Fort Barry Balloon Hangar and Motor Vehicle Sheds ... Barry Balloon Hangar and Motor Vehicle Sheds...

National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

Golden Gate National Recreation AreaSan Francisco, CA 94123

Fort Barry Balloon Hangar and Motor Vehicle ShedsAbbreviated Historic Structures Report

Fort Barry Balloon Hangar, 1939.(PARC, GOGA 32423)

Cover Photo: Fort Barry Balloon Han-gar and Motor Vehicle Sheds, 2004.(John Martini)

Fort Barry Balloon Hangar and Motor Vehicle ShedsAbbreviated Historic Structures Report

Golden Gate National Recreation AreaSan Francisco, California

Produced by the Cultural Resources and Museum Management DivisionNational Park Service

U.S. Department of the InteriorWashington, DC

Contents

Introduction 7Preparation 7Relevant Documents 7Executive Summary 7

Historic Significance 8World War I and 1920s 8World War II Era 11Nike Missile Era 12Presidio Riding Stables 12

Evaluation Criteria 13Balloon Hangar 13Vehicle Sheds 13

Developmental Timeline 15

Developmental History 17Pre-Hangar Era 17Balloon Hangar Era 17Coast Artillery Use 20Post-War and Cold War Eras 21Riding Stable Era 25

Physical Description - BalloonHangar 28Exterior 28

Foundation 28Structure 28Wall Surfaces 28Roofing 28

Interior 29Floor 29Walls 29Mechanical and Plumbing 29

Physical Description - MotorVehicle Sheds 30Structure 30Roofing 30Siding 30

Significant Features 32

Bibliography 33

Appendix AStructural Evaluation of Balloon HangarArchitectural Evaluation of Balloon HangarCost Estimate - Balloon Hangar

Fort Barry Balloon Hangar and MotorVehicle Sheds, 2004. (John Martini)

6 Balloon Hangar Historic Structures Report

National Park Service 7

Air Service Recruiting Poster with C-3Balloon, circa 1920. (NARA)

PreparationThe Historical Architect in charge of the reportwas Jane Lehman (NPS-CRMM). John Martini,Historical Consultant, conducted the historicalresearch. Tennebaum-Manheim Engineers pro-vided the Structural Evaluation, Aviva LitmanCleper Architects provided the architecturalevaluation, and Rudy Carrasquilla ConstructionConsultant provided the cost estimates.

Relevant DocumentsThe Fort Barry Balloon Hangar is one of manycultural resources within the Forts Baker, Barryand Cronkhite Historic District located withinthe Marin Headlands section of the Golden GateNational Recreation Area. The General Manage-ment Plan/Environmental Analysis (GMP, Sep-tember 1980) is the main planning document forthe GGNRA.

The 1973 National Register of Historic Placesform, expanded in 1979, lists the Fort Barry Bal-loon Hangar as a contributing feature to theForts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite Historic Dis-trict. When a National Historic Landmark nomi-nation for the Seacoast Fortifications of SanFrancisco Bay is completed in the near future,the hangar will be listed as a contributing struc-ture. The hangar, building FA-905, is also in-cluded on the List of Classified Structures.

Two documents written about the Golden GateNational Recreation Area contain sections aboutFort Barry and the Balloon Hangar. The His-toric Resource Study entitled Seacoast Fortifica-tions San Francisco Harbor was written by ErwinThompson and published by the National ParkService, Denver Service Center, in May 1979.Shortly after this document another Historic Re-source Study, History of Forts Baker, Barry andCronkhite, was written by Erwin Thompson andpublished by the Denver Service Center in No-vember 1979.

There are four primary sources of research ma-terials:

1) The Historic Document Collection of theGolden Gate National Recreation Area, locatedat the Park Archives and Records Center at thePresidio of San Francisco;

2) The Historic Document Collection of theGolden Gate National Recreation Area housedat the Park Archives and Records Center;

3) The Sierra Pacific Area branch of the NationalArchives and Records Administration (NARA),located at San Bruno; and

4) The Main branch of NARA located in Wash-ington, D.C.

Executive SummaryThis Historic Structures Report is being pre-pared in order to document the existing condi-tions and provide guidance for the maintenanceand preservation of the Fort Barry Balloon Han-gar and the adjacent Motor Vehicle Sheds.

Introduction

This Abbreviated Historic Structure Report was prepared by the National ParkService (NPS), Division of Cultural Resources and Museum Management(CRMM), Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).


The U.S. Army began experimenting with usinglighter-than-air craft during the Civil War when,in 1861 the Union Army contracted with civilianballoon company for relaying signals, spottingartillery fire and watching enemy troop move-ments. An official Air Division was organized in1864 as a replacement for the civilian BalloonCorps, and the division was made part of theSignal Corps or Signal Service, names that wereused interchangeably from 1864 to 1891. Tetheredto the ground and inflated with hydrogen, theballoons were considered to be less than suc-cessful in their embryonic role. In 1908, The U.S.Army’s Board of Ordnance and Fortificationsauthorized $25,000 for the purchase of a diri-gible, and a new Aeronautical Division was cre-ated. In August that year, the single hydrogen-filled airship constituted what would eventuallybecome the US Air Force. Shortly thereafter, theDivision was headquartered at Fort Omaha, Ne-braska, the home of the Signal Corps School.1

World War I and 1920sDuring World War I, both the Allies and theGermans experimented with using balloons incombat, both in the familiar “fixed” role of teth-ered spotting platforms and also in the form ofpowered dirigibles, which were capable of carry-ing out long-distance bombing sorties. When theUnited States entered the war in 1917, only threeU.S. balloon companies existed: the 2nd, 14th and24th. General John J. Pershing, realizing the valueof the balloons, repeatedly requested 125 ballooncompanies for his Allied Expeditionary Force.However, only 26 companies arrived in Franceand of these only 17 were sent to the front. 2

The Americans did not have much of their ownequipment, though, and instead adopted theFrench army’s “Caquot Type R” observation bal-loons. Measuring 92 ft. long and 32 ft. diameter,the Type R could stay aloft in winds as high as 70mph. These airships (sometimes derisively called“sausage balloons” because of their bulbous

Historic Significance

The balloon hangar at Fort Barry is a surviving element of the U.S. Army’sbrief experimentations with using tethered balloons as part of the nation’ssystem of coastal defenses. Constructed and abandoned the same year, thestructure is the only surviving hangar of its type that actually housed an armyballoon, and one of only two examples of its type known to survive in thecountry. As such, it has a national level of significance for its part in theevolving stories of both coastal defense and military aviation.

