Moffett Field & Hangar One
On the bay between Mountain View and Sunnyvale, Moffett Field was built in the 1930s for the Navy’s giant airships. Hangar One, freshly restored, is still a landmark beside Highway 101.
Discover Moffett Field & Hangar One
In 1930 residents of Santa Clara County bought 1,000 acres of bayside land and sold it to the Navy for $1. The base opened in 1933 as NAS Sunnyvale, a name chosen in part because “Mountain View” made officials think of airships hitting mountains, and was soon renamed for Rear Admiral William A. Moffett. (KQED, Wikipedia)
Hangar One covers eight acres and is 1,133 feet long, 308 feet wide and 198 feet high. Its “orange peel” doors weigh about 500 tons each, and the inside is so large that fog sometimes forms near the ceiling. (National Park Service)
It was built for the USS Macon, a 785-foot airship that launched and caught small Sparrowhawk biplanes on a trapeze. The Macon was based here from October 1933 until it was lost off Point Sur in February 1935. (Wikipedia, National Park Service)
Toxic siding closed the hangar in 2003, and the Navy stripped it to its frame between 2010 and 2013. Google’s Planetary Ventures finished restoring it in December 2025. The volunteer Moffett Field Museum, run by the historical society founded in 1993, tells the base’s story. (NASA, Moffett Field Museum)
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Mountain View magic: Hangars, orchards and a lake by the bay
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