Bruce Townsley was a man with a vision, albeit a strange one. In the mid 80s, he saw a guest on the Johnny Carson show that explained anyone with the money could buy a nuclear missile base for themselves. Anyone. It was an idea that was just too cool to forget. So, he tracked down the nuclear missile base real estate mogul that was on the late night show named Ed Peden.
Bruce was determined to have a missile silo, a “20th century castle,” to call home.
With the help of Ed’s business, Bruce bought an Atlas F site in the middle of Texas.
That particular kind of silo housed missiles vertically. The only evidence of life you see here are the solar panels on top of the silo.
Bruce bought the property in 1997 for $99,000, 30 years after it was deactivated.
Most of the site was decommissioned and cleared out, but Bruce still had the two giant overhead silo doors. They cover the 185-foot hole in the ground where a missile armed with a nuclear warhead used to be.
A stairwell leads down to Bruce’s subterranean living quarters are.
This space is where the old crew quarters used to be.
All of the blast doors in Bruce’s silo are still working, giving a nice contrast to the modern design inside.
This living space is about 1,100 square feet and completely round. This large room is basically a concrete bubble suspended from the large column in its center.
The room used to be attached to massive springs that would help absorb the shock of an attack explosion.
But his living space is tiny compared to the rest of the 185 foot-deep silo.
The main tunnel ends about 2/3 up the silo. It’s a loooooong way down.
There are still remnants of the silo from when it was active, like the big doors and large mechanical pieces.
This silo has enough space and objects left within that it could keep Bruce busy for a long, long time.
Not many people can say that their house is full of history… but Bruce’s house IS history.
Most other fixer-uppers pale in comparison to this old missile silo. Added bonus? If there’s ever an apocalypse, Bruce has a house that’s ready for it.