C3 Army Balloon at San Francisco CityHall, circa 1929. (San Francisco PublicLibrary: SFPL AAB-7399)


Ft. Funston Balloon Hangar, San Fran-cisco, 1942 (now demolished). (PARC,GOGA)

shape) consisted of a hydrogen-filled bodyequipped with fins that provided stability inrough air, and a suspended wicker basket thatheld a two-man crew. Communication betweenthe observers and the ground crew was via atelephone cable spliced onto the mooring line.Before long, the Americans began manufacturingtheir own version of the French balloons, whichthe army designated the Type C-3. During 1918-1919, nearly a thousand C-3s were manufacturedin the U.S. 3

The Caquot design proved durable, and the sau-sage balloons continued to be manufactured upthrough World War II, where they frequentlysaw use as unmanned “barrage balloons” de-signed to ward off low-flying aircraft. (Only oneCaquot Type R / C-3 is known to exist today, andis on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum inDayton, Ohio.)

In 1920 the Air Service decided to dispatch sev-eral balloon companies to the Pacific Coast tocarry out experiments with the Coast Artillery incoordinating fire control between aerial observ-ers and fixed shore batteries. The 14th and 24th

companies arrived in San Francisco on April 10,1920, and were assigned respectively to FortFunston in San Francisco and Fort Baker in theMarin Headlands. At the time of its arrival atFort Baker, the 24th Company was under thecommand of First Lieutenant F. J. Durrschmidt,Air Service. During their three weeks at SanFrancisco the balloons did little flying. Instead,the companies’ mission during this early phase

was to identify locations for future hangars andbillets, and in a study of existing coastal artillerysystems and the nature of the work involved.4

Each company’s equipment consisted of a TypeC-3 tethered observation balloon, a type A-7spherical “free” balloon, a portable hydrogengenerator, numerous vehicles, mooring winches,and a maze of ground tackle and rigging equip-ment. At this time there were no buildings spe-cifically designed for the balloon companies’ use,either for housing the troops and their equip-ment or for storing the balloons, so the balloonswere apparently deflated when not in active ser-vice.

The 24th was briefly detached to Fort Worden inWashington State in May 1920 where they car-ried out similar duties planning future balloonsites in the Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound. Anidea of the amount of equipment allocated to theballoon companies is indicated by a report filedupon the arrival of the 24th at Fort Worden,which stated the company’s equipment filledeight railroad cars.5

The company returned to San Francisco laterthat summer and on November 24, 1920, theCoast Artillery carried out the first balloon-as-sisted firings of a major caliber gun battery,when a crew from the 24th Balloon Companymoored at Fort Barry directed the fire of the two12-inch guns near Point Bonita at Fort Barry. Ac-cording to the Air Service Newsletter:


Ft. Scott Balloon Hangar, San Fran-cisco, circa 1939 (now demolished).(PARC, GOGA 32422)

Battery Mendell (12 inch disappearing guns)fired 22 shots at a pyramidal target with an ap-proximate range of 14,000 yards, the target be-ing towed by a tug with a tow line of 500 feet.The tracking and spotting were done by bal-loons and the data obtained from the BalloonPlotting Room. No direct hits were obtained onthe pyramidal but had it been actual serviceconditions with a ship as the target at least fiveof the shots would have been direct hits. …these results have laid a foundation upon whichfuture improvements can be built with lastingand definite advantage to the Service.6

The army was apparently satisfied that the bal-loons were going to be a permanent part of theCoast Artillery’s arsenal, and in mid-1920 autho-rized the construction of permanent balloonhangars and associated “generator house” build-ings at eight army posts around the country.Work subsequently began on the hangars at FortBarry and Winfield Scott on 27 July 1920, andboth were completed by 26 June 1921 at a totalcombined cost of $199,787.7 (Shortly afterwards athird hangar was constructed at Fort Funston8,but it was of a different design from the Scottand Barry hangars.9)

Experiments continued during the latter part of1920 and into 1921 on various techniques for di-recting artillery fire. The first method was thesimplest, consisting of a single balloon with twoobservers in the wicker basket watching for thesplash (called “the fall of shot”) when a shelllanded near a target, and relaying correctionsback to the battery. One observer used a simpletelescope to track the moving target and watched

for the splash. When he saw the splash he ver-bally relayed his observations and corrections tothe second crewman, who was connected viatelephone to switchboard on the ground andfrom there to the plotting room at the battery.These corrections, usually stated succinctly as“Up 200 yards” or similar, would then be fac-tored into the aiming directions relayed to thegun crew.

The second technique was more complex, con-sisting of observers in two tethered balloons si-multaneously taking bearings on a moving targetand having a ground crew calculate the range tothe target. Since the two balloons were moored aknown distance apart their positions formed a“base line”, and their differing angles of view to-wards the target could be used to calculate thedistance to the target using simple trigonometry.At the San Francisco experiments, one balloonfrom the 24th Balloon Company was tethered atFort Barry while a balloon from the 14th Com-pany was moored above Fort Miley, providing abaseline the width of the Golden Gate.

