Moffett Field Blimp Hangar 1

Moffett Field, south of San Francisco, was established in 1931 as the West Coast base for the Navy’s rigid airship program. Hangar 1 was built to house the USS Macon, the first airship on base and the third large rigid airship built by the US, which arrived from its trials at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1933. Two years later it was destroyed in a crash off of Big Sur. The 1,133-foot-long steel-framed hangar still stands at Moffett, though it has been stripped down to its metal frame to address and dispose of toxic building materials and fireproofing, as part of a slow-moving restoration program. Next to it is the Moffett Field Museum. The museum is full of models, artifacts, and photographs. There is also an archive and study center at the museum.