Eastside Stories is our way of sharing Eastside history through the many events, people places and interesting bits of information that we collect at the Eastside Heritage Center. We hope you enjoy these stories and share them with friends and family.
After the discovery of the atomic bomb during World War II, Washington state became a major site of nuclear production and defense. From fabricating uranium cores which fuel atomic production to the 12 bases established to protect us from a Russian nuclear attack, Washington is at the heart of the Cold War legacy. Hanford Site produced the uranium cores that were used in the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the summer of 1945. This site in the middle of the state, still houses a large amount of nuclear waste from this time period, although the last reactor was shut down back in 1987.
Here on the Eastside we have a different kind of legacy around the Cold War in our communities. Starting after Russians smuggled plans for the creation of their own bomb from the USA and had their first successful test in 1949, America started thinking about atomic defense. Fear of a nuclear holocaust became a huge concern of the public and perhaps fueled the creation and expansion of the Nike Missile Project. This led to bases in the Kenmore/Bothell area, Issaquah, and Redmond.
Named for the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, this project involved the creation of several high-speed missiles that would be able to stop aircraft and perhaps even warheads still in flight. It also created a need for several strategically placed bases which would be able to launch missiles. One of these bases was built in Redmond. Known as Nike Missile Base S-13 and S-14, the Redmond site consisted of a fire control area located two miles up a hill from the launcher in the valley below. The site was said to be located on 95th off Avondale by locals at the time of operation, but some articles say residents knew little about what went on there during its seventeen years of operation from 1957-1974.
Photo from the Sammamish Valley News shows missiles readying for launch (only a test) at the Redmond facility.
This base was a double launch site which meant it had twice the missiles of similar bases. Although originally run by the US army the base passed into National Guard hands officially in 1958. It was operated during its entire existence on a 24-hour, 365 days a year basis. Still, it seems soldiers stationed there were not overly burdened by the work.
Winning repeatedly in contests of skill around tracking and launching missiles, showing they had time to practice, they also enjoyed a fair amount of recreation. In September 2006 Bill Sunde, who was stationed at the base from 1962-64, recounted to the Redmond Recorder how being stationed at the base was the best unit he’d ever been assigned to. It seems much of the soldier’s time there was spent in leisure as he recollected multiple recreational activities as perks of the job including ping-pong, tennis, basketball, volleyball, speedboats, rowboats, fishing equipment, and water skiing.
After being decommissioned in 1974 the National Guard continued to have a base nearby at the control site on 95th Avenue NE and 172nd. The property, consisting of two sites with a collective acreage of about 40, passed into the hands of the Lake Washington School District. Although there was talk of it becoming a park as early as 1987, for many years the site was dilapidated and covered in graffiti as the base sat and rotted. One report of a visitor during this time said someone had spray painted the words “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here,” the famous inscription over the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno, over a door. It is a far cry from the words reported by William Schuize, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Aviation Editor in 1960 as being over the door, “Coles Imperamus” meaning “We Rule the Skies”.
Like all missile defense sites involved in the Nike Project, the Redmond Nike Missile Base never launched a missile defensively. Still by the time the project was conceptualized in 1952 the military was already developing an improved version. The Nike Ajax Missile was replaced by the Nike Hercules and the Nike Hercules was replaced by the Nike Zeus starting in 1960. Across America, sites were dedicated to the development of nuclear warheads, production of nuclear supplies, and storage of/defense against nuclear attack. Today, we see much of this as a fear-based response to the potential of a nuclear holocaust in which military-fueled economies thrived.
Resources
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nike-nuclear-missile-site-s1314
http://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/abandoned-nike-missile-bases-united-states.html
https://www.historylink.org/File/9711
http://choosewashingtonstate.com/research-resources/about-washington/brief-state-history/
