I live in Roswell and want everyone to know that there is a great deal going on in this small town 200 miles from anywhere! We have an amazing art community, with the world renowned Roswell-artist-in-residence Program. Artists come from around the world to live for a year on this generous grant called the "gift of time". We also have two Art Museums: The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art and the Roswell Museum and Art Center. I don't think there is an alien in either one. Goggle them, you will be amazed. And because of the RAIR Foundation, we have a burgeoning community of artists who come for the grant, and end up staying in Roswell. Its more than a missile silo, quite an incredible little town.
5
I live in the area and know people who have explored the silos. As is they are dangerous to say the least. Cost of making one safe and inhabitable will be hundreds of thousands of dollars. However in New Mexico, where whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over, the water rights can be valuable.
5
I can't get beyond the idea that America has possessed weapons like an atomic bomb a hundred times more powerful than the one dropped on Nagasaki and they are placed in the total control of a passing show of incompetents and sociopaths like George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
14
Read the book Command and Control, a history of America's nuclear weapons and who had control over them. Scary.
2
@ Samsara - Can you get beyond the idea of the passing show of incompetents and sociopaths worldwide who presently have control over nuclear weapons, or is your concern only for Americans?
1
Granted that it is underground and stationary without daily pounding, the cold war era engineering seems to outlast many modern day ones with better materials and better designs, why? Over-engineering perhaps. But that suggests the weakness of the evolution of human thinking by pushing the limit to the point of cutting corner.
With the rise of companies like Apple and a reborn GM, let's hope quality engineering is back and the throw-away era is behind us
With the rise of companies like Apple and a reborn GM, let's hope quality engineering is back and the throw-away era is behind us
6
Cheer up, Bos! People have been replacing durable stuff with throw-away junk since the dawn of time. And as de Toqueville observed, Americans throw away old stuff to replace it with new, snazzier throw-away stuff. Progress!
4
Hazardous waste. Lead paint. PCB's in gaskets. Almost as bad as working on WWII era ships with asbestos. Big concern with a purchase like that. Otherwise would be pretty cool. You're underground so there may be some natural air conditioning in the summer.
13
My family's ancestral homestead in southeastern Kansas was taken for one of these missile silos. (I did have a chance to see the old farmhouse once before it was demolished.) Years later, my mother's colorful cousin, who had a friend who worked inside the missile installation, wangled an extremely unofficial tour for the two of them. (Both they and their host could probably have been shot on sight.) What I remember most about my mother's overawed description was the 10-foot-thick doors.
Supposedly, the silo was later decommissioned and destroyed and the farm sold again, but now I wonder what might still be there under the old homestead on the prairie.
Supposedly, the silo was later decommissioned and destroyed and the farm sold again, but now I wonder what might still be there under the old homestead on the prairie.
6
Today's terrorists can't hold a candle to the cold-war-era Soviets. The industry of fear was rampant in my childhood and well founded. I remember going to the State Fair of Texas and touring all the backyard bomb shelters that were on sale. Warpresident Bush's inane statement that "we used to believe that oceans protected us" could not have been less true. I never felt protected by any ocean. That's why we conducted "duck-and-cover" drills on a regular basis.
12
Admittedly the Soviets using Poland, Hungary and the Czechoslovakia as a buffer between American occupied western Europe was not a bright spot to say the least, American military adventurism in Vietnam and massive buildups around the globe did not make anyone feel too safe either. For the record, who has killed more civilians than the US since WWII? Mao in his ineptitude? Without doubt. Pol Pot can't match it. Therefore, I would sudmit that "Today's terrorists" can't hold a candle to the United States and its proxies.
7
Observer: "occupied" is classified as such by people living there. Go ask people from Western Europe whether they think they were "occupied" by Americans. Then go and repeat the same question in Eastern Europe, just change "Americans" to "Soviets". Then report here the answers you get.
11
Who was actually telling you to be afraid, though - the Soviets, across an ocean, or the authority figures around you in your day to day life?
11
As a high school kid in Roswell, we would explore these silos late on weekend nights, always after a few drinks. In hindsight, quite dangerous, as they are filled with rickety railings and staircases. Some, but not I, would venture to the very bottom of the silo. May my children make better decisions than I did.
33
Unless you are Christopher Walken in the movie Blast from the Past, I can't imagine the inside of these silos having a lot of feng shui.
