Other articles by Jeffry Scott:

fashion show raises $90K mirth and merriment in the mountains Chamber season opens strong Birth center feted with parade Bikers help grant wishes A cappella music draws teens to fest Class could be a lifesaver for pets in an emergency Pampered on behalf of a worthy cause Al fresco concerts at La Paloma Band's at home in any venue

Trades/Construction
Water Tec
Dispatcher Driver/Transportation
DRIVERS Construction
ROR Construction
Residential Framing Carpenters Administrative & Professional
JEWISH FEDERATION
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Administrative & Professional
AVIVA, Inc
Executive Director Health Care
PAINTED HILLS PEDIATRICS
LPN, RN, MA Health Care
RLM Services, Inc
Pharmacist

As he looks up the 35-foot-deep access portal that takes up a corner of his living room, Eric Neilson wonders aloud how long it will take the vines he's planted to scale the walls — then a little while later, where his missile might have been targeted.

Neilson is owner of 570-4, the military code for his missile site, one of 18 Titan II missile sites that once ringed Tucson. Although no longer on alert, they became fully operational in December 1963 and remained ready to launch until the ICBM complexes, operated out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, were destroyed between 1982 and 1987.

Now, Neilson — who has built a house on the Avra Valley ballistic missile site he bought in 1997 — is hoping to restore bits of the Cold War he grew up with.

In 2002 he excavated the access portal to the underground site, and despite having been buried under tons of debris for at least 15 years, the 6,000-pound blast door opened with just a little effort. Once inside, he had complete access to the launch control center — a three-story, dome-shaped structure, the top of which is buried below eight feet of soil.

"It's kind of like a box of Cracker Jacks," Neilson said. "You don't know what the surprise is until you get to the bottom."

Neilson's not the only owner who has gained access to the control center — or to have built on a former missile site. One is a fitness center (571-6), one is a plant nursery (570-6). Another is for sale (571-3) and one is a church.

Vista de la Montaña United Methodist Church sits atop site 570-9 near Catalina. The Rev. Monte Baker, who came to the church just more than two years ago, came with the thought the church made the site a place of peace.

"I've come to accept a somewhat different view," he said. "I've come to a perspective that even as an instrument of war, that this place became an instrument of peace … it did change the course of history in a very peaceful way — and thank God we never had to use them."

Neilson is actively involved with the Titan Missile Museum, and occasional tours of his site are offered.

More information about the sites can be found at www.titanmissilemuseum.org. GPS coordinates to all 18 sites around Tucson are at www.geocities.com/titan_2_missile/coordinates .htm, as well as at other Web sites.