Baker AFS, OR

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The following photos were shot by Tom Page on 17 June 2018.  

[Since we already have a number of recent photos of the former Baker AFS, I decided to upload only a few.]  

Our first stop was in Payette, ID, and then it was on to Baker City, OR.  

The most-interesting artifact from the former Baker AFS is not found in Baker City (where the cantonment area and the family housing area were) or up on Dooley Summit / Beaver Mountain (where the radar site / operations area and GATR site were), but rather in the town of Payette, ID.  As many of you already know, the Payette High School gymnasium is comprised mainly of the former radome from the Baker AFS AN/FPS-35 search radar.  The old dome appears to be holding up very well after all these years.  

The former Multi-Purpose Recreation (MPR) building at the cantonment area located in Baker City is now the Baker Field Office for the Bureau of Land Management.  The building now sports new siding.  The view is from the 'back' side.  (looking southeast) 

The barracks and most other buildings at the former cantonment area still stand, and most appear to be in pretty good repair.  This is the first barracks behind the MPR building.  (looking east-northeast) 

From what we have learned, the first (manual) AC&W radar operations center for Baker AFS was colocated with the cantonment area.  Radar data from the site atop Beaver mountain presumably were transmitted down via microwave link.  (The same was done originally at Mica Peak AFS / Geiger Field.)  Operations were then moved up to the mountaintop after the SAGE tie-in.  Here is one view of the old manual AC&W Ops Building.  (looking north-northwest) 

Here is another view of the old manual AC&W Ops building (looking west) 

Another view of the former manual AC&W Ops building (looking northeast) 

One final view of the former manual AC&W Ops building at the cantonment area in Baker City (looking south-southeast) 

The antenna pedestal for the AN/FPS-35 search radar at the SAGE operations area / radar site up on Beaver Mountain.  A couple of foundations for the Radome Support Structure (RSS) are also seen in the foreground.  (looking south) 

Here is another photo that shows the antenna pedestal for the AN/FPS-35 search radar and its concrete pad behind it.  Another RSS foundation is seen in the foreground.  Further back is the base for the AN/MPS-7 (AN/FPS-3) search radar that, reportedly, was never installed.  (looking north-northeast) 

This photo shows the interior of the base for the radar tower that was to have housed the AN/MPS-7 (AN/FPS-3) search radar, but reportedly was only used for storage (looking east) 

This photo shows the foundations for one of the two AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar towers, the one on the north end of the compound (looking northwest) 

This photo shows the foundations for the other AN/FPS-6 height-finder radar tower, the one on the south end of the compound (looking south-southwest) 

This final photo is a composite showing the former Ground-Air / Transmitters-Receivers (GATR) radio and data-link facility (looking west) 

The following photos contributed by John MacDonald

August, 2006

The Former 821St RADS ,Baker AFS, Or. cantonment area has been advertised for sale with a asking price of $750,000.00 To date there has not been much interest due to the asbestos siding on the wood frame constructed buildings. The New Tribes Mission intends to relocate from Baker to Florida for the warmer weather. Hurricane`s are better than cold apparently.

Cantonment Area, August 2002

Beaver Mt. Radar/Ops Area, September 2002

This aerial view of the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City, OR, shows the northwest corner of the former cantonment area of Baker AFS.