Tustin Hangar is Gone

[Gone in 60]

Sorry guys, just heard about this and have to share my utter sadness.
One of our county's greatest landmarks, one of the Tustin Hangars, is currenty being consumed by fire. The two hangars were built during World War 2 to house coastal defense blimps, and have remained two of the largest wooden structures in the country.

Since the closure of Marine Corps Air Station Tustin in the mid 90s, they have been in limbo, and are sitting on what is now prime real estate development land in Orange County. The one that is burning was damaged in a wind storm in 2013 and has been supported by cranes on one side ever since. Still, these giants are something I gaze upon every time I ride home from work, every time I land at our local airport.

https://www.tustinca.org/765/Tustin-Hangars

[GoldOxide_imp]

A great way to collect on fire damage insurance.

[peterbaron]

A great way to collect on fire damage insurance.

...and the cost of insurance payout will increase everyone else's premium!
An insurance company cannot lose!

[Gone in 60]

Despite the closure of MCAS Tustin, the hangars are still owned and cared for by the U.S. Navy. In what has to be an extremely rare case, a water dropping CH46 helicopter was employed to drop water on the fire to try to save the hangar. There is a palpable blanket of sadness on our area right now.

[Cormanus]

I think you’ve posted previously about that hanger, Gone. I’m so sorry to hear it’s on fire.

[GoldOxide_imp]

A great way to collect on fire damage insurance.

...and the cost of insurance payout will increase everyone else's premium!
An insurance company cannot lose!

Nobody cares about that because many only think about themselves until consequences affect their circumstance.

[Gone in 60]

Thanks, Cormanus. It was a special part of my commute home every day, because of the route that I can only take with a motorcycle. The car pool flyover bridge from one freeway to another sails over the spaghetti bowl interchange, and gives a commanding view of Tustin. I can take that bridge because motorcycles use the car pool lanes, and since it's rarely utilized, its my one mile of solitude from one freeway to the other. Rounding the upper part of the bridge, the hangars come into view and make it a bit more special.

I also pass them on my ride to a Cars and Coffee weekend get-together on part of the former Marine base that has been developed into an office park and food court. The CB1100 always attracts attention there. So much of the commercial development of the area is themed to the hangars, or the blimp and airship history of them, like this mural by my favorite artist, Shag.


The hangar that survives is the stronger of the two, and is still used regularly for events. It hosted the worldwide launch of the current C8 generation Corvette. It's used to house the Goodyear Blimp while it's being serviced.


And, it's right across the street from our local shopping area, so we're frequently near it. Hopefully we will be for a long time to come.

Thanks for letting me vent, guys. The fate of these landmarks has always been in the back of my mind, and it's hard to see one go so suddenly.