In keeping with the spirit of our previous two flights, we sought abandoned Atlas nuclear missile silos in the area west of Burlington, Vermont and southwest of Plattsburgh, New York. We also spent time around Lake Placid, a mining town turned holiday retreat and the site of two Winter Olympic Games.
No snow or overcast skies for us! Twelve silos were built in a ring approximately twenty to forty miles from Plattsburgh: ten in New York and two across Lake Champlain in Vermont. We decided to focus on only a few locations today, specifically Silos through Site 4 was used as a residence and art gallery and is currently under restoration by a private owner. Site 5 serves as a laboratory for defense contractor Unconventional Concepts, Inc.
Site 6 appears to be vacant and, like most of the other Atlas-F silos nationwide, filled with ground water. Site 7 is owned by a local farming family that once attempted to use the facility as a brewery , and who tragically lost a family member in the process. We then descended and circled around Lake Placid, approaching the town from the north.
Incorporated in but occupied for several decades prior, Lake Placid became a fashionable resort for the wealthy and a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts. The Winter Olympic Games were held here in and returned in , making Lake Placid one of only four cities worldwide to host the Games twice. From Lake Placid we followed Highway 86 west to Lake Saranac, another mountain resort town popular with the wealthy and outdoorsy. We turned north from Saranac toward Silos and Site 8 near Redford, New York was partially rehabilitated into a private residence.
Some floors of the underground control center are habitable, and a quaint log cabin sits atop the entrance. The silo itself lies beneath a large asphalt pad that serves as the ramp for the adjoining private airstrip, known as the Adirondack Airpark NY The cabin is directly below VF in this photo.
