Site equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. C-44 Hegewisch/Wolf Lake. Location now a parking deck. C-92 Redeveloped into Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. Abandoned, now known as the Rochester-Utica State Recreation Area and the Shadebush Environmental Educational Center. FDS. Private ownership redeveloped into single-family housing. The base's 150 missiles are . Above-ground magazines protected by berms. Some buildings standing, used by the Twin Pines Council of Governments as a Police Firing Range. FDS. Missile assembly building appears standing, concrete missile pads deteriorated concrete. Totally obliterated; formerly a three-magazine (1B2C)/12-launcher facility with battery at Lake Shore Drive off the end of what's now I-55, south of the McCormick Place complex. Nike Ajax sites were phased out from 1960 to 1963. Property given to North Allegheny School District. Magazine area appears to be an auto junkyard, although intact, appears to be a large garage, auto dismantling building erected over the magazine. The Nike Hercules was Ajaxs successor. Double-battery Nike launch area on top of tall ridge. It has been in use as a secured communications site for various federal agencies, including BLM, FAA, FCC, FBI, IRS, and others. The AADCP was inactivated in Sep 1969. Double magazine now motor pool area for Army Reserve unit. You can zoom in and out in a few ways. FDS. In aerial imagery, launch site appears to be abandoned and overgrown with trees and other vegetation. Intact, salvage yard. Abandoned, Pere Marquette State Park, kits if debris on the launchers, site used as a storage yard. Porter Center Road divides site into west and east sections. The blast and thermal effects within a dozen miles or so of each of these silo's will be deadly, and the fallout radiation will spread hundreds of miles downwind. Several radar towers standing. The U.S. Army (19541959) and the Army National Guard (19591963) operated this battery. For locations and views, fly in using Google Earth thanks to NikeSiteSearchers. Almost all of the towers and control facilities are gone now including all traces at Montrose Harbor. Magazines visible, condition unknown. Perhaps some structures in the overgrowth. Known as Orange Air National Guard Station. Nothing left. Only a few are intact and preserve the history of the Nike project. No evidence of IFC site. Now under private ownership, Explosives Technology. The German idea of an underground missile silo was adopted and developed by the United States for missile launch facilities for its intercontinental ballistic missiles. 1 The U.S. Department of Defense chose Marine as one of the four sites for a Nike Missile Base in the St. Louis area. USAR Center. Also lots of single-family housing. Private ownership. 430349N 0784238W / 43.06361N 78.71056W / 43.06361; -78.71056 (BU-09-LS), 425550N 0783549W / 42.93056N 78.59694W / 42.93056; -78.59694 (BU-18-LS), 424634N 0784006W / 42.77611N 78.66833W / 42.77611; -78.66833 (BU-34/35-LS), 431259N 0785732W / 43.21639N 78.95889W / 43.21639; -78.95889 (NF-03-CS), 430931N 0785023W / 43.15861N 78.83972W / 43.15861; -78.83972 (NF-16-CS), 430107N 0790047W / 43.01861N 79.01306W / 43.01861; -79.01306 (NF-41-CS), 430032N 0790056W / 43.00889N 79.01556W / 43.00889; -79.01556 (NF-41-LS), 410319N 0735541W / 41.05528N 73.92806W / 41.05528; -73.92806 (NY-09-CS), 404838N 0733253W / 40.81056N 73.54806W / 40.81056; -73.54806 (NY-23-LS), 404249N 0732535W / 40.71361N 73.42639W / 40.71361; -73.42639 (NY-24-CS), 405700N 0725207W / 40.95000N 72.86861W / 40.95000; -72.86861 (NY-25-CS), 403536N 0733804W / 40.59333N 73.63444W / 40.59333; -73.63444 (NY-29/30-CS). Most buildings remain, Concrete in magazine area cracked. The first thing that makes this particular route interesting is the still active missile silos that dot the highway from Kimball to the Colorado border. Do you have a question for Geoffrey? On mountain peak. Site razed in 2006; now a vacant lot with visible concrete debris piled up in several places. IFC existed right along the lakefront, but has now been developed and turned into an open prairie as part of the forest preserve. Essex County Park District, developed into Riker Hill Park. Buildings at beginning of entrance road, former underground double magazine. Some military buildings being used by city as offices. Buildings standing, magazines visible with launch doors probably welded shut. FDS. Appears to be a large water tower built on site. Command, maintenance, and fueling buildings now serve as the U.S. Border Patrol's Detroit Sector Headquarters. Radars used at Fire Island were CPS-6B, FPS-8, CPS-4, FPS-20A, FPS-6B. Buildings still standing. Site was never operational, Private ownership, four long military buildings still exist with circular access road, usage unknown. OHArNG, C Company, 216th Engineers. Ajax launch covers visible, some obscured by buildings, two