I've been into one of the Titan sites outside of Denver - I was given a tour by the owner, as I had some interest when he was trying to sell it.
I ended up walking away because of the dangers and regulatory barriers, as you mentioned. The owner had found old explosives on the surface, toxic materials inside. Everything other than the control room had asbestos. The elevator was broken, so he had put some lights down the stairwell with extension cords... but once at the bottom, you needed flashlights to get around. You ended up dressing up in hazmat suits just to look at the place. The ladders to get to the various levels in the power dome were steep, and navigating that part of the site in the dark, while it was full of old scrap metal and debris... definitely not safe. The control and power domes were dry, but the silos were partially flooded. That was 15 years ago, so I have no idea what has become of the place since that time.
I will say that looking at images and diagrams of these old sites does not really give you a perspective of their scope. The power dome was probably the largest single room I have ever been inside... and it was underground. The control dome had gaps on the edge, so you could look underneath and see these huge springs that held everything up, designed to stabilize it in case of an attack. It may have been a dangerous place, but still really cool to explore. I wouldn't go in without the owners, though - even though most of these can be broken into, if you got hurt down there, that would be serious trouble.
Even if you can purchase these properties cheaply, there is still a lot of work to do, and it is more than most people can really handle. But it can be done if you have the money and time, and people have done some really nice jobs of it in other locations.
Comments
I've been into one of the Titan sites outside of Denver - I was given a tour by the owner, as I had some interest when he was trying to sell it.
I ended up walking away because of the dangers and regulatory barriers, as you mentioned. The owner had found old explosives on the surface, toxic materials inside. Everything other than the control room had asbestos. The elevator was broken, so he had put some lights down the stairwell with extension cords... but once at the bottom, you needed flashlights to get around. You ended up dressing up in hazmat suits just to look at the place. The ladders to get to the various levels in the power dome were steep, and navigating that part of the site in the dark, while it was full of old scrap metal and debris... definitely not safe. The control and power domes were dry, but the silos were partially flooded. That was 15 years ago, so I have no idea what has become of the place since that time.
I will say that looking at images and diagrams of these old sites does not really give you a perspective of their scope. The power dome was probably the largest single room I have ever been inside... and it was underground. The control dome had gaps on the edge, so you could look underneath and see these huge springs that held everything up, designed to stabilize it in case of an attack. It may have been a dangerous place, but still really cool to explore. I wouldn't go in without the owners, though - even though most of these can be broken into, if you got hurt down there, that would be serious trouble.
Even if you can purchase these properties cheaply, there is still a lot of work to do, and it is more than most people can really handle. But it can be done if you have the money and time, and people have done some really nice jobs of it in other locations.