Barracks
From Lostpedia
The Others (1993-2004)
Locke's group (2004)
Abandoned (2004-Present)
The Hydra • The Arrow • The Swan
The Flame • The Pearl • The Orchid
The Staff • The Tempest
The Looking Glass • The Lamp Post
[[:Category:{{{Images}}}|Images]]
The Barracks is a secure residential compound on the Island comprising houses and other surface buildings with electricity and water service, plus an unknown number of underground facilities. Originally constructed by the DHARMA Initiative, the Others took control after the Purge, using the compound as their home and base of operations on the Island.
The Others abandoned the Barracks in 2005 in anticipation of the arrival of the mercenary team sent by Charles Widmore. When the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 split into two groups, Locke's group resided in the Barracks until the mercenary team from the Kahana attacked. The Barracks are currently abandoned.
The Barracks are located directly north of the Pearl, as shown on Ben's radio tower map and Kate's map.
Contents |
History - The DHARMA Initiative
The Barracks were built in the 1970's. The DHARMA Initiative used the Barracks primarily to house the staff of the Initiative on the Island.
School
The DHARMA Initiative included a school to educate children of DHARMA workers in the barracks. Horace states that the school offers a "good education" in a conversation with Roger.
The school is equipped with a siren system that alerts the class if there is an incident involving the Hostiles. It appears that the classes have a set routine in this event, which involves the children chaining the entrance, and taking cover in a corner of the room. The teacher, Olivia, also has quick access to a rifle, and obvious familiarity with how to use it.
The walls of the schoolroom are decorated with hand-drawings of the DHARMA logo, as well as a drawing of a girl swimming with a dolphin, some smaller fish, and the submarine. The picture is labeled, "Me and my fish". (Season 3 DVD)
In "The Man Behind the Curtain", the students learn how volcanoes work.
The room is cleaned by DHARMA workmen Jack and Roger. Egyptian hieroglyphs are seen on the chalkboard. Around the room there are signs such as an anachronistic periodic table that claims the discovery of several elements first noted well after the 1970s, and a sign that says "DHARMA students make learning fun!" ("Some Like It Hoth")
Playground
The playground is the outside field which all the buildings in the barracks surround and was built for children members of the DHARMA Initiative. When Ben was young, he and his friend Annie used to play at the playground. This was the place where Annie gave Ben the two dolls as a birthday present. Much later, Jack is seen playing football with Tom at this place in "Par Avion". Later Sayid is held captive here in "The Man from Tallahassee", chained to a nearby swing set for three days, as Juliet reports in "Left Behind". Ryan Pryce guarded Sayid at the playground. When arriving at the Barracks, Miles noted that they had a playground and sarcastically asked if they had a daycare. ("The Economist")
Daniel Faraday went to the playground to tell a young Charlotte to get on the sub when Pierre Chang starts evacuating personnel from the Island. ("The Variable")
Harbor and wharf
The harbor is within a short walking distance of the Barracks, and appears to be in some sort of lagoon. It is notable for the wharf that sits on its shores. It is not nearly as big as the Pala Ferry pier, and only looks big enough to house one vessel at a time. The submarine was stored here as of "The Man from Tallahassee". The body of water is shown in full light in "One of Us".
There's a boathouse on the waterfront, that has its own short dock. The boathouse is a small cabin, used mainly as a storage room for life jackets, ropes, nets and other boat related items. Locke used it to keep Miles prisoner. ("Eggtown")
Security office
The security office is an underground bunker with a nine-piece set of monitors (similar to the Pearl station's monitors) that provide live security feeds, and a holding cell in a side room. One of the security guards commented about polar bears inside their cages, which might have been merely a joke, or may refer to a feed from Hydra Island. ("LaFleur") ("Namaste") There is also a jail cell located inside of the security office, which is at one point used to hold Sayid. ("Namaste") ("He's Our You")
Infirmary
There is a medical clinic in the Barracks known as the Infirmary. Amy was brought here to give birth to her new son. The actual delivery was performed at a separate operating chamber. Clinic supplies included DHARMA sterile lancets, painkillers, cotton pads, and cotton swabs. ("LaFleur") (Official Lost Podcast/March 19, 2009 (video))
Young Ben was brought to the Infirmary to be operated on by Juliet and Debra after he was shot by Sayid. ("He's Our You") ("Whatever Happened, Happened")
Despite their efforts they required a real surgeon(Jack) to operate to repair the damage of Sayid's shot to prevent him from bleeding out.
