Underground Luxury in a Cold War Missile Silo

Subterra Castle is an underground Atlas E missile complex that was stationed roughly 40 kilometers from Topeka, Kansas, between 1961 and 1964. Building the military installation cost American taxpayers about $4 million, but when the base went up for sale in 1983 — abandoned and flooded with nine meters of water — Ed and Dianna Peden bought it directly for just $40,000. Ed's first trip into his future home was by canoe. The couple drained the site and, over years of hands-on work, transformed the concrete maze of the silo into a full-fledged, luxurious underground residence, living there continuously since 1994. Today the Pedens run a company specializing in similar properties, helping other enthusiasts buy and convert decommissioned missile bases — all without going through a conventional real estate office, since these unique, former government facilities are sold almost exclusively through direct deals with the government or previous buyers. It's proof that the most extreme, cut-rate housing opportunities are waiting exactly where the traditional brokerage market never looks.