Of course, innumerable variables and complica-tions had to be thrown into this seeminglysimple bit of math work, not the least of whichwas the fact that the baseline was constantlychanging its length due to the wind-tossed mo-tion of the balloons.

Wind was a constant problem for the balloons,and during January 1921 both of the companiesin San Francisco lost a balloon due to highwinds. Nevertheless, the army felt that experi-


East Vehicle Shed, Ft. Barry, California,1940. (PARC, GOGA 32423) ments in the base line range finding merited con-

tinued refinement, and work continued on thepermanent hangars. 10

As noted above, the balloon hangar at Fort Barrywas completed on June 27, 1921. Although it wasnot officially recorded, it is believed the 24th Bal-loon Company moved its balloon into the newstructure not long afterwards. It is known theywere still on-site at Fort Baker in late June,though, because the monthly report states thaton the 25th the entire company had been engagedin fighting grass fires “which raged on with thehigh winds.” In addition, the company was en-gaged in a class in “Balloon Fabric work and Rig-ging”, presumably in the new hangar building.11

However, their occupancy would not be a longone; before the end of 1921 both balloon compa-nies were removed from the Harbor Defenses ofSan Francisco. (The companies never returnedto Puget Sound, despite the fact that an identicalhangar to the one at Fort Barry had been com-pleted at Fort Worden in December 1921. Thathangar never did house a balloon.12)

World War II EraThe use of the Fort Barry hangar is not recordedfrom the time of the Balloon Companies’ depar-ture in late 1921 until the start of World War II,but likely it was held in reserve for the future re-turn of an army balloon. The building was stilllisted in the post quartermaster’s records as‘Hangar (Balloon), Capacity: 1 Balloon’ as late as1939.13 Also, the hangar still retained its toweringsliding doors until well into 1942. Recognizingthe army’s penchant for putting empty spaces touse, though, it’s likely the hangar’s interiorserved as a convenient warehouse for FortsBaker, Barry and Cronkhite – a use that could bequickly changed back into hangar space on shortnotice.

In 1941 the Marin Headlands forts experienced amassive buildup of troop strength as the armyprepared for possible war with Japan and Ger-many. During this “Mobilization” period thearmy must have realized the obsolescence of theballoon hangar, and its landing field north of thehangar doors was converted into a motor poolarea with covered sheds for trucks and vehicles.The capacious interior of the hangar was likely


Ft. Worden Balloon Hangar, PortTownsend, Washington, 2001.McCurdy Pavillion/Littlefield Green.(Michael Shopenn)

converted to workshop spaces at the same time.In 1943 the hangar experienced its first major re-modeling when the sliding doors were removedand the balloon entrance enclosed with sidingmaterial salvaged from the big doors, and shopsand offices were constructed along the hangar’sside bays.14

Nike Missile EraAt the outbreak of the Cold War, the hangar wasonce more converted to a new use; this time asan Ordnance Repair Shop for antiaircraft sur-face-to-air missiles emplaced beginning in early1953 in the Marin Headlands at the end of theKorean War. During the period 1953-1959, theballoon hangar continued to be used as a main-tenance facility for routine missile repairs fornearby Nike launch sites SF-87 at Fort Cronkhiteand SF-88 at Fort Barry. (Higher-level repairsand servicing of the missiles took place at thePresidio.) This role would continue until at least1959 when the larger Nike-Hercules missilescame into service and specially-designed assem-bly and test buildings were built at every Her-cules battery, thus lessening the need for thecentral assembly and test facility located in thehangar.15

Presidio Riding StablesIn 1966, the Presidio Riding Stables were grantedthe use of the former vehicle sheds and the han-gar building. The stables were part of the “qual-ity of life” recreational facilities provided by theU.S. Army for its Presidio garrison and their de-pendents, and it operated as part of the military’s“non-appropriated funding activities.” As part of

the Presidio Stables, the 1940s vehicle sheds infront of the hangar were enclosed and turnedinto horse stalls and tack rooms, while thehangar’s interior was converted into an indoorriding rink.


Application of Criteriaof Evaluation1. Balloon HangarDespite its various uses and modifications, theFort Barry Balloon Hangar still maintains a highdegree of integrity, retaining significant charac-teristics from its three defensive roles: first, as anAir Service facility that aided in the coastal de-fense system and experimentation during theperiod 1920-1921; second, as a World War II mo-tor pool site that supported the Harbor Defensesof San Francisco from 1940-1945; and finally as aCold War antiaircraft and missile maintenancefacility from 1953 to sometime after 1959.

The balloon hangar takes on an added degree ofsignificance given that it is the only remainingexample of two identical hangars built aroundSan Francisco during the early 1920s. Also, it isthe only surviving example on the West Coast ofa hangar that actually housed an observationballoon. By contrast, the Fort Worden balloonhangar was completed many months after thelast Balloon Company departed the Puget Soundarea, and its interior has been completely re-modeled for use as a theater.

It is considered to have National Level signifi-cance under both National Register Criteria Aand C, and Local Level Significance under Crite-rion A.

Criterion A (National): The Fort Barry BalloonHangar has association with the U.S. Army’s ten-tative yet important experiments followingWorld War I utilizing aerial balloons for spottingenemy targets. This embryonic mission would intime evolve to include fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, reconnaissance “spy planes” (suchas the U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird) and even satel-lites for gathering information on enemy loca-tion and movements. It is also the only exampleof its type in the nation that actually housed anarmy Air Service reconnaissance balloon.

Criterion A (Local): The Fort Barry hangarserved two important defense-related missionsfollowing its balloon use with important rel-evance to the local story of San Francisco harbordefense. First, beginning in 1940, the hangar andits adjacent vehicle sheds served as a central mo-tor pool for vehicles assigned to the Coast Artil-lery units in the Marin Headlands during WorldWar II. Second, during the Cold War, the hangarwas converted into a central Ordnance RepairShop that supported the two Nike missile launchsites constructed in Forts Barry and Cronkhite.

