Woman Who Lives In A Town Wherein Entire Population Lives In One Building Says What It's Like

May 12, 2021 by apost team

Starting in April 2021, a resident from a very peculiar place opened up on her personal TikTok account about what life is like in a town where nearly everyone lives in the same building. Jenessa Lorenz, or as she is known on TikTok, @messy.nessy is from Whitter, Alaska which is located around 60-miles southeast of Anchorage and features stunning mountain views. 

Lorenz and the other residents all live in the Begich Towers which is a 14-story building that contains a health station, convenience store, police station, and a church which is located in the basement of the building. The town is seasonal, meaning nearly everything shuts down in the winter and the town stays indoors. For this reason, the building is built with an underground tunnel that leads to the school across the street. 

The town was founded during World War II and there are currently 318 people living there. The majority of people live in The Begich Towers, while others live in a two-story structure referred to as Whittier Manor. The Begich Towers are former army barracks that now resemble a hotel. Each resident has their own apartment, with the option to own, and everyone has grown to be very comfortable with their neighbors. 

Life in Whittier seems so different from the way most of us live, so when Lorenz first opened up about living in the strange town many viewers flocked to her TikTok account to learn more. She gave virtual tours of the building, showing off long hallways that look very much like something you’d see in a hotel. 

Lorenz first shared her experience living in Whittier after seeing other users talk about the town on TikTok. In one of the videos posted to her account, she said, "Inside this building there’s a post office, a church, a store and a building office. In the basement of this building, we have a tunnel that runs from this building to the school across the street. There’s currently 318 people who live here.”

In another one of Lorenz’s videos, she takes her viewers on a tour of the town. She shows off some of the buildings that are only open during the summer months, especially for tourists, like gift shops and a hotel with a bar and restaurant. There are also parks for residents to visit and areas to camp and hike. Lorenz also shared that residents prefer outdoorsy activities like kayaking and jet skiing, but those are only available during the summer.

The first video Lorenz posted speaking about Whitter has over 15 million views. She has since posted several videos answering questions from viewers about the town. The whole story has made the town go viral on social media.

Lorenz got the chance to speak with USA Today about her experience gaining so much popularity on TikTok. She said, “I made the video thinking, 'OK, no one’s going to care about a tiny, tiny town in Alaska.' The next day, it had millions of views, and I was in shock. Our town’s Facebook group posted my TikTok on their page too.” This just goes to show that even a tiny town in Alaska can merit worldwide recognition!

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According to a Slate article, The Alaska Railroad owns 97% of the town, which explains why there are no single-family homes. The town is only accessible by boat or a one-way tunnel that is 2.5 miles long. The direction of travel changes every 30 minutes and the tunnel is closed at night, so visits must be meticulously scheduled. 

Fortunately, everyone in the town seems to get along fairly well. “Things are different in Whittier, but most of our community is just a floor away, which is great,” Lorenz told USA Today. She also shared on her TikTok that her best friend lives on the floor above her, making the closeness an advantage instead of a hindrance. 

The nearby Whittier Glacier was named for American poet John Greenleaf Whittier in 1915 and the town adopted the same name. The town was constructed in World War II when the United States government built a port and the railroad. The area was then named Camp Sullivan, and the railroad and subsequent building of the town was completed in 1943. The Begich Towers were constructed in 1957 and contain 150 apartments that are either two or three bedrooms, plus bachelor units. The town was an active Army facility until 1960. 

USA Today reports that Lorenz will attend Montana State University in the fall but she will always hold a place for Whitter in her heart. “Whittier’s a great place to be so I’ll always keep in mind coming back and maybe even joining the city council and following in my dad's footsteps,” she said. 

What do you think of this fascinating town? Could you ever live in a place like Whittier? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.