Most Unusual: Wilmington Home With Bomb Shelter Built During Cuban Missile Crisis

This redwood home on a woodsy acre has an outbuilding whose historic context beats that of most other Wilmington real estate, to be sure. In October of 1962, the country was brought to what seemed to be the brink of nuclear war. By this time, children had been crouching beneath their desks–“Duck and Cover!”–for civil defense test raids for a decade. But the Cuban Missile Crisis provoked the kind of fear that would lead a homeowner to speedily erect a stone bunker on his property.

What is the shelter good for now? Perhaps 21st-century end-of-days folks who want a place to preserve their potable water will find it appealing. Do such people live in Wilmington, Del.? If not, the listing suggests a wine cellar, which is much more fun.

As for the other aspects of the house, given the number of pine and oak walls, the decor may be responsible for the Delaware Wooden Wall Crisis of 1952.

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THE FINE PRINT
Bedrooms: 4 beds
Bathrooms: 2.5 baths
Square feet: 3,025
Asking price: $349,000
Price cut as of June 1: -$30,000
Listing: 629 Shipley Rd, Wilmington, Del.