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60+ yrs ago Oat Mountain above Chatsworth was the site of a Nike Hercules Missile launch pad. Structures are a shell with graffiti markings but the view at 1000-3000 is stunning.
Many of the video's on Youtube mentioning OatMountain above Chatsworth are from hiking, biking, and drone enthusiasts. However, a couple of videographers actually provide an interesting history:
Gravel Guide: Oat Mountain (4K) - YouTube including a narrative of the now vacant Nike Missle facility history while bicycling on Browns Canyon Road starting at 1000ft elevation to 3500ftelevation. They point out the abandoned facility is used for training by the Los Angeles SWAT team as well as the Conservancy Corps.
McCarnickle Oat Mountain Chatsworth - YouTube takes you on a very quick 5-minute bicycle ride with a camera attached to the back of his seat.
But by far the most informative is LA-88 Nike Missile Site | Exploring an abandoned anti-ballistic missile base located in Chatsworth - YouTube from SoCal Outdoor Explorer
EDIT: - a correction of the video audio is the detail of property ownership. It is in fact, based on a sign on the perimeter, the property of Lumberman Investment Corp (Texas).
The Nike Missile was a surface-to-air defense missile. Los Angeles was defended by a ring of 16 Nike sites including LA 88 site at Oat Mountain from 1957 - 1974.
The Nike Historical Society is an association of veterans and other interested persons who want to record and make known the history, purpose, and people of the Nike Missile Air Defense system.
MMS-151-Ch01.pdf (nikemissile.org) and extensive photographs here: LA-88 Oat Mountain - A trip down memory lane in 2006.
Thirty-years ago the LA Times detailed the site no longer operating.
AT&T; is the firm with the largest presence on Oat Mountain. “It was very carefully selected for the best signal,” said Manny Quijada, 41, an AT&T; communications technician.
The site is still monitored with cameras: Oat Mountain 1 cameras (airsites2000.com)
The U.S. Geological Survey details include Preliminary geologic map of the Oat Mountain 7.5' quadrangle, Southern California: a digital database (usgs.gov)
Boeing maintains a webpage detailing the history of the Nike Missile: Boeing: Historical Snapshot: Nike Missile
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