Boom! Luxury converted nuclear missile silo lists on Airbnb

In this Nov. 2, 2017 photo, Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann pose at their Subterra Airbnb located in a former underground missile silo base near Eskridge, Kan. The Subterra Castle Airbnb opened for business about six months ago (Thad Allton/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

ESKRIDGE, Kan. — 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 location.

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, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports .

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 and are on board with the Airbnb idea.

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 in several media outlets.

In this Nov. 2, 2017 photo, Mathew Fulkerson and his wife Leigh Ann appear in the great room at their Subterra Airbnb located in a former underground missile silo base near Eskridge, Kan. The Subterra Castle Airbnb opened for business about six months ago (Thad Allton/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

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.

 

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