If the Navy really does go forward with its latest recommendation and put the wrecking ball to Hangar One at Moffett Field, it will be a sad day for aviation historians and the Mountain View community.
The historic structure, standing a majestic 200 feet tall, has been a landmark at Moffett since it was built in 1932 to house the U.S.S. Macon, a dirigible that crashed at sea a year later. Ever since, Hangar One has been utilized by the Navy, which turned the airfield over to NASA in 1994, but which is still obligated to clean up any toxic substances found in and around the hangar or other areas of Moffett.
In the last several years, the Navy has announced various plans to cleanse the hangar of its burden of toxic chemicals, which are slowly flaking away into the surrounding property. But one by one, the plans have been discarded or have failed to attract outside interest. (Remember the idea advanced last year to cover the hangar with solar panels? It was ruled too costly.) Since the process began some three years ago, the Navy has agreed to clean up Site 25 — about 260 of acres of former wetlands adjacent to Hangar One — and make similar efforts at several other locations. But a Hangar One solution has been elusive.
Now, after months of study, the Navy is set to release a final report on Hangar One, which will find that demolition is the only viable way to rid Moffett of pollution from its most visible landmark. The decision did not surprise anyone, and in all likelihood, the structure’s days are numbered unless a very wealthy white knight emerges soon.
It the Navy’s decision holds, it will be a crushing blow to the dream of developing an air and space museum at Hangar One, an idea that could draw millions of visitors to Mountain View and Silicon Valley every year. The hangar’s immense size would be a perfect venue to display historic NASA spacecraft like the Space Shuttle, and the various rockets that carried them aloft.
It may be a long shot, but we still hope a way can be found to clean up Hangar One and continue its historic and useful life at Moffett Field.
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