Kate donated blood to young Ben while Roger Linus watched on inside the Infirmary.
Recreation room
The recreation room appears to be a room full of recreational activities for people. Among the collection is a backgammon game, pool table, a foosball table, the board game Mouse Trap, and two arcade games. Kate is held captive in this room by the Others. ("The Man from Tallahassee") ("Left Behind").
Locke's group later held Ben and Sayid captive in the room. ("The Economist")
After the Island-flashes ended, and being incapacitated by the sonar fence, Sawyer woke up in the rec room. Something noticeable that was in the room during 1970s that the Others must have taken down was the DHARMA logo hanging on the wall. ("LaFleur")
Cafeteria
Somewhere in the Barracks is a cafeteria. This is where Hurley works. ("He's Our You")
Shed
Jack, Roger, and Willie (the only three workmen on the Island) worked at the shed. It is presumably located at the Barracks. ("Whatever Happened, Happened")
Motor pool
Tunnels
Directly beneath The Barracks are a series of ancient tunnels with markings similar to those found within The Temple. Richard is the first to label the area as "tunnels" and is the secret location that the Hostiles used to store the hydrogen bomb after 1957. ("Follow the Leader")
Transport
DHARMA workmen were able to travel quickly from the Barracks to other locations using a series of DHARMA vans. Travel consisted primarily to stations on the Island such as the Pearl. The vans were often used to transport food and other materials in deliveries. Workmen were those who would make these deliveries.
The Purge
The DHARMA Initiative engaged in a long-running conflict with a group on the Island known as the Hostiles. The conflict ended when the hostiles, in alliance with certain staff of the Initiative including Ben Linus, released a toxic gas. The gas killed most of the DHARMA staff at the Barracks. Afterward, the Barracks were taken over by the Others, a group that consisting of the Hostiles, ex-DHARMA personnel, and people recruited in the outside world.
Currently
The survivors' discovery of the Barracks began when Sayid found a map in the Flame with the location marked on it. According to Sayid, the map showed "electrical and data cabling running from the Flame... to a place called the Barracks". He also said that the barracks were "comprised of houses and dormitories, with water and power, large enough to accommodate an entire community." He correctly surmised that this is the location of the Others' home. ("Enter 77")
The Others have since left the Barracks for the Temple. Locke's group was settled at the Barracks ("The Economist"), but have now fled due to an attack by the freighter mercenaries. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
Three years later, after the return of the Oceanic Six and Ben, Frank, Sun, Ben and Locke return to the barracks. They are in the same condition they were three years ago after the attack. ("Namaste"), ("Dead Is Dead")
Location
The Barracks are located on the main island at the base of some hills. In the opening scene of "A Tale of Two Cities", Ben says that Goodwin can make it to the tail crash site within an hour if he hurries, demonstrating that the location is not very far from that portion of the coastline.
The DHARMA cabling map shows that the Barracks is southwest of the Flame station. It is also known that there was road access to the Swan and the Pearl stations from the Barracks.
The orientation video for the Pearl station instructed DHARMA staff return to the Barracks via the Pala ferry at the end of their shifts. This suggests that the sea route to the Barracks from the Pearl is somehow preferable to the land route.
Ben's radio tower map shows the relative locations of the beach camp, the Pearl, radio tower and the Barracks. And by inference, it also shows the position of the Flame. However, the map is problematical in that the relative distances between sites do not seem to match up with observed travel in the show. The map also does not properly overlay onto Rousseau's maps.
Based on the mile markers on the bottom of the DHARMA cabling map, the Barracks is roughly one mile across.
Layout
Using the DHARMA cabling map as a reference, along with images so far seen of the area, it appears that there are 18 yellow buildings, all built in a similar style:
- A cluster of six structures on the western side. One building seems to be close to the termination for the western tunnel.
- Another cluster of six on the southern side. The easternmost building seems to be close to the termination point for the eastern tunnel. The houses of Ben and Juliet are in this cluster.
