Chicagoland Nike Missile Sites
Sort of on subject.
Way back in the mid 70's, I was a member of the newly formed Illinois ESDA (Emergency Services and Disaster agency), the new name for Civil Defense. The SW Chicago suburb of Orland Park, where I lived had bought a Nike Missile site (C-54) that had sat abandoned for years by the military. If I remember correctly, the underground site had flooded with about 10 foot of water due to the lack of electricity and sump pumps.
We spent months with portable pumps pumping out the site and drying out the interior. I was young and a new electrician apprentice and volunteered to help with the generators and hydraulic pumps for the huge elevator that raised and lowered the missiles. It was a kick to see the hydraulic doors open and the elevator rise to the surface.
I also remember that the silo had a gas toilet that burned the waste whenever you closed the lid. It was always scary to hear and you hoped that the seat interlock was in working shape before you plopped down on it. But you were assured of a warm seat. As a side note, I also worked for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as an electrician at the time and remember that there were gas toilets in some ticket agent booths along the Dan Ryan Rapid Transit line.
After the missile site was dried out, we began to make it an EOC for ESDA and the City of Orland Park. Southwest Suburban Orland Park was right in the heart of tornado alley and having an underground EOC site was quite a novelty at the time. We used to have bragging rites to the missile site whenever we attended a Chicagoland ESDA meeting.
I actually remember attending one of the first Chicagoland tornado conferences in west suburban Batavia hosted by a young and upcoming Chicago Weatherman Tom Skilling in the late 70's.
It is good to see that all of our efforts have been put to good use, however, the following article was written in 1991 and I am unsure as to the site's status today. Darn but I must be getting old.
Deadly Missiles Are Giving Way To Green Pastures - Chicago Tribune
Missile Sites
Sort of on subject.
Way back in the mid 70's, I was a member of the newly formed Illinois ESDA (Emergency Services and Disaster agency), the new name for Civil Defense. The SW Chicago suburb of Orland Park, where I lived had bought a Nike Missile site (C-54) that had sat abandoned for years by the military. If I remember correctly, the underground site had flooded with about 10 foot of water due to the lack of electricity and sump pumps.
We spent months with portable pumps pumping out the site and drying out the interior. I was young and a new electrician apprentice and volunteered to help with the generators and hydraulic pumps for the huge elevator that raised and lowered the missiles. It was a kick to see the hydraulic doors open and the elevator rise to the surface.
I also remember that the silo had a gas toilet that burned the waste whenever you closed the lid. It was always scary to hear and you hoped that the seat interlock was in working shape before you plopped down on it. But you were assured of a warm seat. As a side note, I also worked for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as an electrician at the time and remember that there were gas toilets in some ticket agent booths along the Dan Ryan Rapid Transit line.
After the missile site was dried out, we began to make it an EOC for ESDA and the City of Orland Park. Southwest Suburban Orland Park was right in the heart of tornado alley and having an underground EOC site was quite a novelty at the time. We used to have bragging rites to the missile site whenever we attended a Chicagoland ESDA meeting.
I actually remember attending one of the first Chicagoland tornado conferences in west suburban Batavia hosted by a young and upcoming Chicago Weatherman Tom Skilling in the late 70's.
It is good to see that all of our efforts have been put to good use, however, the following article was written in 1991 and I am unsure as to the site's status today. Darn but I must be getting old.
Deadly Missiles Are Giving Way To Green Pastures - Chicago Tribune
Missile Sites