5
Wow....Just $3M for 1800 sq.foot condo silos........must be the spectacular views........
6
That's about $45 million less than Manhattan.
13
Ryan: Yep....certainly makes me have 2nd thoughts about my own silo/basement apartment on 30th street.
6
Good ole Roswell.
I was there at Walker AFB in ’65 and beginning of ’66 as it was about to be closed – got reassigned out before the place really began emptying. I was never assigned anywhere I disliked nor was there anywhere for which I don’t hold some fond memories – but let’s face it – that section of far Southeastern New Mexico and far west West Texas requires a special eye for the beauty in things.
Thank goodness there are some special people have that particular eye – not sure why any of them – if they appreciate it - would want to live under it.
I was there at Walker AFB in ’65 and beginning of ’66 as it was about to be closed – got reassigned out before the place really began emptying. I was never assigned anywhere I disliked nor was there anywhere for which I don’t hold some fond memories – but let’s face it – that section of far Southeastern New Mexico and far west West Texas requires a special eye for the beauty in things.
Thank goodness there are some special people have that particular eye – not sure why any of them – if they appreciate it - would want to live under it.
13
Kinda like China Lake Naval Weapons Center... the couple of weeks in the spring when the desert blooms are spectacular and the electrical storms breathtaking! But it's not for everybody, is anyplace?
4
A multi-story mushroom farm. Lack of light is just what the spores want. Of course one would want accurate geiger counter readings first.
19
The perfect 2nd home for some wealthy survivalist fanatic. Cover that concrete doorway with sage brush, and you will be all set for World War III.
9
Curb-side appeal for those seeking modernist minimalism and post-apocalyptic charm. Claustrophobics, however, should just drive on.
But if you’re in the market, the place is probably crawling with asbestos, so be ready to pay for an abatement.
Check for Radon emissions…and for Plutonium emissions (half-life, 80 million years) and for Uranium-238 emissions (half-life, 4.47 billion years). The Earth was formed, tops, 5 billion years ago, so if you find Uranium-238, hold off on the purchase, and wait for the next Earth.
And although the real estate agent says, “You don’t see one crack anywhere”, due diligence would require that you in fact check for cracks, or at least for a working sump pump. Otherwise, even though it's the desert, bring an inflatable raft, a water-proof flashlight, and scuba gear.
But if you’re in the market, the place is probably crawling with asbestos, so be ready to pay for an abatement.
Check for Radon emissions…and for Plutonium emissions (half-life, 80 million years) and for Uranium-238 emissions (half-life, 4.47 billion years). The Earth was formed, tops, 5 billion years ago, so if you find Uranium-238, hold off on the purchase, and wait for the next Earth.
And although the real estate agent says, “You don’t see one crack anywhere”, due diligence would require that you in fact check for cracks, or at least for a working sump pump. Otherwise, even though it's the desert, bring an inflatable raft, a water-proof flashlight, and scuba gear.
28
All the best silos were built later and then blown up so that Russia could verify they were destroyed. Many of these were less remotely sited in places like Cochise County, Arizona which made them much easier to maintain. I'm sure they would have fetched a pretty penny if we had not packed them with Ammonium Nitrate and blew the tops off. (But it was quite an economic benefit to the local community. You know digging a whole and then filling it up.)
9
Isn't there one just outside of Benson, on I-10, that's open to the public as a museum? Used to pass it (when it was active) on way to Fort Huachuca in the 70s.
2
You are probably thinking of the Titan Missile Museum, in Sahuarita, Arizona, which is just south of Tucson. It is open to the public and offers guided tours.
3
jimB,
Ellen is correct. I probably left out the salient fact that I was a manager at the explosives plant that manufactured some of the explosives used to 'decommission' all but one of the Titan missile silos. My drive to work went past several on a twice daily basis both before and after the decommissioning.
Ellen is correct. I probably left out the salient fact that I was a manager at the explosives plant that manufactured some of the explosives used to 'decommission' all but one of the Titan missile silos. My drive to work went past several on a twice daily basis both before and after the decommissioning.
2
Curious, what was the original cost to the US taxpayer? $250,000 was probably what it cost to build the door and first eleven steps down..
19
Seventy-two Atlas F silos were built in seven states between March 1960 and May 1962. The average cost per silo, not including the missiles or the 4.5 megaton warheads, was about $40 million (in today's dollars).
