We recently went on a tour of a converted missile bunker near Dover, Kansas. It was the home of an Atlas E intercontinental ballistic missile with a four megaton warhead. I thought it would be good research for the post-apocalyptic series I'm writing.

The facility was constructed in the early 1960's during the Cuban Missile Crisis at a cost of $3 million. It's not what you typically visualize. It is not a vertical silo as you may have seen on TV. In this one the rocket laid horizontally, an overhead door was slid to the side, and then the rocket was raised into a vertical position and pumped full of fuel. The objective was to perform the entire launch sequence in thirty minutes. They never met the time constraint. The facility was decommissioned in 1965.

It sat empty until about 1984. According to the current owners, who have lived there since 1994, it had eight foot of water in it at the time of purchase which was for forty eight thousand dollars.  Below are a few photos I took. It was an interesting tour. The owner did mention it was for sale at an asking price of $3.2 million. If you are interested in learning more, it's also listed as Subterra online. 

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