launch doors for Hercules, probably welded shut. time knowing which ones. Redeveloped into Marin County Waste Water Treatment Plant. Triple-magazine Nike Missile launching concrete pad now a parking lot for the Fort Funston hang gliding area. Small part US Army Reserve center. Buildings torn down, Launch doors visible, now welded shut. Launch area obliterated, owned by Fairfax County and repurposed as Popes Head Park; a marker close the site, Virginia Historic marker E98 states: Redeveloped into "Observatory Park". Also some used to be in Arkansasthe Titan or Atlas missilesuntil one blew its fuel loadbecause of a dropped wrenchand threw its payload quite a distance. . All missiles in the silos are currently Minuteman III (LGM-30G). Hart Island, Double Magazines covered over with vegetation on north end of island; Buildings spread out all over the island, all appear in highly deterioration condition. FDS. 20th Century Castles offers missile bases, communications bunkers, silos and other unique, underground properties. Nike Group Operations Control was at the Vestvolden, a fortification at grid 5541'23"N 1226'11"E connected with the Karup Air Force Hq. Three magazines in place but buried. Purchased by. A large planter covering the elevator of the "B" Section and some berms is all that remains of the launch site. This field of concrete was once an active defense site armed with nuclear warheads. As the U.S. and other countries enact sanctions against Russia, some remnants of escalating tensions between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. still stand in Chicago. FDS. David's Island. A relic of the Cold War tucked away in the forested hills above Bratislava. SL-47DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site P-70 / Z-70. The Russian invasion of Ukraine brings back memories of the Cold War. All Belgian Nike sites were in the 2 ATAF part of then West- Germany. Private ownership. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. The most common sites have been the Minuteman. Above ground site with launchers protected by berms. Magazine visible, covered with vegetation and refuse. Several buildings still in use. This silo's security gate is 547 feet from the road. FDS. The pits are still there, under the park, behind the fire station. Housing area intact, in private ownership. Redeveloped, Private ownership, light industrial storage yard. Many tractor trailers and new small business or manufacturing buildings on the site. Bay doors and elevators still work and are still in use by owners. Redeveloped into USAR Center. One diagram in particular raised a few eyebrows: It showed the location of a Missile Alert Facility, along with the silos for 10 nuclear weapons. Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) SF-90DC was established at Mill Valley AFS, CA in 1960 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. Site redeveloped as Bedford Middle School in 2001. Formerly manned by the B/54th (12/54-9/58), B/4/1st (9/58-9/59) and MDArNG D/2/70th (9/59-9/53). Redeveloped into shopping center. In private hands. The AADCP was inactivated in 1969. Obliterated, Athletic Field of Rio Hondo Junior College. Intact, East Bay Regional Park District, Lake Chabot Park, Department of Public Safety, service yard. America built 107 missile bases around the country during the arms race in the 1960s, including the Atlas F Missile Silo located about 130 miles north of Albany. Now LSU School of Medicine, almost all buildings were torn down with little evidence of IFC. Double magazine site, now a storage yard. Very deteriorated state. It was being used as a Day Camp for children, but is now abandoned. The map below shows the current U.S. When the Army abandoned the launch area of SF-88 at Fort Barry in 1974, the National Park Service assumed custody of the site, incorporating it into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Not much left. Magazine used as. Most buildings in good condition, magazine in good condition. The Boston Defense Area merged with Hartford & Providence Defense Areas in 1962, becoming the New England Defense Area. Hartford Defense Area (HA): Operational in 1956, these sites were first manned by Regular Army and later by Guard Units. Obliterated. The historic Nike Missile launch site was once. 2023 Atlas Obscura. See Our Inventory. Isle of Wight County Park. May be some building foundations and old roads. Some IFC buildings in use. Dormitory, office spaces and missile maintenance shed were intact and operated by Kent Schools as the Mountain View Academy until their demolition in July 2019 to make room for River Ridge Elementary. Abandoned. Launcher area was destroyed/obliterated in the early 1990s when Westchester Parkway was constructed. Cambria Municipal offices, appears to be converted into maintenance storage yard. Light office building, parking lot, also Worcester Nike Park. Today's W78 