Quebec 01 Historic ICBM Site

Nuclear firepower defined the Cold War. The presence of nuclear launch sites and missile silos dot the northern band of the United States – often hidden “in plain sight” such as at this location. The State of Wyoming, in connection with the United States Air Force, manages the US’s only Peacekeeper historic site open to the public. Closed in 2005, this site, Quebec 01 reflects the period of increase and eventual mutual reduction in arms between the US and the USSR.

The historic site is a “rancher” home that sits atop a deeply buried launch control capsule responsible for the operations of 10 missiles, each with 10 nuclear warheads. It interprets a complex history of both support for and strong local and national opposition to the Peacekeeper. Connection-making interpretation and interactivity tell the story of this important history through the lens of those who worked the site (and their relatives and loved ones)…and those of fought its existence. Its significance is connected to contemporary questions of nuclear power. Through self-guided visitor experiences and tours into the launch capsule, the public is challenged to understand and question nuclear power as both a deterrence and threat. At the same time, it provides insights into the thinking, responsibilities, pressures, and realities of those individuals who held the keys to the nuclear launch system.

Studio Tectonic provided a site-wide interpretive/exhibit master plan and complete implementation of the first phase of exhibitions.