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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Near Tiburon in Marin County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Cold War Defense

 
 
Cold War Defense Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, October 3, 2013
1. Cold War Defense Marker
Inscription. In 1954 Angel Island became one of nineteen Nike Missile sites in the Bay Area. There were three underground magazines, each storing 12 Nike – Ajax anti-aircraft missiles. The missiles had a range of 25 miles and were raised to the surface by hydraulic elevators and pushed manually on rails to the launchers.

A radar control station was placed on Mt. Livermore and three notches were carved in the hill to improve line of sight. With the development of ICBMs (Inter-Continental Ballistics Missiles), Nike missiles became obsolete. The Army dismantled the installation in 1962, ending a military presence of the island that endured from the Civil War to the Cold War.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, Cold. A significant historical year for this entry is 1954.
 
Location. Marker has been reported permanently removed. It was located near 37° 51.344′ N, 122° 25.407′ W. Marker was near Tiburon, California, in Marin County. Marker was on Perimeter Road, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Belvedere Tiburon CA 94920, United States of America.

We have been informed that this sign or monument is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
 
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At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location. Nike Missile Site (a few steps from this marker); Backcountry (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort McDowell South (approx. 0.3 miles away); Play Games (approx. 0.3 miles away); 600 Bunkmates (approx. half a mile away); Fort McDowell’s General Store (approx. half a mile away); Guarding the Post (approx. half a mile away); Processing People and Paper (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tiburon.
 
More about this marker. The marker has been replaced by three large historical panels.
 
Regarding Cold War Defense. Perimeter Road is a 5 mile, mostly paved, walking/bicycle path that goes around Angel Island. Angel Island State Park is accessed by ferry from Tiburon.
 
Also see . . .  Nike Missle Site - Angel Island Conservancy. A Nike anti-aircraft missile site, one of eleven Nike batteries built in the Bay Area during the Cold War, was placed on the southeast corner of the island, just behind Point Blunt. (Submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
Cold War Defense Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, October 3, 2013
2. Cold War Defense Marker
Looking Northwest through "Notch" image. Click for full size.
July 24, 2013
3. Looking Northwest through "Notch"
Visible here is one of the three notches carved into the hillside to improve the line of sight for the Nike missile crew.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 807 times since then and 24 times this year. Last updated on August 2, 2022, by Joseph Alvarado of Livermore, California. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.   3. submitted on October 12, 2013. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024