warheads are 23 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Much of site overgrown with vegetation. Buildings were torn down. Through the efforts of various volunteer groups, as of 1995, this is the only Nike site in the country that has been preserved and is open for public viewing. FDS. Intact, Private ownership, 1 launcher used to store dynamite. FDS. Demolished Nov 2015 for a housing development. Many military buildings in use and well maintained. MAF = Missile Alert Facility, this is where the missileers control the launch of ten Minuteman III ICBM's, each MAF has 10 silo's under their supervision. Many buildings still in use, magazines still electrified and operable, used by owner for storage. Redeveloped as multiple-family housing. Not all silos have missiles. Fenced and gated. Entire site now the WA National Guard Kent Armory. Double magazine, launch doors appear to be concreted over, some buildings erected on firing pads. The MAF Obliterated, Coyote Hills Regional Park. Roads exist with severe cracking in poor shape. Locked and fenced. [16], 413622N 0724129W / 41.60611N 72.69139W / 41.60611; -72.69139 (HA-48-CS). 1mi S of Card Sound Road & County Road 905. No evidence of IFC site. Buildings, some radar towers. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the worlds hidden wonders. IFC buildings in use, housing adjacent abandoned and torn down. Obliterated, Horizon Heights Park and grass runway airfield. This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised. Missile launch pads intact. Both defense areas appear to have been manned by 2nd Battalion, 55th Artillery (Air Defense) at times between 1958 and 1964. IFC units assigned were A-71st (/54-9/55), D/602nd (9/55-9/58), D/4/5th (9/58-8/60), D/1/71st (8/60-/65) and A/4/1st (/65-4/74). Around 300 Nike missile sites were installed in rings around major metropolitan areas and other strategic sites across the country in the early 1950s including about 20 in Chicago. Appears to be largely intact underneath vegetation overgrowth; old access road entrance at Ave J & 133 Street largely obliterated. David Olsen Despite being decommissioned in 1984 and remaining abandoned for decades, the structure is surprisingly well preserved. Partially Intact on mountain top, Fort Funston Park Picnic Area. Rebuilt as Los Angeles County prison camp. Owned by the Nassau Board of Cooperative Education, which uses the site as the Brookville Nature Park and Outdoor Education Center. San Francisco Defense Area (SF): San Francisco was defended by 12 Nike sites: SF-08, SF-09, SF-25, SF-31, SF-37, SF-51, SF-59, SF-87, SF-88, SF-89, SF-91 and SF-93. It was later equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. Battalion Headquarters was located at the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant located north of Doyline. Redeveloped into Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. The buildings appear to be in use and in good condition. Radar tower outlines are visible. to defend this nuclear industrial complex. Site is abandoned, four radar towers standing. To reach the site, drive to William W. Powers State Recreation Area in southeast Chicago. The Russian invasion of Ukraine brings back memories of the Cold War. Site was both an AN/FSG-l Missile-Master and later AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE Radar Direction Center. Navy amphibious training site. See. Some buildings still standing and in use by Independence Board of Education. Several were obliterated and turned into parks. Contaminated soil remediated on site. Private ownership. Magazines visible, status unknown. FDS. The areas in black denote deactivated missile wings, the areas in red denote the active missile . One of the Launch Bunkers has been converted to a Cross Country Ski Chalet with a large parking lot, and the other three Launch Bunkers are used for storage. They are cement-block shells. "A nuclear missile silo is one of the quintessential Great Plains objects: to the eye, it is almost nothing, just one or two acres of ground with a concrete slab in the middle and some posts and poles sticking up behind an eight-foot-high cyclone fence: but to the imagination, it is the end of the world." Intact, Department of Energy, facilities used as auxiliary research labs under Pacific Northwest National Laboratories oversight, currently scheduled for demolition. Abandoned. FDS. Many foundations remain with broken concrete spread around area, roads in deteriorating condition. A monument to the site stands near the entrance to the recreation area. Radar facility used as storage for Lannon County Park and as a US Cellular tower site. National Park Service, Sweeney Ridge (GGNRA). From the mid-1960s until the early 1990s there were 1,000 Minuteman Silos and 100 corresponding Launch Control Facilities for command and control. Buildings in good condition, the old radar towers are still standing. An Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) was established at Caswell AFS, ME in 1957 for Nike missile command-and-control functions. The owner had planned to use it as a Law Enforcement Training facility, however, after rejecting a bid submitted by a construction company owned by the Planning Commission Chairman, the owners requests for permits were rejected. 