One of the reasons why I started this blog was because of a random comment my mother Anne once made when I was quizzing her about our family history. Asking her about her memories of Angel Island she responded, “I’ve never been on Angel Island. It wasn’t open to the public because of the missiles.” I’d grown up here and my response was, “Wait. What? There were missiles on Angel Island?” “All over San Francisco,” my mother replied. How could I have not known this?
During the Cold War, between 1953-1974, the United States Army built and operated close to 300 Nike anti-aircraft missile sites across the country. They were considered the last line of defense – ground-to-air missiles intended to protect against potential Soviet bomber planes. The San Francisco Bay Area had six: SF-59 at Fort Funston, SF-87 at Fort Cronkite in the Marin Headlands, SF-88 at Fort Barry in the Marin Headlands, SF-89 in the Presidio[A] off of Washington and Battery Caulfield Dr., and SF-91 on Angel Island[1]. Control stations were always stationed in a different place than the launch sites, and because missiles had a minimum range of two miles, many sites were grouped in pairs, such as SF-87 and SF-88, so that each could cover the other’s dead zone. Originally armed with Nike Ajax missiles with high-explosive shrapnel, modifications were made in 1958 to accommodate Nike Hercules 30K-ton nuclear missiles. None of missiles on these sites; in fact, none of missiles on any of the country’s sites, were ever deployed.
In 1974 the sites were deactivated as part of the country’s phasing out of the Nike project. An agreement between the United States and Soviet Union allowed one missile site in each country to be retained for historical purposes. SF-88 was chosen for restoration. On February 12, 1976, SF-87 and SF-88 were transferred to the National Park Service. The Golden Gate Recreation Area worked with volunteers to preserve the site and it’s history. Since 1995 there has been a museum at SF-88, open to the public on Saturdays from 12:30 – 3:30[2].
[2] Visit them at www.nps.gov or call the Marin Headlands Visitor Center at 415-331-1540
