The armaments were stored in large concrete warehouses called magazines that were cut into the hills of western Vieques and then covered with earth and planted in grass.

The older WWII magazines were smaller and considerably more camouflaged than those built later on. This was because the warplanes used in World War I flew at lower speeds and at lower altitudes than those built after the war. The shift in the degree of camouflage came about because the crews of the slower and lower flying aircraft would have a better chance to see what was happening on the land than later faster and higher flying planes.

This is the top of a newer magazine. The older one's are so well concealed that we really couldn't capture them in a photo

The area of the magazines is characterized by rolling grasslands, green in the rainy season and golden in the dry season.

After some of the western lands were returned to the Municipality of Vieques and the navy had certified them empty and clean, artists claimed this magazine and painted their works on the walls where visitors could go and see them. The number of the magazine 418 is significant as April 18 (4/18) was the date that the navy announced that they would finally leave Vieques.

As of this writing, those magazines are locked and like so many other places on Vieques, they're closed to the public.