{"nrhp_refnum":"75000451","name":"Lighter-than-Air Ship Hangars","other_names":["Marine Corps Air Station"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Valencia and Redhill Aves.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Santa Ana","county":"Orange County","state":"CA","lat":33.70350118500005,"lon":-117.82401733299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-04-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two very large wood-framed airship hangars at the Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) at Valencia and Redhill Avenues in Santa Ana, Orange County, California, completed in 1943 as part of a series built to the same plans at ten locations.","why_significant":"The hangars are described as among the largest wood-supported structures in the world and a long-standing Orange County landmark. They represent the period in World War II when airships were part of United States anti-submarine defense, and each could shelter a full squadron of six airships. They later housed helicopter squadrons during development of the vertical assault.","narrative":"Two enormous airship hangars stand at the Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) in Santa Ana, California. Built in 1943 when the site was the Santa Ana Naval Lighter-Than-Air Base, they were two of a series constructed to identical plans at ten locations across the country. Each hangar is 1,088 feet long, 297 feet wide and 178 feet to the roof, with concrete end structures holding six huge sliding doors and a wood-framed arched roof carried by fifty-one wooden braces. They are counted among the largest wood-supported structures in the world and have long been a landmark in Orange County. Each could shelter six airships, an entire squadron, used in anti-submarine defense during World War II. After the war the base was decommissioned, and from 1949 to 1951 private enterprise used the hangars as an aircraft museum and storage area. Since 1951 they have housed helicopter squadrons. The roofs were replaced in 1957.","period_of_significance":"1943-present","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in military use housing helicopters; in good condition, original appearance and location, reroofed in late 1957.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.939904-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/75000451.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000451/f99a2b9cec-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000451/f99a2b9cec-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Lordkinbote at English Wikipedia (Robert A. Estremo)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tustin_Blimp_Hangar_No_2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lordkinbote at English Wikipedia (Robert A. Estremo)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tustin_Blimp_Hangar_No_2.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860264","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Air_Station_Tustin","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6764074"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/orange-county/lighter-than-air-ship-hangars-75000451/"}