The abandoned Nike Nuclear Missile launch site in Redmond, Washington is a former military base established in 1957. The aim of the construction was to protect the U.S.A during the cold war with the Soviet Union. The base was later abandoned after 17 years of operations. It was permanently decommissioned and is currently decaying in despair.

Obsolete Nike Missile Site

Washington state developed extensive fortifications against enemy bomber assaults during the Cold War. These included the supersonic Nike missile system, Spokane or Fairchild Air Force Base, and the Hanford nuclear complex. In 1956, the first-generation Nike Ajax went into service. Nike Ajax missile stations were closed due to the deployment of upgraded Nike Hercules missiles with nuclear warheads and a longer range. The Nike Hercules was built to use existing Ajax launch facilities. In the 1970s, a reevaluation of the danger resulted in the closure of the Nike sites. The former Washington missile bases have been turned into parks, military installations, and private ownership after sitting idle for a period of years.

End of the cold war

Many Nike missile positions in Washington lasted about four to five years. The Nike Hercules was in service for a longer period of time, until 1974. Following closure, the properties sat abandoned for years, being vandalized and deteriorating. Rainwater inundated the subterranean missile magazines. Finally, the sites found new applications. Today, though, nothing remains to remind us of how these powerful Cold War fortifications guarded the region. There are no functioning launch facilities. Only a few structures at the control and launch sites have survived. A conserved Nike Missile launch site in San Francisco's Golden Gate National Recreation Area may be visited to learn more about how the system functioned.

Nike Park

The Lake Washington School District now owns the land; however, it is mostly deserted. The main portion of the enormous, tree-spotted property is derelict, cluttered with rubbish, and covered with moss and vines, while small areas of the site have recently been turned into the "Nike Park." During the mid-twentieth century, the Seattle region had over a dozen of these missile launchers as a preventative point of attack against Russian missiles and airplanes.  They maintained nuclear-tipped missiles ready for deployment, with some already in firing position. As military technology and tactics advanced, the Redmond station, like many others, was decommissioned in the mid-1970s. The historic site today attracts just a few visitors, who are generally graffiti artists or curious explorers who come to witness the spray-painted phrases engraved on decaying pillars and obsolete circuit boards among random wreckage. The location is available to the general public at any time as long as they follow the management's restrictions.