Croom Vocational School was originally located at 15100 Mount Calvert Road in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, operating on a site that was previously a Nike missile base.
History and Relocation Original Site: Mount Calvert Road property in Upper Marlboro (former military/missile base grounds).
New Location: Moved and reopened at 9400 Surratts Road in Cheltenham, Maryland (sharing space near the former RICA building).Current Status: Operates under Prince George’s County Public Schools as a non-traditional/vocational program.
During the Cold War, this property served as Nike Missile Battery W-36, built to protect Washington, D.C. from enemy bomber attacks. The site was split into two separate operational zones right down the road from each other:
The Control Area (15100 Mount Calvert Rd): This is where the radar systems and the barracks were located. After the military left, this specific section became the Croom Vocational School. The Launch Area: Located further down the road, this area housed the actual underground missile silos. What the Site Is NowToday, the original school and control area site sits abandoned and mostly forgotten.
The School Property: The old Croom Vocational School buildings from the 1970s and 1980s still stand on Mount Calvert Road but have fallen into decay. For a while, they were used by the school district for storage, but they are now heavily overgrown with trees and weeds, making it a popular spot for local “urban explorers” who look at old ruins.
The Surrounding Land: The state and local park authorities have preserved much of the beautiful surrounding area, which sits right near the Mount Calvert Historical & Archaeological Park.
https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:035a3dcf-f64b-4a22-855f-799ca59d9e06
https://www.themilitarystandard.com/missile/nike/sites/w-35-l/
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