Ddays
Hooked
Funny how much history surrounds you and is in a lot of cases hiding in plain site. During the height of the Cold War 50's and 60's, a lot of the "strategically significant" areas in the country were guarded over by Nike missile sites. They housed Nike missiles and were there to guard against a Soviet bomber run over those cities. Pittsburgh was one of these areas because of the steel industry during that time. There was a ring of these large sites surrounding the city and were usually located in rural areas but were out in plain view. Everyone knew what they were back then but over the years they were largely forgotten. I have driven past this particular site I don't know how many times and the radar dome is visible from most of the hilltops in the area and from the road that passes by it. The name of the road is actually Nike Site Rd, but no one really pays any attention to it or connects the connotation of the name to what the site actually is.
I passed by the site again today in Oakdale Pa, and this time I decided to stop and take some photos. As I drove up the road past the open gate I was kind of surprised that there were no no trespassing signs. I parked in the open lot and started taking some photos. The radar dome is obvious but I am not sure what the circular buildings are.
There was a no trespassing sign on the fence surrounding the compound but no way in hell would I ever consider trying to go through it.
I took a couple other pics and was getting ready to move my Jeep and take a bunch more photos when I noticed a guy get in a Grand Cherokee and come flying down the hill: Uh-oh!
So the guy drives over and stops in front of me and asks very politely "Why are you taking pictures of a Federal Installation?" Oh shit. I explained that I was interested in the history of the area and the site and honestly
had no idea anyone was ever here. So he informed me very nicely, that, yes, this site is maintained by the Federal Govt (ie: military) and that I should perhaps refrain from taking any more photos and it'd probably be a good idea
to leave now. And by the way, it would probably be best that I didn't come back. The guy was really courteous and I gladly left with the photos I was able to take without incident. Looking back I wonder if maybe he was the "good cop" and
somewhere very nearby there was a "bad cop" ready to offer assistance? IDK, but I'm not gonna go back and find out.
After leaving I found a couple sites on the ol' interwebs and found this from 'Ed Thelens Nike Missile Site':
It is the most-intact of all the former air-defense radar stations in the Lower 48 of the Cold War era. All but one of the original radar towers are still standing. And one radar there is still in use today.
... Oakdale had additional significance with respect to the usual, garden-variety radar site. That is, it was a joint-use radar station for three government agencies: the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the FAA.
For the U.S. Air Force, the Oakdale radar site was one part of its Air Defense Command's nationwide coverage. The attending 662nd Radar Squadron actually began service at Brooksfield AFS in eastern Ohio; the squadron was relocated to Oakdale in the early 1960s specifically to maintain and operate the radars for the Army's Nike "Missile Master" command & control facility there. The Air Force's own Operations building and a few others are still in place.
For the U.S. Army, the Oakdale radar site was the eyes and ears of the Pittsburgh Defense Area. The radars there at Oakdale provided the long-range radar detection for the Nike missile batteries around Pittsburgh. The aforementioned Army's Nike "Missile Master" command & control center is still intact (only ten such MM facilities were ever built, and only about half are still extant today).
For the FAA, the Oakdale radar site was (and still is) one of many long-range air-route surveillance radar sites all across the country. From day one, the FAA maintained and operated the search radar at Oakdale (first their own ARSR-1 model, then later the Air Force's AN/FPS-24 model plus a backup AN/FPS-20 model on the next hill). (The Air Force maintained all the height-finder radars.)
These are what the Nike Missiles looked like
Pretty cool experience all in all. Sorry I wasn't able to add any more photos because the rest of the site is really cool. Hope everyone enjoys. Probably worth a search or two to see if any of these sites are near your area. Here is a link to the Wikipedia list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nike_missile_sites
I passed by the site again today in Oakdale Pa, and this time I decided to stop and take some photos. As I drove up the road past the open gate I was kind of surprised that there were no no trespassing signs. I parked in the open lot and started taking some photos. The radar dome is obvious but I am not sure what the circular buildings are.
There was a no trespassing sign on the fence surrounding the compound but no way in hell would I ever consider trying to go through it.
I took a couple other pics and was getting ready to move my Jeep and take a bunch more photos when I noticed a guy get in a Grand Cherokee and come flying down the hill: Uh-oh!
So the guy drives over and stops in front of me and asks very politely "Why are you taking pictures of a Federal Installation?" Oh shit. I explained that I was interested in the history of the area and the site and honestly
had no idea anyone was ever here. So he informed me very nicely, that, yes, this site is maintained by the Federal Govt (ie: military) and that I should perhaps refrain from taking any more photos and it'd probably be a good idea
to leave now. And by the way, it would probably be best that I didn't come back. The guy was really courteous and I gladly left with the photos I was able to take without incident. Looking back I wonder if maybe he was the "good cop" and
somewhere very nearby there was a "bad cop" ready to offer assistance? IDK, but I'm not gonna go back and find out.
After leaving I found a couple sites on the ol' interwebs and found this from 'Ed Thelens Nike Missile Site':
It is the most-intact of all the former air-defense radar stations in the Lower 48 of the Cold War era. All but one of the original radar towers are still standing. And one radar there is still in use today.
... Oakdale had additional significance with respect to the usual, garden-variety radar site. That is, it was a joint-use radar station for three government agencies: the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the FAA.
For the U.S. Air Force, the Oakdale radar site was one part of its Air Defense Command's nationwide coverage. The attending 662nd Radar Squadron actually began service at Brooksfield AFS in eastern Ohio; the squadron was relocated to Oakdale in the early 1960s specifically to maintain and operate the radars for the Army's Nike "Missile Master" command & control facility there. The Air Force's own Operations building and a few others are still in place.
For the U.S. Army, the Oakdale radar site was the eyes and ears of the Pittsburgh Defense Area. The radars there at Oakdale provided the long-range radar detection for the Nike missile batteries around Pittsburgh. The aforementioned Army's Nike "Missile Master" command & control center is still intact (only ten such MM facilities were ever built, and only about half are still extant today).
For the FAA, the Oakdale radar site was (and still is) one of many long-range air-route surveillance radar sites all across the country. From day one, the FAA maintained and operated the search radar at Oakdale (first their own ARSR-1 model, then later the Air Force's AN/FPS-24 model plus a backup AN/FPS-20 model on the next hill). (The Air Force maintained all the height-finder radars.)
These are what the Nike Missiles looked like
Pretty cool experience all in all. Sorry I wasn't able to add any more photos because the rest of the site is really cool. Hope everyone enjoys. Probably worth a search or two to see if any of these sites are near your area. Here is a link to the Wikipedia list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nike_missile_sites
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