If enemy bombers had threatened the United States, Nike would have been quickly deployed to their firing positions. Once in flight, the missiles would have been guided to their targets by nearby ground based radar facilities. In 1974 the Nike missile system was inactivated in the US, and Fort MacArthur was declared surplus to Army needs. The Upper Reservation and the old tideland section of the Lower Reservation were transferred to the City of Los Angeles in 1977. When the rest of the Lower Reservation was transferred to the Air Force in 1982, Fort MacArthur's 78 years of Army service ended.
Admission is free.
Gift Shop is open only on weekends. Fort MacArthur Military Museum is located in the historic Osgood-Farley Battery on 36th and Gaffey Streets in San Pedro. Take the 110 Harbor Freeway towards San Pedro, after the freeway ends make an left onto Gaffey Street.