- A cluster of fice between these and on the northern side of the main road. The northernmost building seems to be near the termination for the northwestern tunnel. Jack's house was on the southern side of this cluster.
- A larger lone structure to the east.
These buildings are arranged in a circular pattern around a central picnic area with a lone Norfolk pine tree, and a nearby white gazebo. There are only footpaths (no roads) between the houses.
The DHARMA cabling map details of the Barracks inside the sonar fence are taken from the set design materials. The map reflects the actual layout and buildings of the YMCA camp that the production uses for filming exteriors of the Barracks.
The long distance images of the Barracks seen in "A Tale of Two Cities" were artificially generated and do not match up with the layout of the actual sets. This can best seen in examining the differences between the arrangement of the buildings around the gazebo in the close-in shots versus the layout seen in the distance shots. It can be assumed that the layout of the YMCA camp represents a portion of the Barracks, but it is unclear if there are meant to be other buildings beyond the physical layout of the camp.
The Others' society
The Others seem to have constructed a tight-knit community in the Barracks. They have all of the conveniences of modern living, such as electricity, plumbing, ovens, relatively new books, and CD players. This indicates that they are able to receive goods from off the Island. They also seem to have recreational leisure activities, as people can be seen biking as well as playing football in "Par Avion". The community also has a book club. Although it is still unknown exactly how many Others were housed in the Barracks, Jack, who spent several days there, implies in "Left Behind" that he believed about fifty people to have been living there.
In a video podcast, Co-Executive Producer Jean Higgins revealed that, while the outside of the houses are filmed at YMCA Camp Erdman in Hawaii, the interior shots are all filmed using a single set with decoration changes as appropriate to ownership of the house.
Juliet's house
Juliet's house is located in the barracks and is where the book club is held ("A Tale of Two Cities"). It is a yellow, one story house. In "Eggtown", Hurley was closed up in a closet in this house.
In Lost: The Official Magazine Volume 1, Issue 9, official art by Scott Cobb shows Juliet's house having wooden roof beams, a television set, a dining room table, and the area where the book club discuss. A kitchen is also seen, as well as a hallway leading into what is presumably the bedroom and bathroom. As stated by Ben when he gave Juliet the house, there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. ("The Other Woman")
Ben's house
Ben's house is located in the Barracks. Ben is seen exiting it to watch Flight 815 break apart in "A Tale of Two Cities". It has since been refitted to make access and living easier for a wheelchair-bound Ben, including a motorized bed shown in "The Man from Tallahassee". In the same episode, Locke makes note of all the modern conveniences that the Others seem to enjoy, such as electricity, running water, and "chicken in the fridge".
The house's basement is grayer and more industrial looking than the floor above it. Ben used it to hold Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, ("The Man from Tallahassee") and Locke used it to imprison Ben. ("Eggtown")
A large, heavy bookcase on the ground floor of Ben's house conceals a passage to a secret closet. The room contains bundles of cash in a variety of currencies, multiple passports for Ben Linus, and shoes and clothing suitable for the outside world. ("The Economist") The room also has a thick, heavy barrier that drops down to seal the entrance from the house. ("The Shape of Things to Come")
Behind the row of Ben's suit jackets in the secret closet lies yet another hidden door, this one made of stone with carvings and appearing to be very old. ("The Shape of Things to Come")Beyond this door is a small tunnel that leads to a pool of stagnant, brown water. The Monster can be summoned by pulling a plug at the bottom of the pool, allowing the water to escape through a drain. ("Dead Is Dead")
Following the breakup of the Oceanic Flight 815 survivors into factions, Locke took Ben's house for his own. ("Eggtown")
Behind one of the paintings in his living room, Ben has a safe, in which he keeps two objects: A videotape labeled "Red Sox", which has a recording of Charles Widmore beating up a blindfolded man, and a very thin folder which Ben claims has everything he knows about Widmore. ("The Other Woman")
Claire's house
Claire and Aaron lived in a home that was apparently opposite Ben's home. She shared it with Kate for a short while. It was destroyed when a mercenary shot a rocket at it.
