Photos of the Inside of the Ark Two Shelter

Photos of the Inside of the Ark Two Shelter

Enlarged pictures of areas inside the shelter can be seen by clicking on the small pictures below. If you have not already looked at photos of the outside, and the map of the inside, you may wish to look at them first for orientation. The reason there are two identical photos beside each section is that we have processed them differently. One is lighter and the other is darker. The difference is one way will sometimes allow you to see better and other times - the other. It was difficult for us to get good lighting down in the shelter so as to take the pictures.

Many, many times I have been asked - "When will the shelter be finished and ready?" I guess the answer is that, like Disney World, it will never be finished because there is always more that one can do. On the other hand it has been "ready" since 1980. At that time there were only four buses and there was no generator or pump. We brought the water in, in stainless steel milk pails and for lights we used twelve volt car batteries. Toilets were pails with garbage bags, and we would have had to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags. Still we had all the requirements for a survival shelter as listed in the government publications.

Over the years we added water pumps and generators, flush toilets and bunks. Lighting, heating, and dozens of other amenities besides lots of additional space, security and other functionality. I think what people really mean when they ask the question is, "When are you going to put up the curtains and put around the lace doilies?" Admittedly, twenty thousand dollars of painting and new tile on the floor would make it look a lot better, but then we always think of another purpose of funds that will increase functionality and which would take precedence over cosmetic appearance. Consequently, given the opportunity to spend another twenty thousand on the shelter - there is probably something else we would do, rather than make it look better.

Inside the Main Entrance

Inside the main entrance beyond the loading area there is a heavy steel grate door and electric conveyors that go down two levels.

Other Rooms in the Shelter

There are MANY other rooms in the shelter. While the pictures included here give one a flavor of the shelter environment, you must really study the shelter map to get an idea of its immensity. It is so large that maps are posted throughout the shelter to tell one where they are and how to find their way to another location.

Some of the many interesting rooms, for which photos have not been included, are:

The Surgery (as yet still unequipped)

The Laundry room

The Silent Library (books are in offside storage)

The Conference Room

The Tool Room

The Chapel

The Exercise Areas

A Privacy Room

The Nursery and its Cry Room

and numbers of still others as you will see on the map.

One of the things we are currently working on in 2010 is the inside intercom system. For this we have three switchboards which we are installing.