5 miles. Home now to the 103rd Air Control Squadron. Under restoration since 2009. The adjacent buildings are used by an EOD unit. Launched from a Montana silo, a Minuteman III would take about 20 minutes to reach Moscowits speed is not constant along its flight path. No evidence of IFC site. Former above-ground site with berms protecting launchers. Constructed during the Cuban Missile Crisis [October 1962]. Largely intact, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department, Bossier Parish SWAT field training site. Totally obliterated, nothing left. If so, are any of the silo structures still there? Remains under US government control, National Institute of Standards and Technology. Some military buildings in use, new buildings erected over magazine. Buildings in good shape, Radar tower bases visible. Fenced and gated above-ground magazines protected by berms. This historic site was built as a precaution but never actually used for its potential purpose. This is the entrance to the 341st Missile Wing, 490th Missile Squadron M-01 in Monroe, Montana off of It was faster, and could travel farther up to 90 miles. Redeveloped into American Foundation for Autistic Children. Many of the original structures, fencing, pavement, light poles, etc., still remain. LA-45DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site RP-39 / Z-39 The AADCP was inactivated 1 Sep 1974 along with the remaining Nike Hercules sites. Some concrete foundations visible, Magazine now used as auxiliary gym. LC buildings along Staley road still in use. The land at 770 Muddy Branch Road (Excess Land Sale Only) is one of fourteen federal properties listed for disposal by the Public Buildings Reform Board in their 2019 recommendations. Former Silo Locations in Central South Dakota. Formerly located on Hog Island, formerly Ft. Duvall. The magazines have a one-foot thick cap of concrete on them. Former missile pads still visible, apparently being used as a storage yard. Private ownership, redeveloped into single-family housing. Ther are also sleeping quarters and eating areas above ground. No evidence remains of LS. FDS. Others were offered to state and local governments, while others were sold to school districts. U.S. Army Nike sites were also operational in South Korea, Japan and were sold to Taiwan.[1]. FDS. Former buildings still in use, mostly cleared no sign of any radar towers. D-15DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site P-20 / Z-20 The Air Force ceased radar operations when the Army no longer needed radar support and the AADCP was inactivated 1 Sep 1974. Abandoned. Some buildings are in use, but no radar towers. WTTW News Explains: How Does Chicagos Grid Street System Work? In early 1965 the AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system was installed. Totally obliterated. Record Group 21 Record Group 77 Record Group 291 Record Group 21, Records of the United States District Courts (2 civil cases) U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago, Civil Records, Civil Case Files, Case 71C2016, Chicago Indian . Jackson Parks old site is now a golf course. After the Nike base was closed, it was gained by Ellsworth AFB on 30 Sep 1963, as Ellsworth Academic Annex (also referred to as South Nike Education Annex). Difficult to tell with all wild vegetation status of launch site, no buildings appear to be standing, probably earthen berms exist under vegetation canopy. Site is now utilized by the LAPD SWAT team for training. Buildings in use by company, magazine area visible being used as storage yard. FDS. Illinois. Located within 1.5 hours of Missoula, Helena and Butte, off the grid and 7 miles North of I-90 off Brock Creek Rd which is not maintained for approx. Another launch facility was on the South Side in Jackson Park, with the radar and control center on Promontory Point. Perimeter fencing intact. You can turn off the labels if they obstruct your view. Offutt AFB Defense Area (OF): Provided a Nike Hercules defense for Omaha's Offutt AFB, which was the Headquarters of the It operated from 1960 until 1968. Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments. Has been turned into a public horse park named Paradise Ridge. Many Nike sites are now municipal yards, communications, and FAA facilities, probation camps, and even renovated for use as airsoft gaming and military simulation training complexes. Redeveloped into South Pine Creek Park. Doors probably welded shut. San Vicente Peak, has been turned into a Cold War memorial park. Deactivated silos were located in Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, New York, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington. It was designed for manual operations, using plexiglass plotting boards and telephonic inputs. Residential housing plan. