National Trust for Historic Preservation just placed the Hangar on the list of the nations 11 most endangered historic places.

http://blogs.nationaltrust.org/preservationnation/?p=588

This is very significant news!

The Navy is also still evaluating their choices, given that they were going to orginally issue their report in December, this means that they are taking a serious look at the alternatives to demolishing this significant Silicon Valley Landmark.

Go NAVY!

The Navy announced by email that their report on Hangar One will be delayed until at least January, 2008, to give the Navy time to conduct a “structural analysis of the hangar’s steel frame.” The full message appears below.

I take this as a good sign. It signals that retaining the steel frame may be one of the alternatives to be considered in detail in the Navy’s report. The community has long argued that the hangar should be preserved, but the Navy has never explicitly listed the alternatives under consideration.

Read more here
http://www.nuqu.org/20071210/272/

Photos now public

Tustin Hangars while very noble are a bit different.

First they are made of wood which will make them harder to save. The Moffett Field structure is made of steel!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lellis_sjca/495709258/in/set-72157600231347674/

Second the hangars at Tustin are far smaller than the structure in Mountain View.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lellis_sjca/495737809/in/set-72157600231347674/

The Macon which was housed in the hangar at Moffett Field was one of the largest aircraft that ever flew in the sky. It carried 5 biplanes on its belly that launched while it was airborne to do coastal search. The Macon was larger than two football fields in size. My father as a boy saw it once fly over his head in sky at low altitude as it blocked out the sky. Its a sight that remains indellible in his memory to this day. Flash Gordon while SciFi had its huge spaceships rooted in this very airship.

Also many people don't know, but the property that the base is on was purchased by the citizens of South Bay for approx $750,000 during the depression for the purposes of locating the base and the structure here. All that Save Hangar One Committee is asking the Navy to do is return assets, not a hole in the ground with an outline of the facility on the ground.

While the Airship was the first significant thing to happen at the base, much followed it. Stanford relocated its wind tunnel research that developed the most efficient propeller designs during World War II.

Subsequent to propeller designs, many of the military and NASA programs out of Moffett field gave birth to the likes of Fairchild, HP, Tandem, and Silicon Graphics to fullfill their program needs.

Silicon Valley has an anchor to its history and the transition from a sleepy farm valley to the mightest technology centers in the world. It all started with the citizens during the depression and the Macon.

There has been approx $200 million dollars allocated by the Navy to the superfund cleanup at the site. The Fabric solution is both an economically sound and a green solution.

Please understand, its not like there is new money required, its money already budgeted to resolve the serious serious hazardous waste problem at the site.

Please look at this article published in the Mountain View Voice about the fabric alternative to save the Hangar presented by Linda Ellis (my spouse) a Mountain View Architect.

Article
http://www.mv-voice.com/story.php?story_id=2930

Presentation
http://www.nuqu.org/20070512/248/

This approach has been endorsed the by Save Hangar One Committee, the most active local organization trying to save the Hangar.

The costs for saving the hangar fall into 3 buckets.

1. Navy Remediation of Toxic Waste
• Removal of the skin containing the PCBs and Lead
-or-
• Continue removing the entire structure after the skin is removed

2. Returning the Hangar to reuse by Re-Skinning
• Fabric Skin & Installation $12 Million Estimate, with a 30 year warranty without maintenance.
• Building code upgrades to return building to Hangar reuse as Hangar (unknown but likely nominal).

3. Alternative use Hangar for other undetermined purposes
• This could include offices, museum, sports facility, etc and could require more dollars to meet other building code requirements beyond the historical and original design use of the building as Hangar.

The building footprint is 8.5 acres with a recovering estimate of $12 Million + dollars and would
1. Save one of the most important historical landmark in Silicon Valley
2. Be the most green approach since it returns 50% less to waste to the environment
3. Be the most economically sound solution since building an 8.5 acres structure for $12 million dollars in today’s dollars is impossible.