Forty-five years after it was shuttered, a former Cold War missile base is set to be auctioned to the highest bidder in Hecker, Illinois.
The historic Nike Missile launch site was once intended to guard the central U.S. against a possible nuclear strike. The 14-acre property is surrounded by a gated fence and is about 15 miles southeast of St. Louis.
The missiles are long gone. The property includes three underground concrete bunkers with operational elevator pads; a shop, a pump house and a generator building.
“In other parts of the United States, developers have converted the deactivated missile sites into luxury homes or portions of their interiors into swimming pools,” Mark Stuart of the Career Center of Southern Illinois told our sister station KTVI. Career Center of Southern Illinois currently owns the site.
The opening bid was set for $70,000. The auction was planned for July 12, 2014.
