Places near me Random place
All the United States Illinois Chicago Nike Missile Site C-44
AO Edited

Nike Missile Site C-44

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

Chicago, Illinois

AFish profile photo
Added By
AFish
A monument to the site stands near the entrance to the recreation area.   AFish / Atlas Obscura User
  Mitch Lang / Atlas Obscura User
A panorama of the main missile site.   AFish / Atlas Obscura User
Old access road from the back of the site.   AFish / Atlas Obscura User
Nike Missle site C-44   AFish / Atlas Obscura User
Nike Missle site C-44   AFish / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

From 1958 to 1972, the Department of Defense deployed a contingent of surface-to-air missiles intended to shoot down any incoming nuclear missiles aimed at United States cities. 

This program, known as Project Nike, was the first operational American anti-aircraft system. The missiles were decommissioned in 1974 as the Cold War came to an end, but remnants remain all around the country to this day. A few, such as site C-44 in southeastern Chicago can still be visited. 

Nike missile site C-44 was part of the Chicago-Gary Defense Area, which included about 20 bases around the Chicagoland area. Other bases were located at Fort Sheridan, Porter, Indiana, even in the middle of Jackson Park. 

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Know Before You Go

To reach the site, drive to William W. Powers State Recreation Area in southeast Chicago. Next, turn left on Wolf Lake Drive and follow it all the way back to where the road forks. The road to the site is down the road to the left. 

You can either park on the side of the road here, or you can continue down to the right and park in the parking lot, then walk back to the split and continue. 

Community Contributors

AFish profile photo

Added By

AFish

Mitch Lang profile photo slgwv profile photo msk512 profile photo

Edited By

Mitch Lang, slgwv, msk512

Published

August 19, 2021

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources

Related Tags

Missiles Cold War History & Culture

Nearby Places

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Chicago

Chicago

Illinois

Places 165
Stories 55

Related Places

  • Nike Site Summit with downtown Anchorage in the distance

    Anchorage, Alaska

    Nike Site Summit

    Tour a Cold War-era U.S. military missile launch site in Anchorage.

  • The first bunker you'll discover, they only get better.

    Wasilla, Alaska

    Goose Bay (Knik Arm) Nike Site

    Cold War missile site at high alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, now a post-apocalyptic backdrop.

  • RAF Harrington

    Harrington, England

    RAF Harrington

    The Cold War remnants of a nuclear missile launch site in the Northamptonshire countryside.

  • Nike Missile Site SF-88L

    Mill Valley, California

    Nike Missile Site SF-88L

    Ride on a fully-restored Nike nuclear-tipped missile elevator from the Cold War.

  • Sealed underground elements at Lorton Nike Missile Site.

    Lorton, Virginia

    Nike Missile Site W-64

    This field of concrete was once an active defense site armed with nuclear warheads.

  • Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

    Cochem, Germany

    Bundesbank Bunker Cochem

    This Cold War–era fallout shelter was actually a storage facility for the nation's emergency currency.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member

Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member