Missile silo sites put to new use.

• Position: On First Reading - Brief Article

With the Cold War over, Illinois is finding innovative new uses for old Nike surface-to-air missile sites as parks, golf courses, highway maintenance yards, business parks and even a career center.

Students at the Beck Area Career Center in southern Illinois are using buildings that originally housed missiles, servicemen, radar and other equipment needed for the St. Louis Area Defense Ring. The career center provides alternative education for high school dropouts or at-risk students, vocational education and a licensed practical nursing course. The school uses the former missile warehouse as a repair shop.

A large portion of another former battery site has been turned into business spaces in Naperville, Ill. The remaining acreage is owned by the local park district and is used for a recreational sports complex.

The military batteries were built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s and 1960s...