Sawyer and Hurley's house
Sawyer and Hurley lived in a home next door to Claire. Sawyer offered to share the home with Kate, but she declined.
Jack's house
Jack lived with the Others as part of their society while he looked after Ben, and saw him back to better health after his surgery. The Others allowed Jack to live in one of their houses during his stay. This house was rigged with security cameras, so that they could continuously monitor Jack. The house contains a small corridor along with a main living space that includes a piano. It is unknown who lived here before Jack, but it was presumably one of the Others who were killed prior to his arrival, such as Ethan or the Picketts. ("The Man from Tallahassee")
Building 15
In 1977 a speeding DHARMA van crashed into a house. When LaFleur called for help over the walkie, he identified the house as building 15. ("He's Our You")
Security perimeter (sonar fence)
The Barracks are completely surrounded by a hypersonic barrier that can injure or kill anyone who passes through it. The DHARMA Initiative referred to it as a sonar fence. The intensity of the fence can be adjusted and sections can be deactivated by typing a code into a keypad on certain pylons.
The DHARMA Initiative orientation film at the Barracks stated that its purpose was to keep the abundant wildlife of the Island out. The barrier is capable of keeping out the Monster ("Left Behind") but not Richard Alpert. ("LaFleur")
Design and conception
| “ |
Zack Grobler The village had no roads, no telephone or electric poles to explain how the Others could live in their little Utopian community. Initially I scouted for streets and cul-de-sacs with the locations manager Jim Triplett, and then we started talking about how they would live on an island without vehicles, etc. That's when we realized we should look for camping grounds where we could create a world without all the spoils of modernization. The village of the Others was a makeover of a camp on the North Shore of Oahu. We painted the houses, added porches and details, and even an extra story to Ben's House. To make the camp look idyllic, we watered the lawn for weeks before shooting, and even painted some dry patches with environmentally friendly green dye! (Revelations) | ” |
Trivia
- According to Ben's maps, the Barracks is just south of the Pearl.
- A crater is shown on Rousseau's map in "Solitary". The Barracks is inside of a crater, but it is unknown whether this is the crater from Rousseau's map.
- Before the name of the location was revealed, it was given the names "Otherville", "Othersville", and "Utopiaville" by fans. Further nicknames were "Bennsylvania" and "Losteria Lane".
- The production design notes call it "Othersville" and "Ext. Suburbia" (Season 3 DVD)
- The producers' nickname for it is "New Otherton". (Season 3 DVD)
- The "New Otherton" name was finally used onscreen by Sawyer in "There's No Place Like Home, Part 1". In "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" he called it "Dharmaville"
- The Barracks was first mentioned in "?", in the Pearl's orientation video. This was a season before the Barracks first appeared in "A Tale of Two Cities".
- Close inspection of the zoom out at the end of the opening scene of "A Tale of Two Cities" reveals a dove, flying over.
- Ethan Rom is seen underneath Juliet's house, repairing the plumbing. The plumbing that Ethan is working on is typically seen in houses with well water. ("A Tale of Two Cities")
- The pine tree is a Norfolk Island Pine, genus Araucaria heterophylla, fairly common on the Island of Oahu, where the show has many filming locations. These trees were often planted on tropical islands by early sailors to be available for ship masts, and are well adapted to tropical climates.
- There are speakers along the pathways, which are similar to or exactly the same as the Hydra Station's speakers at the cages where Sawyer, Kate and Karl were kept.
- Also lining the pathways are what appear to be solar powered garden lights.
- There are a number of posts with security cameras and floodlights.
- The filming location is at the YMCA Camp Erdman in Hawaii - (Source: Lostvirtualtour, The Economist-Enhanced transcript)
- The Lost crew painted all the houses yellow before filming.
- The crew also installed the gazebo.
- Ben lives close to Juliet.
- Ben's house has two stories, unlike the other houses. The second story is actually a false front attached to a one-story house.
- On Ben's bookshelf can be seen The Quran, Red Man's Religion and Kings of Love.
- The Barracks has no telephone or electrical poles, though it does have electricity, which indicates the presence of underground power distribution.
- In "The Beginning of the End", Locke states that he is going to the barracks, as it is the safest place on the Island.
