Moffett Field Blimp Hangars 2 and 3, California

Moffett Field, south of San Francisco, was established in 1931 as the West Coast base for the Navy’s rigid airship program. There are three airship hangars at the base: Hangar 1, which was built in 1933 for the USS Macon, and hangars 2 and 3, across the runways from the main base. During and after WWII, the base grew dramatically and became a center for surveillance technology and aeronautic research, operated by the Navy, as well as NASA. NASA’s Ames Research Lab still operates some of the largest wind tunnels in the world here. In 2014, most of Moffett Field, including the runways, and hangars, was leased to a Google subsidiary, Planetary Ventures, LLC, for 60 years, at $1.16 billion. Most of Google’s current activity is taking place around Hangars 2 and 3. These were built during WWII to house surveillance and submarine-spotting blimps, and are similar to the 15 or so others that were built at ten sites around the country at that time. Google is restoring these hangars, and using them to house a number of projects, some known, and some unknown. Google co-founder Sergey Brin is said to be developing a large airship inside one of the hangars.