County’s Nike missile site a Cold War vestige
The park is surrounded by a tall chain-link fence. Several surveillance cameras keep an unblinking eye on the area 24/7. The remaining buildings are further secured by heavy security locks and bars. The public is strongly advised to avoid this area of the park.
Trespassers will be arrested.
The site at one time had 23 buildings. The battery contained 30 of the early Nike missiles, known as Nike Ajax, and, during 1960 and 1961, was converted to utilize 18 of the newer Nike Hercules missiles.
The Nike missiles, launched from above ground, were stored in underground “magazines,” each with an elevator pad that could lift a missile to the surface. On the surface, the missile would be pushed by soldiers along a railing to a launcher. The missile could be raised to a vertical position and — theoretically — fired at a threat aimed at Washington or Baltimore.
Today the only visible magazine is covered with rusting metal plates, and steels bars are welded across the top to prevent entry. The other two magazines were filled with dirt and a parking lot was built on top of them.
In a building adjacent to the magazine, sunlight dimly shines in, exposing broken plaster, bits of wood and filth that has fallen onto and covered the steel stairs. Rainwater has penetrated and destroyed the building’s roof. The sturdy cinderblock walls are a strong contrast to the rotting shards of roof hanging down and the rust-swathed stairs.
At the bottom of the staircase a large, dark room features two inches of water on the floor. There’s a spray painting on the wall of a line from the movie “It”: “We all float down here.”
The area where the magazine once operated sits in water, parallel steel rails border a concrete platform. On either side of the platform are submerged, narrow stairs. At the far end of the platform, a steel ladder leads to an iron-raised hatch on the surface, welded and chained shut.
In a 1997 evaluation of the site by the Maryland Historical Trust, officials wrote that “Throughout the 1960s, the Nike- Hercules remained the United States Army’s tactical missile defense system. However, Nike-Hercules eventually were rendered obsolete because they lacked the capability to destroy the long-range ICBMs.”
To that end, in November 1968, W-26 was deactivated and all its missiles were removed.
Other sites around the country were, similarly, deactivated and closed.
The 1997 review by the historical trust was made to evaluate the historical significance of the site. Evaluators considered it a part of the nation’s Cold War defense system, but determined the site at the time lacked “integrity," and wasn’t eligible for inclusion. wwinters@capgaznews.com
Trespassers will be arrested.
The site at one time had 23 buildings. The battery contained 30 of the early Nike missiles, known as Nike Ajax, and, during 1960 and 1961, was converted to utilize 18 of the newer Nike Hercules missiles.
The Nike missiles, launched from above ground, were stored in underground “magazines,” each with an elevator pad that could lift a missile to the surface. On the surface, the missile would be pushed by soldiers along a railing to a launcher. The missile could be raised to a vertical position and — theoretically — fired at a threat aimed at Washington or Baltimore.
Today the only visible magazine is covered with rusting metal plates, and steels bars are welded across the top to prevent entry. The other two magazines were filled with dirt and a parking lot was built on top of them.
In a building adjacent to the magazine, sunlight dimly shines in, exposing broken plaster, bits of wood and filth that has fallen onto and covered the steel stairs. Rainwater has penetrated and destroyed the building’s roof. The sturdy cinderblock walls are a strong contrast to the rotting shards of roof hanging down and the rust-swathed stairs.
At the bottom of the staircase a large, dark room features two inches of water on the floor. There’s a spray painting on the wall of a line from the movie “It”: “We all float down here.”
The area where the magazine once operated sits in water, parallel steel rails border a concrete platform. On either side of the platform are submerged, narrow stairs. At the far end of the platform, a steel ladder leads to an iron-raised hatch on the surface, welded and chained shut.
In a 1997 evaluation of the site by the Maryland Historical Trust, officials wrote that “Throughout the 1960s, the Nike- Hercules remained the United States Army’s tactical missile defense system. However, Nike-Hercules eventually were rendered obsolete because they lacked the capability to destroy the long-range ICBMs.”
To that end, in November 1968, W-26 was deactivated and all its missiles were removed.
Other sites around the country were, similarly, deactivated and closed.
The 1997 review by the historical trust was made to evaluate the historical significance of the site. Evaluators considered it a part of the nation’s Cold War defense system, but determined the site at the time lacked “integrity," and wasn’t eligible for inclusion. wwinters@capgaznews.com
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