The White Alice Communications System was a U.S. Air Force network of roughly 70–80 stations built across Alaska in the mid-to-late 1950s. It used tropospheric scatter technology (large parabolic “billboard” antennas) to provide over-the-horizon radio links connecting remote radar sites to command centres. The system also carried civilian telephone traffic. When satellite communications made it obsolete in the late 1970s, most sites were deactivated and later demolished for environmental reasons. The Anvil Mountain site near Nome is the most intact and visible remnant, with its four towering antennas remaining as a local landmark known as “Nomehenge.” The combination of monumental, almost abstract antenna structures standing alone, upon a mountain, against endless sky and tundra creates an eerie, apocalyptic atmosphere.
Key features include:
- Four large, free-standing tropospheric scatter antennas
- Isolated mountaintop setting overlooking the tundra and coast
- Remaining foundations, equipment buildings or partial structures at other former sites across Alaska
- Stark contrast between the monumental industrial forms and the empty Arctic landscape
- Strong sense of technological abandonment in a remote, windswept environment
Photo Credits: “White Alice Tropo Antennae” by Chris Lott, CC BY 2.0 , “White Alice Tropo Antennae” by Chris Lott, CC BY 2.0 , “DSC00822-whitealice” by Sir Mildred Pierce, CC BY 2.0 , “White Alice Tropo Antennae” by Chris Lott, CC BY 2.0 , “DSC00885-White_Alice” by Sir Mildred Pierce, CC BY 2.0
