Theysa国际传媒檝e been silent and almost invisible in Nelson for 60 years.

The citysa国际传媒檚 five air raid sirens were installed in 1963 to warn residents of a nuclear attack or an air raid during the Cold War era when this seemed conceivable or even likely.

The sirens were strategically placed on top of tall poles around town. They were decommissioned in the 1990s but not taken down. Four of them still stand, and the fifth is now in the Nelson Museum as part of the

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 quite interesting from a ,sa国际传媒� says the museumsa国际传媒檚 archivist Jean-Philippe Stienne. sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e a Cold War relic, silent sentinels watching over the city.sa国际传媒�

The fact that Nelsonsa国际传媒檚 sirens still exist is very unusual, he says, because hundreds of similar sirens in many towns across the country were taken down long ago.

The sirens are located at the following sites: at the northwest corner of Eighth Street and Kokanee Avenue; the north side of Douglas Road (close to the east end of Chatham Street); the east side of South Pine Street (between Selby and Trevor Streets); west of Stanley Street on the south side of the lane between Silica and Victoria Streets; and the northeast corner of Falls and Delbruck Streets.

The siren recently installed at the museum was taken down because its pole was beginning to fail and it was considered a safety threat.

sa国际传媒淣ow itsa国际传媒檚 great because we can actually get a closer view of the siren,sa国际传媒� says Stienne. sa国际传媒淯sually, you were looking up at this siren distantly in the sky, but now you can actually see it close up.sa国际传媒�

The sirens were tested routinely until the 1980s, and there were times they went off by accident, he says. But in the later stages of the Cold War, people didnsa国际传媒檛 seem to notice the tests.

sa国际传媒淲e have some files in the archives that record these events. They were disappointed by the lack of reaction by some of the population to the sirens going off. They werensa国际传媒檛 responding to it.sa国际传媒�

The placement of one of the sirens in the Cold War bunker is very fitting, says Stienne, because they round out the history that is preserved there.

The fear of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union began in the 1950s, and in the 1960s the Canadian government built secret underground bunkers in about 50 towns and cities across the country. Nelsonsa国际传媒檚 was built beneath the Gray Building, the current location of the post office next to the museum.

sa国际传媒淭he main purpose of these bunkers was to protect the continuity of government during a nuclear attack, and to restore order in the aftermath,sa国际传媒� says Stienne.

At the time there was a list, which has not survived, of 70 Nelson community leaders and technical experts who were expected to leave their families and house themselves in the bunker, to re-emerge after the attack and re-establish local government and the workings of society.

Nelsonsa国际传媒檚 underground bunker remained undisturbed for decades until it was opened as a permanent exhibit at the museum in 2020.

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