Loring Air Force Base, Weapons Storage Area, Northeastern corner of base at northern end of Maine Road, Limestone, Aroostook County, ME

Significance: The Weapons Storage Area (WSA) stands as the first operational storage site constructed for the storage of atomic weapons under control of Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the Cold War, and has been cited as having the highest storage capacity in all of SAC. The WSA is an early example of an operational storage facility and weapons distribution site. Its remote location and integration into the landscape, its association with an established Air Force base, its use of heavily reinforced concrete construction, its integration of maximum security measures, and its integration of storage, maintenance, and administrative functions all reflect its advanced design and functional capability. The number of extant structures and the few alterations to those structures give the area a high degree of architectural and historical integrity. The WSA continues to reflect its Cold War character.

Survey number: HAER ME-64-D

Building/structure dates: 1952-1988 Initial Construction

storage facilities military art and science defense industry cold war nuclear weapons industry storage aroostook county air force base weapons weapons storage area northeastern northeastern corner maine maine road limestone aroostook air force black and veatch historic american engineering record us army corps of engineers photo ultra high resolution high resolution library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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