A Cold War-era missile silo in rural northeast Kansas that housed a nuclear warhead 65 years ago and was later converted into an underground mansion is now finding a new lease on life as an Airbnb.
The Subterra Castle Airbnb opened for business about six months ago. It’s located in rural Wabaunsee County, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) southwest of Topeka.
Airbnbs are privately owned residences that are offered online for short-term rental and the pad is available from $140 per night.
Matthew Fulkerson, 37, is the host for Subterra, and said it was his idea to turn the site into an Airbnb. Fulkerson is a neighbor of Subterra’s owners, Ed and Dianna Peden, who have lived in the converted missile base since 1994.
More than being a place for people to stay when passing through Kansas, Fulkerson said he has a bigger vision for the site.
‘I see it as becoming a destination,’ he said, adding that the base has already been featured on Oprah and HGTV.
Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann pose at their Subterra Airbnb located in a former underground missile silo base near Eskridge, Kansas on Nov. 2, 2017
Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann opened The Subterra Castle Airbnb for business about six months ago
Airbnbs are privately owned residences that are offered online for short-term rental, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports
This Nov. 2, 2017 photo shows the area that houses the main room for the Subterra Airbnb located in a former underground missile silo base
Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann stand on top of the bunker that once housed an intercontinental ballistic missile near Eskridge, Kansas
In addition to a main-floor bedroom, Airbnb guests at Subterra will have a full kitchen, private bathroom, laundry services and a fireplace which gives a ‘nice, cozy feeling in the fall and winter months,’ Fulkerson said.
He said he and the Pedens ‘are considering using both apartments upstairs and down’ should Airbnb traffic pick up, ‘especially because some people really want the experience of sleeping underground.’
Fulkerson said Subterra is the first and currently the only Airbnb located in a converted missile silo.
This Nov. 2, 2017 photo shows the launch control panel for the Atlas missile at a silo missile base that has been converted into the Subterra Airbnb near Eskridge, Kansas
Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann appear in the reception area of their Subterra Airbnb on November 2, 2017
More than being a place for people to stay when passing through Kansas, Fulkerson said he has a bigger vision for the site as a travel destination
This is the area where the intercontinental ballistic missile was kept at a former underground missile silo base near Eskridge, Kansas
This Nov. 2, 2017 photo shows the entrance to the Subterra Airbnb, located in a former underground missile silo base near Eskridge, Kansas