Did You Know An Illinois Park Once Served As A Missile Launch Site?

Illinois might be known for its natural landscape like rivers, lakes, parks, wetlands, etc., but there are fascinating manmade things to see. It's also no secret people are intrigued by abandoned places and some of these places aren't off-limits, meaning on private property.

If you love history and unique structures, how about this? There is a former missile launch site in Illinois that has been converted into a park with some of the original structures still standing.

Nike Park in Addison, Illinois, has some interesting visuals for you to see. If you're in the Northern Illinois area it's only a one-hour drive down I-90. The site was once used as a nuclear missile launch site for 17 years, from 1957-1974, according to Wikipedia.

Before you plan on this trip hoping to visit a site where you may see actual missile launch site equipment, slow down. It hasn't been a working site since 1974 and, like in life, times have changed. When you arrive you're going to find a park, duh, and a baseball diamond.

Here's an aerial view of the park.

The only piece of the missile launch site you're going to find is the control site. Don't that detour you because if this is something of interest to you there is still a chance to enjoy it, especially if you have children with you.

OnlyInYourState.com described it as, "This historic site was built as a precaution but never actually used for its potential purpose."

Here are directions to get to the park.

[h/t Only In Your State]