Souvenirs from Nike Missile Control Site LA-96
Buried in the mountains off Mulholland Drive is the Cold War relic, Nike Missile Control Site LA-96. The base is one of many missile defense sites built by the United States Army in the 1950s and 1960s. They were designed to protect against a Soviet nuclear attack, and were the first nationwide air defense system in the United States. The sites were part of a complex system responsible for tracking targets, communicating with the missile batteries, and launching missiles from a separate location.
The Soviet’s development of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the late 1960’s would render the Nike project obsolete. These new projectiles flew too fast and high for the Nike sites to track. These stations were slowly decommissioned throughout the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Today, many of the Nike Missile Control Sites have been abandoned or converted to other uses. However, some of the sites have been preserved as historical monuments and serve as a stark reminder of a time when the US was on the brink of nuclear war.
The trail leading to the remains is quiet. I can’t see anything past the morning haze but I still feel like the mountains could swallow me whole. Birds echo throughout the canyon. Cyclists come and go. As you near the end of the trail, a radar tower peaks from behind the mountain. The dull metal clashes against the trees and brush. Many of the structures remain while most of the internals have been scrapped. Weeds slowly climb onto the decaying outpost. You can walk the observation deck and imagine what it was like to be garrisoned here. On a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean and downtown LA.
It’s hard to fathom the massive amounts of firepower the world currently possesses. It’s hard not to get a little anxious when I think about the concept of mutually assured destruction. It’s frustrating to know the fate of the world may lie in the hands of a select few. I hate that we’ll kill ourselves before we admit defeat. All I can do is remember that we made it this far. We’re still breathing. We can still try to get along. We can endeavor to help one another. I want to do better.
“Tragically ironic, isn’t it? How nuclear weapons represent both our species’ mastery over the very foundations of nature, as well as our utter inability to master our most primitive instincts.”
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https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/curious-coast/copy_of_whats-the-history-of-the-nike-missile-base-on-mulholland
https://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi08.php
May 20, 2023
