Deep in Angeles National Forest , about 2 miles from where the nearest paved road ends, a random concrete tunnel is carved into the hillside. A second tunnel follows down the broad path shortly after. And then … nothing. The dusty walk simply peters out into the mountainside.
Nicknamed the Tunnels to Nowhere — and located near another unrelated abandoned infrastructure project, the Bridge to Nowhere — the tunnels are a hulking concrete and stone reminder of the nuclear panic of the Cold War era, as well one of just several examples of the difficulty of building major infrastructure projects in the ever-shifting mountain range that serves as a backdrop to the Los Angeles Basin.
It was the 1950s, the height of fears about potential nuclear threats amid tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Schoolchildren practiced duck-and-cover drills , and families built fallout shelters in their basements . Half of Americans said they would feel unsafe in their community if an “atomic war” broke out, according to a 1951 Gallup poll , with fear levels notably higher in larger cities compared to more rural areas. In Riverside County, about 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, civil defense officials reportedly warned residents to arm themselves against invaders, including potential refugees from the big city of Los Angeles…