SF-88
Encyclopedia
SF-88 is a former Nike Missile
launch site at Fort Barry, in the Marin Headlands
to the north of San Francisco, California
, U.S. Opened in 1954, the site was intended to protect the population and military installations of the San Francisco Bay Area
during the Cold War
, specifically from attack by Soviet
bomber aircraft. The site was originally armed with Nike Ajax missiles, and modifications were made to the site in 1958 to allow it to also be armed with Nike Hercules missiles. In 1974, SF-88 was closed, but was not demolished. It is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
and is open to visitors. Normal visiting days are Wednesday-Friday, but a special tour with veterans of the base is available the first Saturday of each month. Restoration work to the site is done on remaining Saturdays by volunteers.
Project Nike
Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953...
launch site at Fort Barry, in the Marin Headlands
Marin Headlands
The Marin Headlands is a hilly area at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Headlands are located just north of San Francisco, immediately across the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
to the north of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, U.S. Opened in 1954, the site was intended to protect the population and military installations of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, specifically from attack by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
bomber aircraft. The site was originally armed with Nike Ajax missiles, and modifications were made to the site in 1958 to allow it to also be armed with Nike Hercules missiles. In 1974, SF-88 was closed, but was not demolished. It is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with over 13 million visitors a year...
and is open to visitors. Normal visiting days are Wednesday-Friday, but a special tour with veterans of the base is available the first Saturday of each month. Restoration work to the site is done on remaining Saturdays by volunteers.