The city of Tustin is asking residents to weigh in on what should happen to the beloved hangar that is the city’s most prominent icon.
Community discussions are underway to plan for the undeveloped parts of the former military base within city limits — including what to do with the historic World War II blimp hangar after its twin burned down in 2023.
The backstory
Marine Corps Air Station Tustin was built in 1942 as a base for blimps charged with patrolling the coastline for enemy craft during World War II. The base was closed in 1999, and the U.S. military has been slowly turning the land over to be redeveloped as neighborhoods, parks, schools, businesses and local government offices.
Tustin is now planning what to do with about 500 acres of undeveloped land in the district dubbed Tustin Legacy.
Tell me more about the fire
The massive, historic blimp hangars are among the largest freestanding wooden structures ever built. Their fate had been hotly debated for decades — raze them? preserve them? and if so, what for? — until November 2023, when a fire broke out in what’s known as the north hangar and quickly got out of control…