- The following interiors at the Barracks have all been shot at the YMCA Camp Eardman assembly hall. The assembly hall is reconfigured internally with different size partitions to pass for the different locations.
- School
- Recreation room
- Fireplace building
- Main hall
Notable visitors
All of the Others and the DHARMA Initiative have lived here for a considerable amount of time so they won't be listed here.
|
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picture | Name | First visit | Last visit | Reason for Visit | ||||||
 | Jack | "Par Avion" | "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" | Was the first survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 to visit the Barracks. Jack lived here with the Others for a week or so whilst he took care of Ben. | ||||||
 | Kate | "Par Avion" | "Follow the Leader" | Was one of the first survivors to "discover" this location on her mission to save Jack. Kate then spent two days in the company of Locke#s group a few weeks later. | ||||||
 | Sayid | "Par Avion" | "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" | Was one of the first survivors to "discover" this location on his mission to save Jack. | ||||||
 | Locke | "Par Avion" | "Dead Is Dead" | Was one of the first survivors to "discover" this location on his mission to save Jack. A few weeks later he returned with a small group of people to live here because they knew the freighter people weren't here to rescue them. Locke lived in Ben's house until the attack by Keamy's mercenaries. | ||||||
 | Danielle | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was one of the first survivors to "discover" this location on her mission to save Jack and find her daughter. Danielle returned with the rest of Locke's group to live there, left with Karl and Alex for the Temple, was killed by mercenaries under the command of Martin Keamy. | ||||||
 | Sawyer | "The Economist" | "Follow the Leader" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group. Survived the attack by the mercenaries and decided to go back to the beach camp with Jack's group. Brought Claire, Aaron, and Miles with him. | ||||||
 | Hurley | "The Economist" | "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group until the invasion of the mercenaries. He escaped and went with Ben and Locke to receive orders from Jacob. | ||||||
 | Claire | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group until the Barracks was attacked, was almost killed when her house was destroyed by a mercenary's RPG and left go to the beach with Aaron, Sawyer, and Miles. | ||||||
 | Aaron | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group, escaped the attack on the Barracks and went back to the beach along with Claire, Sawyer, and Miles | ||||||
 | Jin | "LaFleur" | "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" | Arrived with Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel and Miles after they saved Amy's life in 1974 | ||||||
 | Miles | "The Economist" | "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" | Arrived to retrieve Charlotte, a fellow member of his group, however was captured and was held in the boathouse, escaped the attack by Keamy's mercenaries and went with Sawyer, Claire, and her baby | ||||||
 | Daniel | "LaFleur" | "The Variable" | Arrived with Sawyer, Juliet, Jin and Miles after they saved Amy's life in 1974 | ||||||
 | Martin Keamy | "The Shape of Things to Come" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Arrived with his mercenary force to flush out the Barracks and capture Ben Linus. The Monster's attack killed at least one of the mercenaries, and injured another one badly. They headed toward the chopper with Frank Lapidus when last seen. | ||||||
 | Anthony Cooper | "The Man from Tallahassee" | "The Brig" | Was brought there by the Others and held captive in the basement underneath the home of Benjamin Linus. Was later transported with the rest of the Others to the ruins. | ||||||
 | Doug | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group; shot dead by mercenaries. | ||||||
 | Jerome | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group; shot dead by mercenaries. | ||||||
 | Blonde casualty | "The Economist" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Was living here with the rest of Locke's group; shot dead by mercenaries. | ||||||
 | Mayhew | "The Shape of Things to Come" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Arrived with the mercenary team to flush out the Barracks and capture Ben Linus. He was killed by the Monster. | ||||||
 | Kocol | "The Shape of Things to Come" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Arrived with the mercenary team to flush out the Barracks and capture Ben Linus. | ||||||
 | Lacour | "The Shape of Things to Come" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Arrived with the mercenary team to flush out the Barracks and capture Ben Linus. | ||||||
 | Redfern | "The Shape of Things to Come" | "The Shape of Things to Come" | Arrived with the mercenary team to flush out the Barracks and capture Ben Linus. | ||||||
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
|
- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Barracks/Theories
- Why did the Others abandon the Barracks?
- Why did the Others not return to the Barracks after the Island was moved?
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
