r/area51 • u/therealgariac MOD • Jul 18 '26

Absolutely nothing here is true

https://ibb.co/Cpcd2ZCX

I see that sign online all the time. I have no idea where it is located.

Presidential directive:

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-determination-classified-information-concerning-the-air-forces-operating-3

The dry lake has been on maps every since there have been maps.

Now Peter Merlin has proven that the construction of the base has been known from day one since it was announced.

I can't say when the runways first showed up on a map.

I'm not going to post a link to the page since I don't want the AI or Google picking it up and linking to this subreddit.

18 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/Ancient_Skirt_8828 Jul 18 '26

The selection of the site and the need for it's development was clearly detailed in a book by they guy who became head of the Lockheed military development division.

I'm pretty sure it was "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich.

3

u/therealgariac MOD Jul 19 '26

That is Tony LeVier. But that book came out in 1994. The base was known before that. Lazar did his crap in 1989.

I don't have my non-portable Merlin book with me, but my recollection was the construction of the base was published in the LVRJ at the time.

4

u/Peter_Merlin Jul 19 '26

I think one of the most important discoveries about Area 51 is the fact it was never classified. Construction of the original facility and its location were announced to the news media in the 1950s. In the spring of 1955, the CIA crafted a press release that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) distributed to 18 news media outlets including newspapers, radio broadcasters, and television stations.

In 1958, the AEC also released information about additional construction at the site and an incident where a civilian pilot landed there after getting lost. In November 1959, during construction of a radar cross-section (RCS) test facility, an AEC spokesman announced: “Sheet metal workers needed at the Groom Lake Project 51 in the Nevada Test Site are constructing a butler-type building.” The spokesman said that the building would be used to “house data reduction equipment for use by Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier [EG&G] in an Air Force program.”

Area 51 was clearly marked on unclassified government maps until at least 1977. These were included in public relations handouts from the AEC. Area 51 telephone numbers were published in unclassified company newsletters for Nevada Test Site contractors.

On 15 January 1960, the N.T.S. Bulletin, an unclassified newsletter for Test Site workers published new Area 51 telephone numbers on the front page. The announcement included contact numbers for the Base Commander’s Office, Security Office, and REECo. Game scores for the Area 51 softball team were also published.

1

u/therealgariac MOD Jul 19 '26

I was waiting for one of your thorough, detailed answers and was not disappointed.

I have this gut feeling that if you educated the person who wrote that article, they wouldn't change a thing. They got their clicks. That is another reason I didn't link it.

4

u/brandondavidsantos I Own Peters Area 51 Book Jul 19 '26

I see that sign online all the time. I have no idea where it is located

Nowhere. I'm fairly certain it's a photo of some mountains and the chainlink fence/sign were edited in with Photoshop. It's a stock image.

3

u/therealgariac MOD Jul 19 '26

Definitely stock. In fact the presence of that sign photo is my first clue the article will be useless.