Safe House? Or Playhouse?

My parents were just kids during the Cold War, but they remember some things about the time. Both my parents lived in Washington, D.C., where everyone was afraid would be the target of an attack. Further, my dad lived near a naval base (his father was in the Navy). Not surprisingly, many of my parents' neighbors built bomb shelters in their homes. My mom remembers one of her neighbors' shelters. Thy built it in their basement, and it had a tiny door (like a playhouse, it was fit for a child) that cranked open like on a submarine. There were a few bunk beds and a manually operated generator that could power the lights. My mom and her neighbors' children were not old enough to fully understand the danger of the situation. In fact, what my mom remembers most is playing in the bomb shelter (as if it were a playhouse) with her friend (the neighbors' child), and that her friend's parents always got mad at them for it. It was a scary time--especially in Washington, D.C.--but my parents were both too young to fully grasp how important it was.