ottawa museum reviews.com

Built between 1958 and 1962 and used by the military until 1994, Canada's very own cold war museum the Diefenbunker is located west of Ottawa.  A quick drive west to Carp brings you back in time to era of espionage, watchfulness and detailed military preparations.

Staying accurate to the paranoid mood of the cold war, the Helipad sits just north of the bunker entrance and once you've walked down the dank blast tunnel, let your eyes adjust to the classic long fluorescent lights covered with grills overhead.  Carefully step through multiple showers of the decontamination area and through the medical centre.  Those with a dread of dental visits will likely shudder at the dental office and operating room was at that time state of the art but just darn scary now.  There are PA speakers everywhere and hallways of cramped government offices to run the country in case of nuclear attack.  The bunker is outfitted with vintage furniture and props accurate to the period with rotary phones, cheap adjustable gooseneck desk lamps and heavy ceramic ashtrays upon painted metal desks.  The conference room is a great example of the cold war era with its overhead projector and dated ratty office carpet.  This is a fascinating place affording lots of photo opportunities.  Let the kids laugh as they dial the red rotary phones and click the bulky desk calculators.

The dining area is filled with cold bright molded plastic chairs and the large space is a welcome change from the cramped quarters.  It's almost like you're not in a bunker but an aging cafeteria....until you see that the industrial refrigerator could also serve as a morgue.  Yikes!

The cost of the Museum visit is not cheap but still recommended.  Visiting is like a trip through time, a history lesson without the textbook and a must-see for all cold-war buffs.

Diefenbunker:  Canada's Cold War Museum

diefenbunker.ca