60s. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/11 "2011-05-27T16:16:07Z")
Last one I remember seeing was at [Fort Monroe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Monroe)last year. Which is a really neat place to visit BTW. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/12 "2011-05-27T18:34:47Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I’ve seen the fallout shelter signs on some government buildings. The basement of the post office (in the town where I work) is a bomb shelter according to the signs outside. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/13 "2011-05-27T20:48:06Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > My old apartment in NYC had signs for the fallout shelter in the basement. I shudder to think what was actually in there. Sometimes it was nothing but a basement. The signs didn’t mean there were survival supplies located there. It just indicated a relatively safe structure, and someplace where survivors would be found. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/14 "2011-05-27T22:48:01Z")
I don’t get out much so I haven’t seen any fallout shelter signs anywhere recently, but San Francisco test their sirens every Tuesday at noon. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/15 "2011-05-27T22:56:34Z")
It’s been over 20 years since I’ve seen a Civil Defense sign. ---
**Author:** ![Blackhawk441](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/76d3ee/32.png) [@Blackhawk441](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackhawk441)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/16 "2011-05-27T23:44:40Z")
There are several around the Greater Boston area. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/17 "2011-05-27T23:55:52Z")
There are likewise several around Chicago. Of course, I can’t recall where any are at the moment… They don’t seem to be very accurate. That is, they’re often simply on the side of some apartment or business building, not on a structure that would, to outside appearances anyhow, be any safer than any other random building in the area. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/18 "2011-05-28T00:02:33Z")
There’s a church near here with one of those signs at their basement door. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/19 "2011-05-28T02:41:14Z")
Although not technically a civil defense siren, we in Western Washington do have [lahar warning sirens](http://www.geographyalltheway.com/igcse_geography/natural_environments/plate_tectonics/imagesetc/mount_rainier_warning_sign.JPG) in case Mt. Rainier erupts. The official evacuation routes are also marked with signs. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394/20 "2011-05-29T13:05:31Z")
Sure, at the one remaining place. It’s considered historical and thus kept up–even though it’s now actually the junior high cafeteria. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-see-civil-defense-signs/583394.md?page=2)