The Ultimate Man Cave: An Underground Missile Silo

by Robert Wenzel
Economic Policy Journal

Recently by Robert Wenzel: Will Lew Rockwell Show at the Next Meeting of the Cato Board?

Writes Cindy Perman:

Deep underground in the middle of the Adirondack wilderness is a former missile silo built during the Cold War. There was an underground launch command center built to withstand a nuclear attack. In the event of an attack, a hatch would open for the missile to be launched at the enemy.

As you may be aware, the Cold War ended a few years back and as a result, that missile silo, in Saranac, N.Y., was decommissioned. In 1991, it was bought by Gregory Gibbons, who called his cousin, builder Bruce Francisco, to transform it into a livable space.

Francisco built an 1,800-square-foot log cabin home on top (it would’ve been a shame to completely lose those Adirondack views!) and 2,300 square feet of living space underground. Of course, that’s just a fraction of the underground structure, which is the size of a seven-story skyscraper – about 15,000 square feet in all.

You wouldn’t even know that all that other space was there – there’s a 50-foot tunnel from what was the subterranean command center to the missile silo.

Imagine that: What’s this door go to – a closet? the furnace? Whoa, a missile silo?!

Francisco recalls they once had fun with a friend who came to visit. They didn’t tell him about the missile silo. They simply said, “Hey, you should see this guy’s basement!”

The man, who thought he’d seen it all, was speechless.

Of course, they also learned the perils of taking a date down there. What seemed cool to the guys, evoked a little panic in the ladies – “Um, are you a serial killer?!”

Gibbons lived there for 10 years, mostly in the above-ground house, using the underground as his man cave. But now, with a wife, three kids and three dogs, he’s ready to give up the ultimate man cave.

It’s not only the ultimate man cave but with all of the end-of-the-world predictions and saber rattling, it’s also the ultimate survival bunker – complete with two master suites, a marble bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, a spiral staircase and an entertainment room.

Hey, just because there’s an apocalypse doesn’t mean we’ll have to live like animals, amiright?

Read the rest here.

Very cool. I have long contended that there is not more private sector protection against nuclear attack because almost everyone believes that the government will protect us against such an attack. What the government will do is protect itself against nuclear attack.

There's major construction going on next to the White House and also near the Supreme Court, both appear to be massive bunkers that will protect U.S. leaders against nuclear attack. But what about the rest of us?

It's time we privatize nuclear protection. If people generally fear nuclear attack, the way I do, than private sector solutions will start to kick in, and with economies of scale, my guess is that nuclear protection would cost roughly what a monthly gym membership costs.

Government propaganda implying that government will protect us against nuclear attack is doing nothing but creating false security amongst the masses, which results in the lack of economies of scale kicking in and creating cheap protection against attack.

The top banksters all have them. I've seen a couple. We're the only ones unprotected. Privatize nuclear protection!!

Reprinted with permission from Economic Policy Journal.

March 9, 2012

©2012 Economic Policy Journal

The Best of Robert Wenzel