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. FDS. FDS. View waymark gallery. Private ownership. Is now used as the Grand Island Central School District's Eco Island Ecology Reserve. The site was equipped with the AN/GSG-5(V) BIRDIE solid-state computer system. Concrete launch pads still visible. Site guard shack and owner' house is a reconstructed Crew quarters. Launch area is now a soccer field. FDS. This will show things like The people who work in the Missile Alert Facilities are called missileers. It has a maximum range of 8,700 miles and a maximum speed of Mach 23 (17,500 mph). Just east of here was located the launch control equipment for one of the three Nike complexes in Fairfax County. Abandoned, vegetation (tall trees) growing in Magazine concrete. The AAFC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense radar network as Site P-71 / Z-71. Peninsula Airport Commission. Site is across Industrial Highway from former launch site. Concrete around magazines severely cracked both Ajax and Hercules doors. FDS. Large wooded area around the home appears to be totally redeveloped with no evidence of IFC, although may be parts of the facility in the woods to the southwest of the house. No evidence of IFC - Correction - IFC was located at the top of a hill on the corner of Ratzer and Alps Roads including radar towers as late as 1980. South Florida Natural Resources Center in Everglades National Park, under control of National Park Service. Most buildings are still there, launch magazines filled in, concrete pads obliterated. FDS. FDS Redeveloped into single-family housing. The mountain between the launcher and the IFC was "notched" in three places to allow the Missile Tracking Radar to acquire the missile while sitting on the launcher. After the Nike site was closed in 1966, was taken over by the Air Force which used it as a communications facility and satellite tracking site. out. Magazines visible, concrete heavily cracked. Private ownership, Radio transmitter, Cell tower built on site. Heres why the US Air Force isnt concerned. Buildings Demolished Sept 2015 Magazines are there and part of a municipal maintenance facility. Private ownership, good shape. "[28], Both magazines were unroofed and backfilled with earth. FEMA team headquarters, and missile site still accessible. Buildings well maintained, appears to be 3 radar towers to the east of the buildings still standing. PennDOT training site. Formerly manned by the A/54th (12/54-8/56), A/602nd (8/56-9/58), A/4/5th (9/58-8/60), B/4/1st (8/60-12/62), MDArNG A/2/70th (12/62-3/63), HHB 1/70th (10/62-8/74) and B/1/70th (12/62-4/74). Appears abandoned. Is now known as Nike Base Town Park; as such, it hosts Grand Island's Senior Citizen Center, a town-sponsored safe hangout for teens known as Reality Cafe, and space for group meetings. Almost completely intact, Now Criminal Justice Institute, and Bossier Parish School Board. "New Testament Church". Battery 8,8th Battalion,3rd Air Defense Brigade was located on the Chinen peninsula in southern part of the island. New building for armory, no FC buildings remain. Navy amphibious training site. Assembly building is still present. Abandoned, most buildings collapsed, one radar tower still standing. Town of Milford, board of education. Twin Oaks Summer Camp. Redeveloped but abandoned; site of a former automobile dealership on Grant Street, now empty. Since that time there have been hundreds of Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper sites constructed all the way from Texas to North Dakota, New Mexico to Montana. O'Block Junior High, and Adlai Stevenson Elementary School. Largely Obliterated, some remains in semi-wooded area. Launch area well maintained shows both Ajax and Hercules elevators, and per Maryland State Police are welded shut. The site's housing and administrative complex was sold to a private owner and is currently being used as a residence. Offutt also hosted SAC tankers and Atlas missiles were deployed around the area in the early 1960s. FDS. Abandoned in heavy woods. Inactivated by 1974. The buildings are all new; the motor pool, up a rise slightly, has a couple of older structures, but the place otherwise has been cleaned off. Parks and Recreation, maintenance, building in use. Also used by the Air Force as part of the. Obliterated, State of Alaska control, demolished. Launchers obliterated. Now into multiple-family housing. Site obliterated, little evidence of IFC, overgrown. A few buildings overgrown with vegetation, some streets heavily overgrown. The site, known officially as 550th SMS Site 2, was constructed in 1961 and decommissioned on June 25, 1965.