At least we can afford a hanger for this.

We need to find a way to re-skin Hangar One... about 33 million dollars. It is a historic building and needs to be put back together. How? Private and Federal monies together maybe?

Hmm, maybe we could build a scale model of Hangar One for way less than $33 million.

re: "Hangar One played a role in shaping the valley as the landmark of the former Moffett Field Naval Air Station, which attracted and anchored NASA Ames Research Center, an under-appreciated player in Silicon Valley's development since the beginning."

That was an assertion, without evidence, made by a commenter in a previous thread here at Mountain View Online. Now, it's become a fact that is going to be quoted in stories about Hangar One?

That model is awesome, wish I could see it fly. Regarding money for Hangar One, Bond Measure, interest rates are at record lows and we need the stimulus for construction jobs. Put all those cool aircraft on display when it's done and charge admission, lease it out for company parties, concerts, etc..

@Mike Laursen...
I'm not sure which statement you are objecting to, so I'll try to address the whole bunch of them to the extent of my (albeit limited) knowledge on the matter. First, it is of no debate that Moffett Field was key in drawing NACA to build its second aeronautical research laboratory here. This link (Web Link details the criteria NACA used to select the site. Also instrumental to the site selection were proximity to Stanford and Berkeley, proximity to aircraft manufacturers, relative lack of air traffic, fair weather and an the local industrial base. Hangar One did not appear to play directly into the decision, and NACA/NASA has never really used Hangar One. As for Ames' role in Silicon Valley? Certainly Stanford played a larger role, but Ames and the DoD did draw high-tech defense firms to the area including Lockheed. NACA Ames was built to counter German aeronautical research just prior to WWII, for the primary benefit of the military. Lockheed brought the Polaris program, sold some land to make Onizuka and the advent of satellite recon. For sure there was cross-pollination of talent, but I'd not go so far as to say NACA/NASA was central, or even important to the emergence of the Silicon Valley. Rather, I'd say it benefitted from the emergence of the Valley. Possibly a symbiotic relationship with the funding federal institutions bring to smaller local companies that help to develop talent.

So, to sum up... Moffett Field important in drawing NASA Ames? yes. Hangar One? probably not. NASA important player in the emergence of Silicon Valley? maybe, but certainly not critical.

Let that building DIE, we have many pictures of it for MEMORIES & invest the money on the LIVING DEAD!