17
My 1st job after high school graduation was with General Dynamics Corp. (yeah we mostly used the initials) which had the contract to build the launch sites. One summer of that, in Roswell, was enough to convince me I should follow through on my plans for college! Since my job involved delivering equipment and supplies to all the sites, I am certain I've been there. At the time it was difficult to distinguish one from another. Can't imagine that's changed much.
5
Though not as Egyptian-Monumental as silos, around here we have many Nike sites. One in Westport - yes, that Westport - was adorned with a high concrete platform to raise the radar unit above treeline, or nearly so. This was turned into a novel, stable, and successful telescope mount for amateur astronomers, although the quality of the night sky near NYC is pretty bad. Irony is that out in Roswell, the seeing is good, but a deep hole in the ground doesn't help at all.
3
OK so what's the square footage?
6
It's not square. It's round!
8
A place like that, you speak of volume rather than area.
1
The U.S. government threw a bunch of nuclear protesters in jail for dumping pig blood on nuclear sites. Then the government dumped the sites. Go figure.
6
@ Mark Shyres - Thousands were arrested for selling alcohol then the government dumped the law against selling alcohol, what's to figure?
Oddly, there are a number of reactions to the original K. Henderson post, but it appears to have been removed?
Meanwhile, you can get the flavor, if you have time to waste, by looking at all the other people who reacted and his reactions to them.
Quite an empty nest!
Meanwhile, you can get the flavor, if you have time to waste, by looking at all the other people who reacted and his reactions to them.
Quite an empty nest!
2
Probably still much better value than an apartment unit in Manhattan.
3
What do you know about Manhattan?
4
in this context I presume the writer refers to the secret project to build the A-bomb.
1
Gee, I've been looking for one of these for years as a real estate investment! I wouldn't be putting myself in a deeper hole than the banking industry put many of us in, in 2007!
20
*chuckles*
2
i once ventured into a bunker near saranac lake ny. the doors to the silos were held up by iron grates welded into place and the silo was mostly filled with water. you could enter into one of the control rooms and see the metal stairs descend into the water. the place was trashed completely. an interesting feature was the escape chute which looked like a giant funnel filled with sand with a mechanism for the crew to dump the sand and get out to the surface. it was all kind of spooky.
4
I... well, okay, I'll just throw it out there. I want it. I kinda really want it. If only I had no family, friends, responsibility, desire to be around people, love for open air and sunlight, fear of the mole people (*shudders*), and an enduring belief that the surface world will likely keep on spinning unexploded for a good long while... I'd totally go halfsies on it with someone. Just imagine how much space it must have inside if one of these can grow enough hydroponic food to feed 70 people! The possibilities are endless!
8
Me too. But maybe just long enough to have it cleaned (don't look at me) and throw a destination UFO party.
5
Yeah, just think about the parties. When you have an entire LAIR to work with, the holidays become fun. Given the location, there's the UFO party. But there's also evil villain parties, mad scientist parties, Mars base parties, zombies-took-over-the-secret-lab parties, etc.
If you decide to buy it, invite me! I'll do the same for you if I go temporarily insane and do the same.
If you decide to buy it, invite me! I'll do the same for you if I go temporarily insane and do the same.
3
I remember, at least 30 years ago, that an enterprising entrepreneur in Texas bought one or more of these as storage for toxic wastes, especially metallic ones, intending that they become, once prices rose, future mines. Wonder if that worked out?
5
A hay fever sufferer's dream.
4
Not too sure about that. When I lived in Texas it was the allergy capital despite the sere landscape. Something to do with winds off the Great Plains. Friends who had never suffered, began to. West Texas near NM is a really otherworldly environment.
They also wound up getting divorced in great numbers, but that's a different kind of pollen.
They also wound up getting divorced in great numbers, but that's a different kind of pollen.
4
I always thought of West Texas as the same as Southeast New Mexico, only emptier.
4
The perfect solution for someone who, to paraphrase Marlena Dietrich, "vants to be alone!"
5
Sorry, wrong. it was Greta Garbo. Marlena was never alone - althoughi would not have minded being alone with either, or both.
4
Greta Garbo, not Dietrich
2
Believe that was Garbo.
Last time i was in Roswell the saying went as, "what do you do in Rosewell? Get out of the wind and drink." An over priced property, but at least it's out of the wind.
9
No offense, but we have several missile silos turned residences that serviced the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Northern NY. One owner, an Australian, invited former military and civilian crewmen back for a reunion last summer. And, our not-so-great local paper provided much better photos of the silo interior than the Times did.
