One of Southern California’s most surreal and lesser-known landmarks is also one of its biggest.
It’s a giant World War II blimp hangar in Tustin, towering 17 stories tall and stretching about 1,000 feet long on the former Marine Corps Air Station.
The South Hangar is now the last remaining of a famous matching pair. Its accompanying North Hangar was destroyed in a 2023 fire, leaving city leaders with increasingly urgent questions about what to do with the one still standing.
Tustin is now seeking ideas from private companies, nonprofits, and public agencies that might preserve or redevelop the historic structure, while opponents argue it would be better to take it down entirely.
Possible future uses for the South hangar have ranged from a history museum or film production space to a massive concert venue. But preserving the structure will not be cheap, with the city estimating rehabilitation costs to reach more than $200 million, per a city report from earlier this year.
Tustin put out a request for proposals about what to do with the hangar, and will begin evaluating them in early 2027, according to the Orange County Register. They expect to have recommendations ready for the City Council around mid-2027.
Looking back on the Tustin blimp hangars
The United States built the Tustin blimp hangars in 1942 to house Navy blimps, which patrolled the West Coast for enemy submarines during World War II.
They were built almost completely from wood during an accelerated wartime schedule, and remain two of the largest wooden structures ever built, according to the City of Tustin.
In fact, the American Society of Civil Engineers eventually recognized the hangars as one of the “Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks of the 20th Century” in 1993.
Eagle-eyed viewers may even recognize the hangars from appearances in major TV shows and films, such as JAG, The X Files, Austin Powers, Pearl Harbor, and Star Trek.
The base was eventually closed in 1999 by the federal government, and the enormous blimp hangars have stood empty ever since.
🌐 Learn more: TustinCA.org