(The launch site at Fort Barry has been restoredto its appearance c1960.) Its interior still containsmany small-scale features relating to this laterNike use, including three lean-to office addi-tions, electrical and compressed air utility con-nections, and various wall stencils.

Criterion C (National): As mentioned above,the Fort Barry Balloon Hangar is a rare survivingexample of an Air Service airship hangar. Thebasic gambrel-roof design and dimensions of theoriginal hangar remain unchanged, and its inte-rior layout still retains the open, airy feeling ofan aircraft hangar. Although other Air Serviceaircraft hangars are known to exist around thecountry, this is the only example of an airshiphangar that retains its important interior con-figuration in an unaltered state. (Of the eightidentical hangars built under the original 1920program only the hangars at Forts Barry andWorden survive, and as noted above, the one atWorden is highly modified.)

2. Vehicle Sheds.The two frame vehicle sheds in front of the han-gar are rare examples of “Series 700” designstructures erected by the army on the eve ofWorld War II. Once common at Bay Area mili-tary posts, these nondescript yet functional ve-hicle sheds have all been demolished except forthe pair at Fort Barry. Their subsequent role as amotor pool facility for the Coast Artillery and AirDefense Artillery makes them important ele-ments of the story of the defense of San Fran-cisco Bay during World War II and the KoreanWar. Even though altered by enclosing most oftheir originally open bays, the sheds’ exterior di-mensions and rooflines remain in their originalconfiguration. Also, the entire northern third ofBldg 902 remains in its origin open bay configu-ration, complete with bare earth floors.

The sheds are considered to have Local LevelSignificance under Criterion A and RegionalLevel significance under National Register Crite-rion C:

Criterion A (Local): The Fort Barry vehiclesheds served two important defense-related mis-sions relevant to local story of San Francisco har-bor defense. First, beginning in 1940, the shedsand adjacent hangar served as a central motorpool for storage and maintenance of vehicles as-signed to the Coast Artillery units in the MarinHeadlands during World War II. Second, duringthe Cold War, the sheds continued as vehiclestorage for the Air Defense Units and Nike sitesin the Marin Headlands.

Criterion C (Regional): As mentioned, above


the vehicle sheds are the sole surviving examplesin the San Francisco area of once-common styleof military building. The National Park Servicehas made a commitment to preserving other Se-ries 700 building examples remaining in FortsBaker, Barry, and Funston, and these functionalstructures contribute significantly to that preser-vation effort.

In short, the Fort Barry hangar complex is an ex-tremely significant area. The hangar is alreadyincluded as an element of the Forts Baker, Barry,and Cronkhite National Register District. Thecomplex’ three buildings are also contributingelements to a potential National Historic Land-mark district on the Harbor Defenses of SanFrancisco.

(Endnotes)1 Keepers At the Gate, by V.J. Gregory, PortTownsend Publishing Co, Port Townsend, WA.1976. pg 206-2072 Gregory, pg 2043 USAF Museum website http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/early_years/ey5a.htm “Caquot Type R ObservationBalloon”4 Air Service Newsletter, “14th and 24th BalloonCompanies to Cooperate with Coast Artillery”,27 April 19205 Gregory, pg 2036 Air Service Newsletter, “For the First Time inHistory of the World Problem Fired In WhichAll Data Was Supplied From the Air ByBalloon.” 29 December 1920.7 Lt. Col. I.L. Fredendall, Construction QM,June 30, 1921, “Completion Report of BalloonHangars at Forts Barry and W. Scott.”Completion Reports, Ft. Winfield Scott, RG77,Office of the Chief of Engineers, NARA8 Historic Resource Study: SeacoastFortifications San Francisco Harbor. NationalPark Service: Denver, 1980. pg 2889 See aerial photo of Fort Funston takenFebruary 1942 in the Kenneth CooperCollection, PARC, GOGA10 Thompson, pg 28811 Air Service Newsletter, “24th BalloonCompany, Fort Baker, Calif.” June 25, 192112 Gregory, pg 20713 “Post Building Book, Fort Barry, California,”entry for Bldg. No. 141, PARC14 Drawing, “Alterations to Balloon Hangar,Fort Barry,” 24 August 1943. Drawer 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA15 Oral History interview with Peter Bohan, U.S.Army (ret.). GOGA-2647. Mr. Bohan served asChief Warrant Officer at Nike Site SF88L, FortBarry, from 1958 until 1963.


Timeline1920 April. The 24th Balloon Company ar-rives at Fort Baker to begin operations withCoast Artillery units.August. Plans prepared for“Standard Dirigible Balloon Hangars for Avia-tion Stations”

1921 Hangar completed on 27 June 1921. To-tal cost: $99,893.50 (including cost of adjacenthydrogen generating building.)

1939 30 June 1939. Building Book entry: “To-tal expenditures to date [1921-1939]: $1,903.22

1940 Building Book entry: “Total expendi-tures F.Y. 40: $7.49”-Two vehicle sheds con-structed on former balloon landing field north ofhangar. OQMG general plan #700-329. [Bldgs.901 & 902]

1942 Building Book entry: “M.R. [Misc. Re-pairs?] F.Y. 42: $94.81 / $2.205.52”

1943 Hangar converted to Motor Pool uses-Plan dated 24 August 1943 “Alterations to Bal-loon Hangar”. Large roller doors and supportsremoved. Door opening framed-in and coveredwith salvaged corrugated asbestos. Two 10’x12’warehouse-type hanging doors installed. 3’x6’8”swing-in personnel doors built into the largerdoors.- Plan dated 10 November 1943. “Officesfor Fort Barry Motor Pool inside Balloon Han-gar.” 16’x40’ building with shed roof constructedinside hangar against east wall. Contains threerooms. - Plan dated 26 November 1943 “Latrineat Bldg. 141, Fort Barry, Motor Pool for the 6th

CAC”. Latrine room added at south end of of-fices shown on earlier drawing.