40
Zefram Cochrane should buy the place. He can make First Contact and I'm sure the price of real estate in the area would sky rocket!
15
His came with the missile, and there was something about a third world war and barbaric mutant dictators as I recall.
Interesting story, but don't you think it's one that could have used a few more pictures? The first of the man going into the entrance is kind of interesting, and gives us a good sense of place. But the second could be in just about any abandoned building. Why not include something that's more evocative of the structure's former use? Like, I don't know, one of the actual space where the missile was kept?
135
Go to the real estate listing mentioned in the article....plenty of pictures provided
2
Yes if they really wish to sell a lot of photos and diagrams would be required as it is a major trip and people need to be enticed. Maybe the realtor has them?
Or a floor plan? :)
Funny article. I wonder if the silo is connected to utilities...
2
If there is an apocalypse, I'd rather not survive, much less be stuck underground for the rest of my life. But, to each their own.
12
If you haven't already read Wool, by Hugh Howey, it would reinforce your stated preference.
1
A more pressing concern should be addressing homelessness, or lack of affordable housing, than availability of fortress-grade homes.
1
Perhaps if we were talking about a government plan to build "fortress-grade homes." However, I don't know if you caught that the article was about a former government facility, that's been in private hands for several decades now, being sold to another private buyer. If private parties want to spend their money on such things, that's their prerogative (or folly, depending upon how you view it). Also, do please note that the various taxes and fees said parties pay upon the sales and ownership of said property make up a sizable part of the revenue used to do things like address homelessness.
15
Hi John Q. Eqq.,
I was referring to the transformation of a silo into luxury survival condos. Sure, individuals have the agency of their own money, but an impulse towards such feels wrong to me on several levels. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Best regards.
I was referring to the transformation of a silo into luxury survival condos. Sure, individuals have the agency of their own money, but an impulse towards such feels wrong to me on several levels. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Best regards.
2
K Henderson, it is only perceived to as a "truly inhospitable desert" to people from NYC. This Cold War relic could be the next locale of Burning Man Southwest.
3
H, yes it would be a great locale for a big one-off party but fyi bring plenty of potable water along too.
Teens, vandals & scavengers accessing a large U.S. Government facility, regardless if it had been decommissioned, doesn't strike me as responsible management.
9
It's not a US government facility, it's private property.
4
The site was decommissioned decades ago; there have been multiple owners since then...now it's just another empty structure, albeit a very unique one.
4
Don't tell me that ... DOD built it ... then trashed it ...I am not impressed ... as US cities and counties suffer from urban sprawl, we allow development to occur and properties are left with "improvements" less than environmentally/socially friendly. It should stop. Owners and developers must be responsible for their efforts; these properties must be reclaimed to protect all. Hey, Tom, tell me what you know about Superfund activities.
i have had several strange things happen to/around me in new mexico.
1
The government could have used these silos to throw away a huge amount of useless junk that it stores in government buildings; thereby freeing that space for more constructive uses, and reducing government costs in rental and construction, elsewhere.
3
A few years ago, the French government sold off some of the left over bunkers in the Maginot line. They were advertized as ideal for a second home in the eastern provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.
2
Roswell would not be an ideal second home location.
14
Single nuclear family home?
106
This is an Atlas-F missile silo. I crewed one as a launch control officer for nearly five years from construction through de-activation. The installation was not meant to house 75 people but only five launch crew members and two guards. There were only enough rations on hand to feed 7 people for 10 days following a nuclear attack. These facilities were de-commissioned because Minuteman took over the mission and they could be launched from their silos without raising them to the surface as was the case with the Atlas.
32
I love the empty Budweiser can in the second photo.
3
Buyers with actual cash would be more interested if it were not in the middle of a vast and truly inhospitable desert.
15
I grew up in the middle of that desert and I endorse this statement.
19
Mr Henderson, but the extraterrestrials apparently loved it.
If I drive some 20 minutes 'down the mountain', I wind up in the Mojave desert that looks exactly the same as this place minus missile silos. Marijuana is being grown here as well but some 2000 feet 'up to mountain'.
If I drive some 20 minutes 'down the mountain', I wind up in the Mojave desert that looks exactly the same as this place minus missile silos. Marijuana is being grown here as well but some 2000 feet 'up to mountain'.
1
You got that right!