Public Support Strong to Restore Vintage Aircraft Hangars

Buildings at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport the Last of Their Kind

The General Western Aero Hangars, which are located on the northeast portion of the Santa Barbara Airport and date to 1931, would cost $2.1 million to restore, according to city staff. | Credit: Courtesy

Two aircraft hangars said to be the “genesis” of the Santa Barbara airport got a lot of love at the Santa Barbara City Council meeting on Tuesday. They were slated to either be demolished, relocated, rebuilt, or some combination of the three, but Kevin Haeberly of the Community Hot Rod Project stepped up to say his group was prepared to fund and restore the buildings through $1.5 million in grants they’d identified and that community members are “ready and willing to donate.” He was followed by a number of residents expressing their equally enthusiastic support.

Kevin Haeberly of Community Hot Rod Project | Credit: Courtesy

Mike Cleary summed up the general sentiment, recalling how his first job in private industry had been in hangars just like these in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Since then the town had torn them down and had sufficient time to regret it: “Be careful. These are gems,” Cleary said. “Keep ‘em. You’ll find a use for ‘em. It’s easy to tear them down; it’s hell to put them back up again.”

City staff pegged the cost to restore the vintage hangars where they sit at about $2.1 million. The speakers suggested potential uses spanning from an auto and aviation museum to a place where automotive trades and design could be taught.

The General Western Aero Hangars date to 1931 and border a section of the airport where a grandstand once viewed the first drag race sanctioned in the United States, Haeberly said. The field also hosted visits from aircraft legends such as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, John Blankenship of the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation reported.

During World War II, the slough to the west of the hangars was filled in, and the airport expanded in that direction. Many indicated the two hangars may be the last of their kind in the United States. While eligible for landmarking, neither building currently has the designation.

They also sit in a spot prone to flooding from San Pedro Creek, not far from the corner of Hollister and Fairview Avenues, and 15-foot storm walls might be necessary. While the corner is in the City of Goleta, the airport property occupies a gerrymandered part of the City of Santa Barbara. Rick Closson told the council that an earlier Airport Commission meeting on the hangars heard strong support from Goletans.

Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez made the motion to proceed with public outreach on the options, saying she had a personal interest as her father was a mechanic and she grew up in his shop and loved classic cars. The motion passed unanimously.