1944 Portion of motor vehicle shed no 143(present Bldg. 901) converted to paint shop byenclosing southern third of structure with boardsiding with new windows and vehicle doors.Windows added to existing southern wall.

1946 Aerial photo taken in October showscompleted motor pool complex. However,former hydrogen generator house is no longerpresent.

1953 Hangar converted to Antiaircraft Artil-lery (AAA) maintenance facility.-Plan dated 20June 1953 “Rehabilitation of Balloon Hangar toHeavy Armament Shop. Shows numerous alter-ations and new construction including new of-fices and latrine; new floor slab; new roller doorand personnel door at north end; upgraded util-ity systems; new surrounding walkways and con-

crete apron on north side. - Notations regardingsiding and roof: “Deteriorated roofing to be re-placed with 22 ga. Galvanized corrugated metal”;“Existing corr. Siding to remain”; “Remove ex-isting corr. Asbestos coated sheet iron all aroundbldg and replace w/ corrugated cement asbestossiding”; “Colored corrugated glass fiber sheets”to be added to existing window openings. - Bothcourses of windows apparently enlarged inheight, and additional plexiglass windows addedon remodeled north facade. - Cinderblock trans-former vault added to west side of structure.

1954 Plan dated 21 May 1954 “Bldg 907 – Ft.Barry / Nike Assembly Area”. Shows interiorwith missile assembly and test equipment inplace, including ten disassembled Nike-Ajaxmissile bodies and warheads

1959 Plan dated 15 September 1959 “Bldg 907– Fort Barry. Housing for Air Receivers”. Showsnew wood structure for air compressor and res-ervoir tanks to be constructed adjacent to southexterior wall of hangar.

1966 Presidio Riding Stables receive permitfrom army to use old vehicle sheds and hangarfor riding stables.

1982 New concrete ramp added alongsidewest side of Bldg. 901 to improve drainage in ad-jacent paddock.

1984 Fire alarm system installed in Bldgs 901and 902

1985 Electrical systems upgraded in Bldgs901 and 902 by removing existing electrical lightsand power distribution and installing new.

1994 Presidio Stables given year-to-year Spe-cial Use Permit by National Park Service to con-tinue their operations in hangar and vehiclesheds.


Pre-Hangar EraThe site of the future Fort Barry Balloon Hangarwas originally part of the sprawling RanchoSaucelito, a Mexican land grant given by theMexican government in 1833 to William AntonioRichardson, a naturalized British citizen. In 1866Richardson’s successor owner, WilliamThrockmorton, sold much of Rancho Saucelitoto the U.S. Government for defensive purposes.The newly acquired military post was initiallydubbed “Lime Point Military Reservation” butin 1892 the area was renamed Fort Baker inhonor of Edwin Baker, a former senator andUnion officer who had been killed during theCivil War. The boundary between the new mili-tary post and Throckmorton’s land to the northwas a zigzag boundary that roughly followed thecourse of the small stream that drained westwardto today’s Rodeo Beach.

The Balloon Hangar area was not developed forthe first 38 years the army controlled Fort Baker.The site in its natural state was a U-shaped valleyopening towards the north, drained by a smallrivulet that eventually merged with the larger Ro-deo Creek running down the middle of the val-ley. Sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds,the small valley was reminiscent of other bowl-shaped valleys still surviving in today’s MarinHeadlands, such as the former Chiolli ranch sitenorth of Rodeo Beach and the Gerbode Pre-serve directly across the valley from the hangarsite.

The military first developed the unnamed valleyin 1904-1905 as part of a large-scale project to es-tablish a “Departmental Rifle Range” in FortBaker. At this time, every army post had its owntarget range where troops would train with a va-riety of rifles and small arms. However, the qual-ity of these ranges varied widely and the armydecided that, in the interests of uniformity oftraining, soldiers should travel to centralized,properly designed ranges for their periodicmarksmanship qualifications. Constructed bymilitary convicts ferried over from Alcatraz Is-land, the Departmental Range at Fort Baker wasdesigned as central training facility where troopsfrom around the western states could come forannual rifle and small arms qualifications. Workbegan in November 1904 and was substantiallycompleted by May 1905.1 (In December 1904 the

army subdivided Fort Baker into two smallerforts — Baker and Barry — and the proposedrifle range became part of Fort Barry.)

The future balloon hangar site initially served asthe temporary camp site for enlisted men and of-ficers assigned to the Departmental Range, andduring the course of constructing the range thecurving perimeter of the valley was carved intotwo parallel benches or terraces for the quarters.The upper terrace held permanent (albeitcrudely built) mess halls, latrines, and livingquarters for officers while the lower bench heldprepared platforms where enlisted men andNCOs would pitch tents for the duration of theirstay at the range.2

Several companies at a time could be accommo-dated at the encampment valley, and a small de-tachment of soldiers remained on-site at alltimes to provide what might be called adminis-trative overhead. By 1910, the temporary framestructures consisted of a barn, an office, a store-house, a cookhouse, a post exchange, an officers’quarters, and six mess kitchens.3 (See figure“USTC [U.S Training Camp] Fort Barry TargetRange”)

This housing area saw regular (if intermittent)use during the 1900s and 1910s while the adjacentDepartmental Range served as a centralized fire-arms qualification area for soldiers on the PacificCoast. However, during World War I the range’shousing areas were pressed into service as a full-time cantonment for troops undergoing trainingat the Presidio and other nearby military postsbefore being shipped overseas. Following thewar, the valley briefly assumed the additionalrole of housing ROTC cadets assigned to the SanFrancisco area.

