Construction for the Diefenbunker started in 1959 and was completed by 1962. It was designed to house 535 personnel and equipment to function as an emergency government headquarters for 30 days in the event of a nuclear attack. The structure is four storeys deep with over 9,000 square metres of floor space.
Main entrance 
Operating room 
Corridor 
Dentist’s office
It could withstand up to a five-megaton nuclear blast and shift when under pressure to withstand the shockwave while maintaining structural integrity. The rebar used to build the bunker measures two inches in diameter, four times thicker than regular rebar. The clowns are more than four feet across and the walls and ceilings are up to five feet thick.
Canteen 
Model of the bunker
The underground town has everything a regular town might have. It has a canteen, lounge, and kitchen to feed its residents. There is a hospital with a fully-equipped operating room and a dentist’s office for healthcare. There are offices, meeting rooms, and communications rooms for government departments. Residents could exercise in the long corridor in front of the gold vault and lived in quarters with bunk beds.
Prime minister’s room 
Prime minister’s office 
War Cabinet Room 
Ottawa Semi-Automatic Exchange
In a nuclear war, no more than a dozen ministers were expected to form a War Cabinet, but as few as four ministers could still operate a legitimate government. The War Cabinet Room was designed to hold briefings several times a day to manage the country. Helping to connect the War Cabinet to allied military bases was the Ottawa Semi-Automatic Exchange. Mainframe computers in this top secret room were shielded to avoid eavesdropping on the 100,000 messages it could handle each month in the 1980s.
Office 
Cabinet secretary office 
Communications room 
Bank vault
Only the prime minister and Governor General were afforded private but modest accommodations. Not even the prime minister could bring his family with him, so the room only has a single bed and a small office. His secretary occupied the office in front of his room.
CBC room 
Dormitory
Apart from the many rooms dedicated to military and government communications, one room was set aside for civilian communication. At a time of nuclear war, it was the CBC’s responsibility to manage the Emergency Broadcasting System and warn people of an imminent nuclear attack. Cabinet ministers could address the nation from the small studio.
