Minuteman Missile National Historic Site New Park Visitor Center Opens

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site opened its new visitor center to the public on Monday, November 24th. The 7,700-square-foot structure is a major upgrade from the temporary visitor contact station and administrative headquarters that the park had occupied over the past twelve years. The opening on November 24th was a soft one. New exhibits and displays will be installed during the coming spring, with a grand opening and dedication ceremony for the new facility planned for Saturday, September 26th.

The steel-framed building includes several thousand square feet of exhibit space and a multipurpose room that can be used as a theater and classroom and for presentations by guest speakers.

To commemorate the opening day, the park had three career Air Force personnel who played vital roles with the Minuteman at Ellsworth Air Force Base raise the first flag at the new visitor center –Al Hall (1975-1994), superintendent of quality assurance for the 44th Missile Wing; Tim Pavek (1984 -2000), missile engineer/Minuteman II deactivation program manager; and Jim Boesnch (1968 – 1988), missile combat crew commander for the 66th Strategic Missile Wing.

All three men have volunteered thousands of hours at the park, and Boesnch is currently a park guide there.

The construction of the new visitor center was carried out by Scull Construction of Rapid City, South Dakota. The park was excited to work with a local firm, as this mirrored the same type of partnerships which occurred between government and private enterprise during the construction of the Minuteman Missile fields in the 1960’s.

“It’s been great working with Scull and the park to get the project to this day,” said Gary Krysl, Midwest Region project manager and architect.

The cost breakdown was as follows:

• $3.6 million for building construction, provided by the United States Air Force when the park was designated in 1999.
• $1.2 million for design, fabrication and installation of exhibits and a park film through competitive NPS fund sources.
• $400,000 from the Federal Lands Access Program for the paving of the visitor center parking area and a short stretch of Cottonwood Road leading from the northbound side of exit 131, Interstate 90.

The park is looking forward to next year’s installation of the planned exhibits, which will tell the story of the Minuteman Missile’s role as part of the United States’ policy of strategic nuclear deterrence during the Cold War. A park feature film is now also under development by Boston Productions, Inc., and is due to be finished in 2016.

From the early 1960’s until the mid-1990’s, there were a thousand Minuteman Missiles spread across the central and northern Great Plains region. These weapons had a major effect upon the economic, political and cultural life of the affected areas. There are still 450 Minuteman Missiles operational today. These are scheduled to remain deployed through the year 2050.