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's Chris Johansson. I live in San Francisco, California. Chris had 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 eluded 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.

Support for Bay Curious comes from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where pure ingredients and

sustainable brewing meet a legacy of craft. Share one with a friend today and taste for yourself.

Sierra Nevada, taste what matters. Please drink responsibly.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were missiles based all over the Bay Area, not just in the

Marin Headlands.

There were batteries in Pacifica, Fremont, and San Rafael, to name a few.

They were a last line of defense against an air attack during the Cold War.

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