If you don’t know about the Diefenbunker, you’re in good company. I’ve lived within 200 kilometres of it for most of my life, yet I had no idea it existed until a few years ago. But it’s not a secret…. anymore. And it just won a Corporate Business Award (CBA), Best 20th Century History Attraction from Corporate Vision. It won a CBA last year too.
Jordan Vetter, marketing and communications manager at the Diefenbunker, tells me what it means. “This is really an honour for us … We see this recognition as a testament to the lasting impact that we’re able to make on visitors, whether it’s through new exhibitions … new offerings, new events.”
The Diefenbunker is Canada’s most significant cold war artifact — a four-story underground facility designed to withstand a nuclear attack. Built as a central communications headquarters for the country in the event of nuclear war, it was decommissioned in 1994.
After that, Vetter says, “a group of volunteers stepped forward to preserve the site and turn it into a museum.”
They’ve done an amazing job.
“We’re always looking to surprise and to educate,” Vetter says. “There really is something for everyone. It might seem like a daunting piece of history, but we try to make it such an engaging and immersive experience that everyone will find something that they take away.”
When I first visited the Diefenbunker to drop off my kids for their favourite summer activity (Spy Camp), I was a little confused.
“When you roll up, it’s a bit unassuming,” Vetter admits. “The first thing you see is a helipad outside. This would have been available for officials to fly in in a moment’s notice if they needed to. And behind the helipad there’s a little building, a little white entrance, and it doesn’t look like much. It’s tucked into a hillside, [but] the hill is actually what’s covering up the rest of the building.”
“It really opens up once you get through and inside the blast tunnel.”
The facility is 75 feet deep at its lowest point. There are several military communications spaces, the Bank of Canada vault, a medical centre, a cold war era (60s retro) kitchen, a war cabinet room, and the Prime Minister’s suite.
“The fun fact there is that the Prime Minister himself―at the time John Diefenbaker … namesake of the museum―he actually never set foot in the bunker. [He] had it commissioned and was never here.”
Besides comprehensive education programs, the Diefenbunker runs an escape room, hosts business meetings and team building events, birthday parties, even weddings (think Mad Men). The bunker has even been a movie set.
The Corporate Business Award recognizes the lasting impact of the Diefenbunker and its programs for the Ottawa community.
“[The] awards are looking for businesses that are leaders and innovators in their respective sectors, contributing to economic growth as well as new initiatives and activities that are really drawing in visitors.”
“We want to remain relevant and top of mind for people as a site of learning and understanding our past so that we can build a more peaceful future.”
Visit the Diefenbunker. Check out its upcoming events here or current exhibitions here.
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