We’ve shared a lot of articles from Google Sightseeing over the years. They do a great job of choosing an interesting topic and then digging in deep. Their recent article from Ian Brown on the subject of Airship Hangars is no different.
Hundreds of hangars were building airships in the last century, though most of them are gone now. The earliest building, Hangar Y at Chalais Meudon outside Paris, is not only intact but is actually in 3D in Google Earth:
Here is Ian’s take on Hangar Y:
Hangar Y was built in 1879 on what was then a military base. It is 70m long, 24m wide and 20m high (230′ x 78′ x 65′), although additional structures have since been added on both sides. It was originally a pavilion at the Paris exhibition, but was moved to house the airship La France. It later served for several decades as a museum and was used by painter Marc Chagall when he was working on large ceiling panels for an opera house.
The article goes into great detail about many of the hangars around the world, and I encourage you to read the full entry. In addition, as they usually do, they’ve also release a KML file to help you follow along.
Great work, Ian!