Balloon Company EraOn April 14, 1920, the 24th Balloon Company ar-rived at Fort Baker to begin its training and coor-dination activities with the Coast Artillery. How-ever, as noted previously, little in the way ofactual flying was done during the first few weeksas the company spent most of its time “choosingsuitable locations for permanent buildings forballoon garrisons, and in the study of Coast Ar-tillery Systems and the nature of the work in-volved.”4 At that time, their equipment consisted

Developmental History

Although the Balloon Hangar housed coastal defense balloons for only a shortperiod of time, it has demonstrated its usefulness in many different waysthroughout its 85-year history.

Site plan of Balloon Hangar and land-ing field showing buildings associatedwith the temporary camp site for theDepartmental Rifle Range, July 27,1921. (Drwr. 213, Folder 1, PARC,GOGA)


Departmental Rifle Range Camp,1917. (PARC, GOGA 3045) of a Type C3 tethered observation balloon, a

spherical or “free” balloon, a portable hydrogengenerator, mooring winches, numerous vehicles,and ground support equipment.

Shortly afterward, the 24th was dispatched to thedefenses of the Columbia River but returnedlater that summer, and on November 24, 1920the Company participated in target ranging exer-cises at Battery Mendell, Fort Barry. 5 Presum-ably, since there was no permanent hangar, theballoons were inflated for training missions suchas this one and then deflated for stowage – a timeconsuming and probably frustrating situation forthe soldiers.

It was quickly realized that the balloon compa-nies, if they were to become a permanent ad-junct to the Coast Artillery companies, neededpermanent structures both for the men and theirballoons. In late 1920 the army authorized theconstruction of permanent balloon hangars andassociated “generator house” buildings at eightarmy posts around the country. The locations se-lected were as follows: Forts McKinley and Will-iams in Portland, ME; Forts Nahant and Andrewin Boston; Forts Barry and Winfield Scott in the

Presidio of San Francisco; and Forts Worden andCasey on Puget Sound.6

In August and September 1920, the ConstructionDivision of the War Department approved stan-dardized plans for “Dirigible Balloon Hangarsfor Aviation Stations” to be used for the eightcoast defense locations.7

The specifications for each hangar complex wereidentical, calling for a steel hangar covered withgalvanized iron, 120 by 76 feet, rising to an eleva-tion of 60 feet; a generator house of steel con-struction on a concrete foundation, 80 feetsquare; a frame storehouse, 30 by 70 feet; and aframe garage 30 by 60 feet. In addition, eachgroup of buildings required six acres of sur-rounding land, much of it for use as a landingfield and staging area for the ground support andmooring equipment.8

In the meantime, the 24th Balloon Company con-tinued to work with the artillerymen of theMarin forts. The need for a hangar was empha-sized when a southwester blew into the MarinHeadlands in early 1921 and nearly tore loose aballoon tethered in the open in “a valley pro-


tected on all sides but the north”, presumably thefuture site of the hangar. During the storm thewind got beneath the balloon, lifted it up, and“pulled some two dozen screw anchors from theground, which had been softened by the previ-ous rains. In spite of the hard fight put up by theballoon guards, amid entangling rigging and fly-ing screw anchors and sand bags, the balloonpulled away and was wrecked.”9

Another balloon must have been acquired,though, because in March the 24th Company re-ported they had been assisting in range findingfor the 6-inch guns at Battery Guthrie, FortBarry. However, progress on a permanenthanger was being made, and the Company’s en-try in the Air Service Newsletter for that monthnoted:

Rain has prevented much flying on the part ofthe Twenty-fourth Balloon Company and hassoftened the balloon bed of the organization tosuch an extent that it had to be abandoned. Anew bed is being made on a good hillside loca-tion which is well drained. It is reported that thematerial for a new balloon hangar has beenshipped and it is expected that the Twenty-fourth Company will soon be well housed. Be-cause of the bad weather in early Februarythere was not much flying, but the Companyfinished its new balloon bed, laid out new fieldtelephone lines, and carried out drills and recruitinstruction.10

According to the “Completion Report” on thehangars at Forts Barry and Scott filed by theConstructing Quartermaster, actual constructionon the Fort Barry hangar began on 27 July 1920,with site preparation work carried out by con-tract laborers. The location of the balloon hangarwas described as “stiff blue clay overlaid by alayer of adobe, approximately by 2 feet in thick-ness”, and preparatory to construction work thearea was cleared off grass and burned, and a 12-inch tile drain laid and the field rough graded.11

Primary work on the hangars at both Forts Barryand Scott was carried out by Lange & Bergstomof San Francisco and McClintic-Marshall Co. ofPittsburgh, PA, who supplied the steelwork forthe Fort Barry hangar and the other seven han-gars to be constructed around the country. Thework was performed under the direction of theConstructing Quartermaster, Lt. Colonel Ira L.Fredendall, and his assistants, and was directlyunder a civilian Superintendent of Constructionand a civilian Inspector as assistant for a periodof about ten weeks.12

The Completion Report is cited here at lengthbecause of the information it yields about the

construction of the hangar:

Excavations were made with steam shovel andmaterial was moved with 5 ton motor trucks.The field was surfaced with red rock from a lo-cal quarry. Grading was completed August 20th

[1920]. … Work on foundations and concretefloors was started January 3, 1921, and com-pleted April 27th – a 10-foot gasoline drivenmixer was used. Steel erection was startedMarch 21st and completed April 21st – a guy der-rick and steam hoist were used. Painting wasstarted April 22nd and was completed June 27th.Covering was started April 25th and completedJune 25th. Electric wiring was stared April 26th

and completed May 7th. Finish grading wasstarted May 3rd and completed June 25th. Con-tractors had to furnish transportation betweenSan Francisco and Fort Barry and all materialshad to be hauled about 5 miles. The rainy sea-son delayed concrete work considerably.13

