Topanga Microwave Tower

This place is on private property. Listing for informational purposes only. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner. This is an abandoned microwave signal relay tower. Part of the AT&T long lines communications network built during the cold war to resist potential WWIII and keep communications flowing. The AT&T microwave towers were used for both civil and government communications. They were mostly built in the 50s and early 60s, and moved the Bell System'slong-distance communications off of copper wires for a large part of the network. Some communications went over transcontinental cables, others over microwave links. The buildings supporting the towers were hardened against a nuclear blast, and some of them in high-danger areas were underground. The towers themselves were engineered to withstand all but a close (within 5 miles) blast. The microwave horns were covered with a protective shield to keep out not only the elements, but also radioactive fallout. The buildings were shielded with copper to protect the equipment against the Electromagnetic Pulse associated with a nuclear explosion. Foot-thick concrete walls protected the vital electronics and people inside the base installations of these towers. Thick copper grounds went deep into the bedrock beneath each tower. Fallout showers, backup generators, sleeping facilities all existed to keep the network up in times of war. This particular station links Los Angeles 09 (Richmond), Los Angeles 07 (Airport) and Hall Canyon. You can see a map of all the SoCal Locations Here