Nike Missiles and Lorton Prisoners-Not Your Usual Cell Mates

Thanks for the history lesson.  I have driven by the Nike site that is located in Great Falls, Va but have never had the chance to stop and read the marker.

I am glad to see how the Lorton area has improved over the years by the pictures I have seen since the shutdown of the prisons on both sides of Rt 123.  I always used to go by that area to stop in at Burke Lake Park to do some golfing.

Now that I didn't know. I knew a lot about the sub-terra real estate in and around the DC area, but that fact about Lorton prison is one to add to the Nike missile stories. I had first discovered these bases from an old ADC Map Book... several really maps. Montgomery, P.G. and Northern VA books from the late 60's. They are a hoot when you look at them today and see where urban sprawl has taken us.

Back then these bases where no longer much of a secret if they ever were. They surround DC like satellites. Their locations were clearly marked and noted in the ADC maps. Looking at these old maps today you can also see something which seems like a great idea now,... an outline for a proposed "Outer Beltway".

Of course the beltway was a toddler back then. A mere two lanes in either direction if you can imagine (or remember), yet deemed a "Super Highway" of the day. I remember my folks telling me that when the Beltway opened, people would take joyrides around the entire loop. It was the happening thing to do, and they would likely make a day of it by driving into a Hot Shoppes for the lunch the car hops would hang on the car door, then perhaps head to the Drive-In Theater for a triple feature. Gas was cheap (like 26 cents a gallon) and central AC was a luxury.

Gosh I feel old.  :(

Interesting Fact: Not all of these bases went entirely away. Some are active underground installations. And if you know where to look, you can even see them from Google Earth. And since I have a busy day and no time to waste with the MIB, we'll end this here.  ;)

LOL - Yeah Cindy. We date ourselves huh. Well, I've got a little ways to go before joining the AARP, but I remember when the stretch of 355 between Rockville & Gaithersburg was nothing but corn fields and dairy farms. And if you blinked you'd fly right through Gaithersburg altogether!

But hey, TV shows back then didn't say (In HD Where Available) at the bottom of the title credits. Instead they would say (In COLOR).

:)

Ughh!  An AARP application just arrived! Don't they know I'm only 29?   ;)

I just interviewd the "go-to" people in the missile base niche on my podcast. Check it out at www.TheNicheAgent.com/episode15 and let me know what you think!