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The Federal Government has no immediate plans to build new public shelters. The emphasis on the invigorated civil defense program is to encourage, advise and assist state and local governments, private industry and individuals to build them. And the marketplace for shelters offers just about everything the customer can afford. In Philadelphia, a polyethylene shell is selling for $2,800. San Francisco's Armco Steel Corp. is promoting a sectional shelter, with modular sections of steel, which can be assembled like an Erector set to any size the customer wants. The Lone Star Steel Co.'s standard shelter, made in Dallas ($2,550, plus freight and installation), contains a nicety to gladden the heart of any claustrophobe: a window painted on the wall, showing an outdoor scene, complete with a shade that can be pulled down at night. In Salt Lake City, Pat Smith, daughter of local Civil Defense Director Ben Smith, is painting a large mural of an outdoor scene on the walls of the family's basement shelter—"It's a shelter," her father says, "with a picture window." A Loudon, Tenn., photographer recently installed a Fiberglas shelter with accommodations for 15 people in his yard, and in Jacksonville, a local millionaire has a blast cellar equipped with an elevator, a pool table and a keg of wine. At the Texas State Fair in Dallas last week, an exhibit of prefabricated shelters outdrew the blue-ribbon cattle and the mid way rides as a popular attraction. One exhibitor estimated that 350 people per hour had shuttled through his shelter in one day. In Olympia, Wash., William Walker put a sign in front of his shelter. "He who lasts, laughs."
"It's A Moral Thing, Too." Plenty of shelters are available for around $1,500. Example: an underground shelter 12 ft. long, 9 ft. 4 in. wide and 7 ft. 10 in. deep, enclosed in 8-in. concrete walls, which would provide radiation protection for six persons and is partially blastproof. Its appurtenances include a hand-cranked air blower, waterproofing provided by two layers of asphalt paint on the outside walls, two layers of roofing felt covered with asphalt. But such shelters are beyond the means of many U.S. families. Although the Federal Housing Administration will guarantee home-improvement loans up to 20 years for approved shelters, most banks are reluctant to risk the money. "At least 80% of the units we install," says St. Louis Contractor Joseph Shannon, "are put in homes that cost from $50,000 to $100,000. We get plenty of calls from people building their own shelters, asking us for advice. We give them all the help they want. There's no profit in that for us, but this isn't just a business. It's a moral thing, too."
To bring the cost of shelters within the reach of most families, the Government next month will introduce blue prints for a simple backyard or basement shelter, constructed of steel, concrete, wood or earth, which can be built for $150 or less. It will be primitive indeed, with a ceiling just 4 ft. high, but it would be as strong a shield against fallout as some of the most elaborate custom-built contraptions.