[CPEO-MEF] HISTORY: Moffett Field's (CA) Hangar One makes "most endangered" list

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

STATE TREASURES ON ENDANGERED LIST
DUBIOUS DISTINCTION: National Trust declares dirigible's hangar, 
California's parks as two of nation's most vulnerable landmarks

Carl Nolte
San Francisco Chronicle
May 20, 2008

California's state parks, which were saved from Gov. Arnold 
Schwarzenegger's budget ax only last week, earned a dubious distinction 
today - the whole 278-unit system was named to the National Trust for 
Historic Preservation's list of endangered landmarks.

...

The landmark dirigible hangar at Moffett Field in Mountain View, which 
the trust called "a stunning piece of California's aviation history," 
also made the list.

The hangar, a giant domed structure 200 feet high, is in danger of 
demolition because it contains toxic substances like PCBs and asbestos, 
and the substances are leaking into nearby water.

The hangar was built to house giant Navy airships in the 1930s. It is 
owned by NASA, which took over the former Moffett Naval Air Station. 
However, the Navy is required to clean up the toxic materials, and two 
years ago the Navy proposed tearing down the structure.

Local residents formed a Save Hangar One Committee to oppose the 
demolition on grounds that it is "a monument to innovation and service 
and an icon of the Peninsula."

Since then the Navy has been considering options for the huge hangar. 
"But there is still a high risk that the Navy will recommend demolition 
of the hangar," said Steve Williams, a computer programmer who is part 
of the Save Hangar One committee.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/20/MNRM10P5QV.DTL&hw=Hangar&sn=001&sc=1000

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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