History Happening Now
Hanger One Restoration to Resume
By Pamela Baird MVHA President
After sitting without a covering for over a decade , the restoration of Hangar One at Moffett Field will be undertaken . The epoxy coating previously installed over the steel frame meant to keep contaminants from further “ migrating ” has deteriorated in several areas . Crews will have to methodically clean about 1.8 million square feet of steel elements to remove the lead paint and PCBs under the epoxy coating .
This process will take about two years . Scaffolding has been installed on the north end of the building , from which workers will start the complicated work . Once the cleaning and recoating of the steel framing is completed the restoration of the exterior skin can occur .
On May 6 , a celebration of this phase of Hangar One restoration was attended by supporters and local officials . Congresswoman Anna Eshoo , who led efforts to save it , issued the following statement , “ Having worked on this issue since 2003 , I ’ m thrilled that restoration of Hangar One will finally begin on May 5 . Our community has worked for years to save this historic landmark that defines the landscape of the South Bay region and Silicon Valley ”.
Hangar One was built in 1933 as part of Admiral William A . Moffett ’ s vision for Naval Aviation . The hangar was to serve as home to the dirigible USS Macon . The huge building is shaped like an elongated dome . Its dimensions are 198 feet tall , 308 feet wide , 1,133 feet long , and its interior covers eight acres .
In 1994 NASA took control of the site from the Navy . In 2003 , toxins from the hangar ’ s exterior panels were discovered to
Visitors explore the steel skeleton of Hangar One during NASA Ames 75th
Anniversary Open House in 2014 . be migrating into the ground and ground water . The Navy was determined to be the agency responsible for the mitigation of the pollutants .
In 2005 the Navy announced that it wanted to demolish Hanger One , based on the extensive pollution created from the deteriorating coatings on the steel frame and the panels used to construct the sides . The public outcry was swift .
Former mayor Lenny Siegel , with his knowledge as a member of the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board ( RAB ), founded the Save Hangar One Committee , an organization made up of RAB members , Navy veterans , and preservationists . They quickly mounted an effort to protect the iconic building .
The US Navy removed these panels in 2011 and cleaned up toxic materials , leaving NASA in charge of reskinning . In 2014 , Google started a 60 year lease for the 1,000 acre Moffett Field Site for $ 1.6 billion , which included repurposing the three existing airship hangers into laboratories . As part of that deal , Google officials pledged to eventually restore Hangar One by cleaning its structure and reskinning it with new siding .
Hangar One is expected to help Google ’ s Planetary Ventures unit study robots , rovers , drones , balloons , and other technology .
Greg Unangst , a Mountain View resident and co-chairman of the Restoration Advisory Board monitoring the efforts , commented , “ if Planetary Ventures can successfully complete their plans , the hangar should look very much like it looked in the 1930s , only better , without the asbestos , lead and PCBs .”
Driving by Hangar One on 101 over the next two years will provide an ongoing display of the complexity of restoring one of the world ’ s largest freestanding structures and one of the most recognizable landmarks of Silicon Valley .
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