Message posted by Peter Merlin on March 03, 2005 at 8:14:47 PST:

The news media were interested in the Groom Lake test site since it was first built in 1955. After the Atomic Energy Commission anounced construction of the facility, reporters occasionally asked for updated information. Area 51, as it came to be known, was often mentioned in news stories about secret aircraft and mysterious crashes.

Public knowledge of the site grew in the 1980s with publication of books about the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71.

Area 51 truly entered the public lexicon in the early 1990s when several entrepreneurs began charging money to take people on "Saucer Base Expeditions" to see "UFOs" allegedly making test flights above Groom Lake.

This really caught the attention of the media. Newspapers and television shows began to cover the story in earnest. local residents in Nevada were quick to cash in on the rush of tourists and reporters to the formerly remote area.

For more information see my article on this site:

http://www.dreamlandresort.com/pete/no_secret.html

In Reply to: First Interests About Area 51 posted by Silas on March 02, 2005 at 19:09:15 PST:

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