Culture

Ride out doomsday in a stylish missile silo (photos)

With reinforced concrete walls up to 9 feet thick, this Kansas missile silo could withstand a nuclear strike. Today it's a sold-out condo complex opening in a few months.

Tim Hornyak

Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.

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Tim Hornyak

May 26, 2012 8:46 a.m. PT

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Deluxe doomsday living

For years, Larry Hall, a former software engineer, has been working to turn a '60s-era Atlas F missile silo in north-central Kansas into luxury lockdown residences in preparation for inevitable end-times. He says all units in the Apocalypse-proof complex sold out this month, and there's even a waiting list.

This conceptual drawing of the 14-story deluxe post-apocalypse home in the ground includes a silo cap with bullet-proof windows for observing the ruins of our planet, a food supply that could feed 70 people indefinitely, and supplies of purified water.

Not shown is an attached two-story subterranean structure, for a total of 45,000 square feet of off-grid, nuclear-hardened living.

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Atlas F ICBM launch site

Built at a cost of some $15 million each, Atlas F ICBM launch sites were deployed in the 1960s to deter Soviet attacks amid the Cold War. Survival Condo developer Larry Hall says his is the only Atlas F silo to be fully converted and modernized.

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Installing rebar

Workers install rebar in this 1960s silo construction photo. The walls were built up to 9 feet thick to withstand nuclear attacks and shock waves traveling more than 2,000 mph. Survival Condo packs some 600 tons of rebar in its walls.

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Site of the condos

The Atlas F missiles could be launched in a matter of minutes after deployment from their underground storage silos.

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Awaiting interior decoration

This photo shows the interior of the Survival Condo before living spaces were installed. The condos have sold out and are to be complete in about 8 to 10 weeks, according to Hall.

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Top of the silo

A closer look at the concept for the refuge shows the silo cap, featuring bulletproof window glass, and storage areas for food and other vital supplies.

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Plans for silo's bottom

The bottom section of the silo would feature a fitness center, movie theater, bar, pool, and classrooms.

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Living areas

How to lock-down in style: This view of a residential floor of the silo shows the bedrooms, kitchen areas, and living rooms that residents would use. Video screens would compensate for the lack of windows.