Historic Naval Air Station and NASA Research Complex
Mountain View, CA 94035
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Moffett Field Museum is free; access to the broader base is restricted
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1933 · Naval Aviation History · World War II · NASA Ames Research Center · National Register of Historic Places
Construction of what would become Moffett Federal Airfield began in October 1931, with the primary purpose of housing the USS Macon, a helium-filled airship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. The centerpiece of the base — Hangar One — was completed in July 1933, designed by German structural engineer Karl Arnstein of the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation. At 1,133 feet long and 308 feet wide, the structure covers 8 acres and was engineered to maintain the 785-foot-long Macon inside.
The USS Macon was lost in February 1935 off Point Sur, California, after encountering a storm. Of the 83 crew members, 81 survived. Following the loss, the Navy transferred the station to the Army before returning it as Naval Air Station Moffett Field in 1942. During World War II, the base was home to patrol blimps tracking submarine activity along the Pacific coast.
The infirmary building, reportedly constructed in the 1930s, sits on the interior portion of the base grounds. When the Navy still operated the base, security officers performing nighttime rounds reported encounters in the old infirmary. The accounts describe a child — a young girl in period clothing — standing inside, looking toward the officers. The accounts circulated among base security staff but have not been traced to a specific historical incident.
The base was formally transferred to NASA in 1994 and is now home to NASA Ames Research Center and several tech companies under long-term lease agreements. Hangar One was listed among the nation's 11 most endangered historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2008 and was accepted onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
Sources
The paranormal account at Moffett Field is narrowly attributed to one building: the old infirmary, constructed in the 1930s during the base's original Navy period. Security personnel assigned to night patrol reported the same general phenomenon across independent accounts — a young girl, dressed in clothing from an earlier era, visible inside the building and looking toward the officer.
No documentation links the apparition to a specific historical event, death, or occupant. The infirmary would have served naval personnel and their dependents through the base's active years, which included World War II service. The identity of the figure and the circumstances behind these reports remain unverified.
The accounts were shared among base security staff and have not been formally investigated. The building itself is not open to the public, located within the secured portions of the NASA Ames / Moffett Federal Airfield complex.
The Moffett Field Museum chronicles the airfield's history from its 1930s origins as a naval airship station through its NASA era. The iconic Hangar One, built in 1933, is visible on the property. The old infirmary building — where security officers reported seeing a child's apparition — is on the base grounds and not publicly accessible.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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