"A Cold War Museum located at the Lorton Nike site would draw over 300,000 visitors per
year."
- Professor Steven Fuller, George Mason University
The Cold War Museum is currently
looking for a permanent home in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area. Several sites have been
identified and fundraising is underway. One possible
location for the permanent Cold War Museum is
the former Nike Missile Base located in Lorton,
Virginia. Another potential location is adjacent
to the proposed Air and Space Museum annex along
the Dulles corridor near Dulles Airport.
The Lorton Nike Missile Base
is a Cold War historical site located about 40
minutes from Washington, D.C. near the Intersection
of Rt. 123 Chain Bridge Rd and Interstate 95.
The Dulles site is located on Rt. 28 near the
Intersection of Rt. 7 near the Dulles Airport.
The Cold War Museum is negotiating
with the Fairfax County Park Authority and various
community groups to secure a location. Preliminary
site visits indicate that both sites are suitable
for a permanent Museum facility.
Features in the permanent museum building will include a central hall with large exhibits, a film theater, the main gallery, a picture gallery,
temporary and rotating exhibition area, library and study areas, seminar rooms, bookstalls, and a cafeteria. The central hall may include a U-2,
a section of the Berlin Wall, a KH-11 “Spy” satellite,a Stalin/Lenin statue, a nuclear fallout shelter, and other historical Cold War reminders.
The Main Gallery will be organized around concepts including:
- 1946-48: The Coming of the Cold War. Berlin:1948-49,
1961, 1989
- Espionage: CIA, KGB, NRO, other Intelligence organizations, Rosenberg Trials, and Rudolph Abel’s capture
- McCarthy hearings; Revolt in the East - Poland 1953, Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, and Poland 1970
- Cold War POW and MIA stories
- Sam Jaffee and the media involvement
- Space Race
- Arms Race
- Bomber Gap
- Missile Gap
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Bay of Pigs
- U-2 Incident
- Solidarity
- 1989-91: The End of the Cold War.
Update - 08/30/2004
Earlier this year our Phase I proposal to locate at the Lorton Nike site in
Northern Virginia was accepted by the Fairfax County Park Authority. Artemel
and Associates is in the process of preparing our second phase proposal for
submission to Fairfax County this Fall. We are on schedule to occupy the
facility in 2006. In the meantime, we are talking with Fairfax County about
utilizing temporary "office" space near the Nike site.
Update - 02/05/2004
We are pleased with our advancements and look forward to locating at the Lorton Nike Missile
Base upon approval from Fairfax County Park Authority later this year. Our site feasibility study,
which was recently completed by George Mason University Professor Steven Fuller, indicates
that The Cold War Museum located at the Lorton Nike site would draw over 300,000 visitors per
year. I would like to thank Delegate Vince Callahan for submitting a 2004 Bill to support the
Cold War Museum through a Nonstate Agency Grant. If you live in Virginia, call your
legislators and let them know they should support the Cold War Museum.
Update - 08/01/2004
We continue to make great strides in our efforts to establish The Cold War Museum at the former Lorton Nike Missile
Base. On July 28, the Fairfax County Park Authority passed the Master Plan for
Laurel Hill where the Lorton Nike Missile Base is located. The plan included
a section that was set aside for a Cold War Heritage Park and Cultural
Museum. Now that the Master Plan has been approved, Dr. Stephen Fuller from
George Mason University, Dr. Gerald Gordon from Fairfax County Economic
Development Authority, and Francis Gary Powers Jr. will give a presentation to the Park Authority
on the economic viability, cultural significance, and effect on tourism this
world class attraction will have to Fairfax County.
Lorton Nike Missile Base and artist renditions of the future Cold War Museum
More information on Nike Missiles
