Free Republic

Thirty-seven years after the U.S. Air Force shut down a mountain-top radar station in the hills south of San Jose that scanned the skies for Soviet bombers during the Cold War, the summit of Mount Umunhum is finally opening to the public this week as a new park, with stunning views of San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, a public agency that owns the 3,486-foot peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains east of Los Gatos, spent $25 million over eight years on the project. Supporters say the new summit, which visitors will...

Radar Tower Historic Status, Decide it Will StaySanta Clara County supervisors Tuesday decided the fate of a radar tower sitting atop Mount Umunhum. For years, a battle has brewed over whether to take down the prominent radar that some have labeled an eyesore and others, a historical treasure. Many see the tower as a symbol of Silicon Valley, but the 56-year-old construction is also a piece of Cold War history. On Tuesday, the county’s board of supervisors voted unanimously to declare the tower historic, effectively ensuring that it won’t be going anywhere. “The tower was the coastal defense radar that...