From K-QED. It can be easy to forget that the Bay Area has a long military history.

Take the Presidio. It's the oldest military installation in the American West.

Alcatraz, it started as a military prison.

In Vallejo, we built nuclear submarines on Mare Island,

and all along our hilltops we once had missiles.

The Department of Defense lifts the curtain of secrecy on the Army's

deadly new guided missile, the Nike, named for the Greek goddess of victory.

One of our bay curious listeners had heard about these weapons.

My name is Chris Johanson.

I live in San Francisco, California.

Chris had been by the Nike missile site in the Marin Headlands.

It's a museum now.

I had done some reading and it was always my impression that the

site had the ability to be equipped with nuclear missiles. But one thing had always alluded

him. But I wasn't sure if they ever actually had nuclear missiles in the

headlands themselves. The short answer, oh yeah there were missiles and yes they

were armed with nuclear warheads.

This episode first aired in June of 2019, but many of us have been doing more exploring outside lately,

and folks are wondering about these old military installations.

I'm Katrina Schwartz, this is Bay Curious.

Today we're going underground at one of the Bay Area's Nike missile sites. is brought to you by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, still family owned, operated, and argued over.

Explore their brews wherever fine beverages are sold

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