[CPEO-MEF] Moffett Field's (CA) Hangar One "nearly naked"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The skeleton of Hangar One stands asas a massive symbol of our  
government's inability to live up to its obligations. Hangar One,  
built in the 1930s to house the U.S.S. Macon naval dirigible, is  
historically and architecturally significant. Legally, the federal  
government is required to restore it once the toxic siding and roof  
are removed, but the White House determined that it was the  
responsibility of the Navy, not its current owner NASA, to contract  
for restoration. And NASA doesn't have the money.

So the leadership of NASA Ames Research Center proposed a partnership  
with H211, a limited liability company owned by the founders of  
Google. H211 currently houses its private aircraft fleet at Moffett's  
Hangar 211. In exchange for the privilege, it uses some of the  
aircraft to conduct scientific research. Despite widespread local  
support , NASA headquarters ignored the proposal, presumably because  
it wants to relinquish ownership of not only the hangar, but also the  
Moffett airstrip. It has asked the federal General Services  
Administration to study Moffett's future use.

So the Hangar will standard naked for one or two years while that  
study is conducted and, if some transfer is recommended, years more  
while transfer is planned. Meanwhile, the cost of restoring the  
Hangar for beneficial reuse will rise as it deteriorates, exposed to  
the elements.

I do not oppose the GSA study, if it's carried out in consultation  
with the local community. But every effort must be made to re-cover  
Hangar One now!

Lenny Siegel




***
Stripping a relic: Moffett Field's Hangar One, Bay Area's most famous  
skeleton, nearly naked

Stephen Tung
San Jose Mercury News (CA)
June 18, 2012


When viewed from Highway 101, the deconstruction of Moffett Field's  
Hangar One resembles dozens of white ants tearing the flesh off a  
metal caterpillar.

For the last nine months, workers rappelled down the outside of the  
hangar to remove sections of contaminated steel and redwood siding.  
In the next few weeks, the hangar will have morphed into a huge steel  
skeleton, which it will remain for the foreseeable future, frozen in  
time by weather sealant and government indecision.

"It's looking real good," said Bernard McDonough, a docent at the  
nearby Moffett Field Museum. "We're surprised how nice it looks."

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_20883358/stripping-relic- 
moffett-field-hangar-one-bay-area

--

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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