The Notch Bunker from WGBY on Vimeo.

WGBY's Connecting Point takes a rare look inside "The Bunker," a protective facility built into the side of Bare Mountain in 1957 amidst fears of nuclear war. It functioned as the off-base communications center for Westover Air Force Base.

The three-story space is privately owned by Amherst College and is not open to the public. In the clip, campus utilities engineer Aaron Hayden said people often ask why the bunker was built here, and how it was protected.

"Because the missiles at the time...were not as accurately targetable as they are today, the mountain was the primary defense against an attack," he said.

The bunker was capable of holding up to 350 people for about 35 days. Cots and World War II canned rations were stored inside.

In 1988, real estate agents listed "The Bunker" for sale. "The ad suggested that with seven bathrooms, no living room, oil heat...that your imagination was the only limitation to what this facility could become," Hayden said. "The college recognized its value as a secure place...and they purchased it with the idea of bringing [in] archival library materials."

The Bunker provides a window into a frightening time in history, Hayden said at the end of the video.

"In a way, that's distilled into the concrete of this facility. Why in the heck would you bury 7 feet of concrete underground if you weren't frightened of something? That's really what this place drives me to think about."

Connecting Point airs weeknights at 7:30 PM on WGBY.