SF-59L Fort Funston - San Francisco, CA - Nike Missile Sites on Waymarking.com

In 1956, one of these sites, "SF-59", was built at Fort Funston. It housed 30 Nike Ajax ground-to-air missiles designed to destroy enemy bombers within a 25 mile range. The missiles were stored beneath the present parking lot. None were ever launched at an enemy, from here or any of the hundreds of sites across the country. The army closed SF-59 in 1963, never converting it to accommodate the longer-range Nike Hercules.

In 1974, Fort Funston became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to preserve remnants of its military legacy and its natural values for public enrichment and enjoyment.

The Marin Headland, ten miles north of here, has the only historic U.S. Nike missile complex that is still intact, including deactivated missiles. Operated by volunteers, the site is open to the public on a limited schedule.

From Nike Sites in the SF Bay Area website:

Each Nike installation was split into a radar/control site, high on a hilltop for good visibility, and a launch site somewhere lower down and a mile or two away for better protection. The two sites communicated either by buried cable or by microwave; if the latter, they had to be in line of sight with each other. Aside from the differing site requirements, another reason for separating the control site and the launch site is that one of the control radars had to stay locked onto the missile. If they were too close together, the radar dish could not physically turn fast enough as the missile left the ground.

SF-59L at Fort Funston was the launch site and the control site, SF-59C, was located on Mt. San Bruno.

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