A missile silo during the Cold War is now a popular, and high-rated, short-term vacation rental near Roswell, New Mexico.
But it doesn’t come cheap at $600 a night — but only if you can actually score a night since it’s usually fully booked, according to Airbnb.
“The Missile Base / Bunker property with its underground Launch Control Center and a Utility Tunnel that leads to the 186 ft deep Missile Silo, with much of its original floors still intact. Learn what it took to operate one of these amazing sites, the listing on Airbnb says.
The silo was a part of the Atlas missile system project in the early 1960s and the sites were active until 1965.
“Because of the emergence of space and missile technology during the mid and late 1950’s, the Atlas project eventually became the number one priority in the entire country as it attained ’national priority’ status,” AtlasMissileSilo.com said. “This made the Atlas program the single most important project in the United States at that time and no expense was spared in getting the system deployed and operational.”
According to KRQE, each silo cost $22 million to build and there are 72 around the country, 12 of which are around the Roswell area.
“It held an intercontinental ballistic missile with a 4-megaton warhead on her,” silo owner Gary Baker said to KRQE. “It took barely two and half years to build them and two years to operate them.”
Baker owns two of the silos, which he purchased for $55,000 25 years ago, KRQE reported.
The one that is now a sought-after vacation rental has a 4.98 rating and a plethora of top-notch reviews from those who have stayed in the bunker.
“This is like nothing you will ever experience anywhere else,” one review said. “Gary and his wife are so accommodating and the guest quarters are so comfortable. If you can get an opening, take it!! We will be going back. Just an amazing adventure and history lesson!!”
“Don’t think, just book,” another said. “Yes, Roswell is a small town; but it does have some truly unique experiences. The crown jewel being Gary and his missile silo. What an incredible experience. The space is indescribable; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“The silo was an amazing view into historical military engineering,” one person said. “Gary’s place gives you the opportunity to stay in a very unique setting steeped in the past, and his knowledge on the subject is unsurpassed. Would definitely recommend.”
Guests have their private apartment “with numerous books and displays showing the early days of our Missile Heritage as well as a complete living suite,” the listing says. Owners also live on site on the lower level.
While a tad on the uncommon side, missile silos-turned-Airbnbs are not completely rare. A short term vacation rental in Vilonia, Arkansas was not only used to house a nuclear missile named Titan II, but it’s now also a luxury Airbnb, McClatchy News reported.
___
© 2021 The Charlotte Observer
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