According to the Fort Barry “Building Book”maintained by the fort’s quartermaster, the Bal-loon Hangar was officially completed on 27 June1921 and initially designated Bldg No 141. Totalcost was listed as $99,893.5014

In its original form, the Balloon Hangar was arectangular building measuring 77’ x 120’ withsloping sides and a peaked roof, reaching amaximum interior height of approximately 65’10”. The most notable feature of the buildingwas a pair of sliding doors on its north façade,each measuring approximately 22’9” wide x44’9” high, which slid open a supporting gantryto allow entry of an inflated balloon.15 Originalcompletion drawings for the hangar have notbeen located, but apparently the interior was en-tirely open in this initial configuration. With its120’ interior clear space, the hangar was easilylarge enough to accommodate simultaneously aninflated Type C3 observation balloon and asmaller free balloon.

In addition to the hangar proper, the new bal-loon complex included a generator house lo-cated approximately 200 feet southeast of thehangar where the highly flammable hydrogen gasfor inflating the balloons was located. A buried6” gas pipe connected the generator house to thehangar.

The final element of the complex was a spacious“balloon field” located north of the hangarwhere the airships could be launched and re-trieved, and their ground tackle laid out. Thefield encompassed a square area roughly 500 feeton a side that dropped in elevation roughly 40’from south to north. The field was also criss-crossed by several roads and creeks, and does


Fort Barry Balloon Hangar, 1939.(PARC, GOGA 32423)

not appear to have been a prepared landing sur-face in the modern sense of an airfield. Instead,it was likely just a designated open area that wasto be kept free of future construction to allowroom for the safe handling of the balloons.16

It is not known how long the 24th Balloon Com-pany used the new hangar at Fort Barry, but ac-cording to the Air Service Newsletter both the24th and the 14th Companies had relocated toCrissy Field in the Presidio by November 1921.Again, the records are mute on when the twocompanies finally left San Francisco since no ref-erence to either of them has been found in theNewsletter after that time.17

Coast Artillery UseThe looming but empty balloon hangar becamea fixture on the Fort Barry landscape during the1920s and ‘30s. Although the Quartermaster’sbuilding book still referred to the structure as ahangar as late as 1939, the building was merelybeing kept in reserve for the possible eventualreturn of a balloon outfit. Up through the end ofFY1939, expenditures on the hangar totaled$1,903.22 for unspecified improvements andmaintenance.18 However, recognizing the army’spenchant for putting empty spaces to use, it is

likely the hangar’s interior served as a warehousefor Forts Baker and Barry – a use that couldquickly revert to hangar space on short notice.(A supporting fact for this theory is that the han-gar still retained its towering sliding doors untilwell into 1943.)

In 1940 the United States began to mobilize itsmilitary forces for possible involvement in theexpanding European war, and yet another coastartillery fort was established in the Marin Head-lands to augment Forts Baker and Barry: FortCronkhite, located on the north side of RodeoLagoon. This new fort comprised several artil-lery emplacements and a cantonment area forseveral companies of the 6th and 56th Coast Artil-lery Regiments.

During this period, the old balloon field areanorth of the hangar became the site of two ex-pansive vehicle sheds hastily constructed tohouse the growing fleet of vehicles assigned tothe posts. These sheds were virtually identical,each measuring 46’ x 216’ and consisting of 18covered bays arranged in three stair-stepped sec-tions of six bays each. The sheds were con-structed according to standardized drawing#700-329, and were completed in September


West Vehicle Shed, Ft Barry, 1942.(PARC, GOGA 32423)

1940 at a total cost of $8,976.28.19 (See figure “Ve-hicle Sheds Ft. Barry (Balloon Hgr) August1940”)

At the same time the vehicle sheds were com-pleted the old hangar also seems to have been re-cruited for a new use as a maintenance buildingfor the trucks and jeeps parked in the adjacentsheds, because the Building Book bears a hand-written notation under the hangar photo statingit was “used for Cronkite [sic] Motor Pool.”20

Whether this new function was the result of in-tentional planning by the army or personal initia-tive on the part of Coast Artillery GIs is un-known.

Midway through World War II, the hangar beganto be modified from its original 1920 configura-tion as its use as a motor pool became firmly es-tablished. The first major alteration occurred inAugust 1943 when the sliding balloon doors wereremoved and their opening enclosed with mate-rials salvaged from the doors. Vehicle access tothe interior was now to be provided by two 10’x12’ sliding doors and personnel access was viatwo 3’x 6’8” doors, one in each of the largerdoors. As part of the remodeling, the steel gantryframes supporting the rolling doors, technicallyknown as bents, were also demolished.21 In No-vember, a two-room office with adjacent latrinefor the motor pool was constructed in the north-east corner of the building, just inside one of thenew vehicle doors. Built of tarpaper coveredboard-and-batten walls with an angled roof, the

no frills office was probably similar to “emer-gency” construction buildings erected elsewhereby the army about the same time.22

In 1944 the vehicle sheds underwent their firstalteration when the southern third of today’sBldg 901 was enclosed to create a paint shed,probably for painting motor pool vehicles. Theaccomplish this, six stalls at the end closest to thehangar were enclosed on three sides with woodframing and plank walls. (The fourth side was al-ready enclosed by the existing shed end.) Vehicledoors and windows were included in the newwalls, and new windows added to the existingend wall.23 This area today serves as a combina-tion office/break room and tack room for thePresidio Stables.

Post-War and Cold War ErasThe army records contain no information onuses of the balloon hangar following World WarII but likely the structure was left empty, as weredozens of other buildings in Forts Baker andBarry when the army demobilized following thewar. This era of quiet was to be short-lived, how-ever, because in 1951 the army began to re-armthe Headlands forts at the outbreak of the Ko-rean War. This time the anticipated threat wasfrom enemy aircraft rather than warships, andradar directed antiaircraft guns began to beemplaced on hilltops throughout Forts Baker,Barry and Cronkhite.

