Fort Devens, Massachusetts

Fort Devens was once the largest Army post in New England, and during the peak of World War Two, 5,000 German and Italian POWs were housed here. Though officially decommissioned in 1996, Fort Devens still has a large military presence, as well as a legacy of clean-up issues on the property slated for redevelopment. Some industries, including Gillette and Parker Aerospace, have already constructed manufacturing and distribution facilities on the built-up north half of the 9,400-acre base, where more than 100 military buildings still stand mostly vacant, including what little is left of a massive former hospital (once with 4,000 beds), to the bunkers in the fenced-off munitions storage area. The southern portion of the Main Post is home to a federal prison hospital (Federal Medical Center, Devens), and a large military equipment storage yard. The less developed Reserve Forces Training Area portion of the base, on the south side of Route 2, remains in active use by the Army and National Guard, and is off limits to the public.