90-Year-Old Silicon Valley Airship Hangar Fully Restored

A towering piece of aviation history just got a new lease on life in California's Silicon Valley.

Hangar One, the massive 90-year-old structure at NASA's Ames Research Center, has been fully restored after years of painstaking work to remove toxic materials and rebuild its iconic exterior. The landmark, which once sheltered Navy airships in the 1930s, now stands complete again in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The journey to restoration wasn't simple. In 1997, NASA discovered the hangar's original siding contained dangerous chemicals including PCBs, asbestos, and lead paint. The contamination was so severe that the entire building was closed to human use in 2003.

The U.S. Navy started the cleanup by stripping away all the toxic exterior materials, leaving only the massive steel skeleton standing. They sealed the frame with protective epoxy and waited for a partner who could finish the job.

That partner arrived in 2014 when Planetary Ventures signed a lease with NASA to operate the airfield and bring Hangar One back. In 2022, crews began the delicate work of removing every last trace of contamination, section by section, while the structure was carefully encased to protect workers and the environment.

The team didn't just clean the hangar. They repainted the entire steel frame, added new siding that matches the original look, installed fresh windows and doors, and made structural upgrades to ensure the building lasts another century. Every step followed strict historical preservation standards set by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

In December 2025, the work was finally complete.

The Ripple Effect

Hangar One isn't just any building. Standing 198 feet tall and stretching over 1,100 feet long, it's a cathedral of early aviation history. Built in 1933 for the USS Macon airship, it served as the West Coast hub for America's lighter-than-air program before transitioning through decades of military and NASA use.

The restoration means the Bay Area community gets to keep a piece of its heritage. Local residents showed up to Navy hearings in 2008 to voice overwhelming support for saving the structure, not tearing it down. Their advocacy helped make this project possible.

Now the hangar stands as proof that even the most contaminated historic sites can be saved with patience, expertise, and commitment to doing things right.

The iconic orange landmark is ready to serve Silicon Valley for generations to come.