Farewell to Moffett Field Hangar 3
Ciao ! Two Goodbyes & One Hello to El Camino Italian Classics
History Happening Now
Farewell to Moffett Field Hangar 3
LEFT In-progress demolition of Hangar 3 .
BACKGROUND : 1987 view of Moffett Field ’ s three massive hangars , from left to right Hangar 1 , Hangar 2 , and Hangar 3 .
After 80 years of existence , a major component of the “ skyline ” at Moffett Field will be no more . Hangar 3 was completed in 1943 after just ten months of construction . Massive fir timbers were shaped into 50 giant arches to form the unique shape ( steel was reserved for direct use in the war effort .) Because of the tight time frame for construction , comprehensive repairs were needed only three years after its completion . Substantial engineering challenges remained throughout the lifespan of the building .
Hangar 3 is huge — 1,110 feet long x 290 feet wide x 190 feet high . Originally built to house anti-submarine blimps , after World War II Hangar 3 was used to house and repair aircraft . The Navy used Hangar 3 for a variety of other uses as well .
In 1994 Moffett Naval Air Station was closed . 1,875 acres were transferred to NASA . The same year Hangar 3 became the home of the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard .
Planetary Ventures signed a 60-year lease for 1,000 acres at Moffett Field in 2014 . Under the terms of their lease with NASA Google agreed to repair the three hangars at Moffett . Five years later Hangar 3 was determined to be no longer safe or usable because of continuously increasing damage . No viable or affordable solutions to save the edifice were identified .
Demolition started earlier this year and will be completed by March of 2025 . A comprehensive history of Hangar 3 can be seen at https :// historicproperties . arc . nasa . gov / h3historysite / index /.
Ciao ! Two Goodbyes & One Hello to El Camino Italian Classics
Two classic Italian-American restaurants on El Camino Real closed their doors on June 22 , much to the sadness of pastaloving patrons throughout the South Bay . After 52 years , Fiorillo ’ s welcomed its last diners in Santa Clara . Up the road in Sunnyvale , the 67-year old Pezzella ’ s Villa Napoli also said “ ciao ” after a long and successful run . Both restaurants were owned and operated by local multi-generational Italian- American families ( The Fiorillos and Pezzellas are cousins ) who decided now was the right time to move on to other ventures . For Mountain View-history lovers , the closure of Pezzella ’ s may hit especially hard — in addition to Italian classics it was one of the last places to serve the locallyfamous “ Parisian Burger ” that originated at Linda ’ s Drive-In in Mtn . View .
In happier news , one of Mtn . View ’ s oldest restaurants is back on El Camino but in a new building and with a new name ! Frankie , Johnnie , & Luigi Too ! ( FJ & L ) operated from 1956 to 2021 at 939 El Camino Real . It owners , the D ’ Ambrosio family decided to redevelop the property with a memorycare residential housing development . The ground-floor of the new building houses a re-imagined FJ & L now named Giorgio ’ s to match the other restaurants the family owns in nearby cities . The menu and the classic “ pizzeria ” neon sign out front on El Camino should look very familiar to FJ & L fans !
Artwork inside the new Giorgio ’ s Italian Grill & Pizzeria on El Camino Real chronicles the site ’ s long history as the home of Frankie , Johnnie , & Luigi Too !
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