In 1953 the army began to upgrade its antiaircraft

The most notable featureof the building was apair of sliding doors onthe front facade, eachmeasuring approxi-mately 22’9” wide x44’9” high, which slidopen a supporting gan-try to allow entry of aninflated balloon.


gun batteries with radar directed surface-to-airNike missiles. These missiles were state-of-the-art in the early 1950s and required highly trainedartillery crews to operate and maintain theircomplex electronics and propulsion systems.The army planned to construct permanentlaunch sites at two locations in the Headlandsfor the storage and maintenance of the missiles,but their completion dates wouldn’t be until1955. When the first missiles arrived in the Head-lands in mid-1953, their emplacements wereearthwork field positions located in the vicinityof the not-yet constructed permanent launchsites. Maintenance would have to be carried outelsewhere.

As part of the support system for the new Nikes,the former motor pool in the Fort Barry balloonhangar was converted into a “heavy armamentrepair shop” where the missiles could be ser-viced and repaired. For a second time the build-ing was altered for a new use, but this time withmore radical results. As part of the renovationsthe following actions took place:

• New 4” concrete floor slab poured atop exist-ing 6” concrete floor throughout the interior

• Both vehicle doors removed and replacedwith a single, larger roll-up door in the locationof the former eastern door.

• Installation of gas heaters, compressed airlines and water lines

• New electrical service and light fixtures

• Addition of a concrete apron along the northend of the building for use as a wash stand

• Replacement of corrugated roof

• Replacement of existing glass windows withdouble-wide courses of translucent plexiglasswindows

• Replacement of lowest course of corrugatedsiding on all four sides with heavier gauge corru-gated cement asbestos siding

• Construction of a three small structureswithin the hangar: a new latrine in the northwestcorner; a new tool room and parts room struc-ture in the southwest corner; and a new office inthe northeast corner that replaced the 1943 struc-ture. 24

By 1954 the use of the building was clearlyknown, and a floor plan prepared on 21 May thatyear clearly labeled the structure “Nike Assembly

Area.” This drawing shows the interior of thehangar totally converted to missile servicing ac-tivities, with the bays on both sides being used astest areas for assembled missiles and various mis-sile subassemblies and components.25 (See figure“Bldg 907 – Ft Barry / Nike Assembly Area” 21May 1954).

In 1955 the two permanent launch sites in theMarin Headlands were completed and desig-nated SF-87 at Fort Cronkhite and SF-88 at FortBarry. Despite the fact that each site wasequipped with its own assembly and test build-ings, the hangar continued to serve as a centralmaintenance facility for the two sites. In a 1998interview, former Chief Warrant Officer PeterBohan of SF-88 stated that the hangar operatedas a first-level maintenance facility where repairswere carried out that couldn’t be handled at thelaunch sites but that didn’t require transport tothe higher-level maintenance facility at thePresidio. 26

Repairing missiles in the Fort Barry hangarseems to have been preferable to sending theweapons to the Presidio for another reason: inorder to transport a missile across the GoldenGate Bridge, it missile had to be disassembledand placed in containers (“canned”) for securityreasons. By contrast, the Nike-Ajax missilescould be hauled intact to the hangar without riskof compromising security (or alerting civilians)since they never had to leave the military-con-trolled area.

Here’s how Bohan described the hangar’s use:

[The hangar] was not a full-time operation, ei-ther. So if a missile had to be tested by theirpeople [i.e., technicians from Fort Baker] accord-ing to their manuals, OK, we’d take the missileand we’d bring it on over to the hangar. Now,let me put it this way. We did not ‘can it’ whenwe took it to the hangar. We weren’t out in apublic area. But if we went down to Fort Bakeror anyplace else, OK, then they canned it thereat the balloon hangar or we canned it at thesite because we knew it was leaving the area al-together. 27

It is not known exactly when missile repairsceased to take place at the hangar, but it musthave continued well after 1959 because in Sep-tember that year, a small frame building was con-structed on the south side of the hangar for anair compressor and two air receivers, replacingthe portable air compressors that had served thebuilding since 1953. The compressed air waspiped from the new building to the various as-sembly and test stations lining the sides of thehangar, where it was used to test hydraulic and

Floor plan of the Balloon Hangarshowing its use as a Nike AssemblyArea, May 21, 1954. (Drwr 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA)


Above: Ft. Barry Aerial, circa 1970.(U.S. Navy)

Ft. Barry Location Map, 1985. (NPS)


Presidio Riding Club, 2003. (JaneLehman)

compressed air systems inside the missile bod-ies.28 This date also corresponds to the periodwhen the original Nike-Ajax missiles were beingreplaced at the two Headlands launch sites bythe much larger Nike-Hercules missiles, and thenew air compressors were likely needed to pro-vide additional pressure for the Hercules’ morerobust systems.

Riding Stable EraAs stated above, it is not known exactly whenthe Nike service facility was phased out, but in1966 the Presidio Riding Stables assumed controlof the balloon hangar complex. Operating undera permit from the Sixth U.S. Army, the stablemembers converted the former vehicle shedsinto tack rooms and horse stalls, and con-structed paddocks and corrals adjacent to thesheds.29 Inside the balloon hangar itself, a ridingrink was created by lining the perimeter of thecentral open area with stout wooden planks andfilling it with clean dirt and sand. The former of-fice building at the northeast corner was turnedinto an informal storage area, and the tool room/supply room at the opposite corner was leftabandoned in place. The missile assembly andtest bays located outside the rink served as addi-tional ‘dead storage’ for the stable operation. Theonly physical alteration to the hangar seems tohave been the demolition of the 1953 latrine lo-cated in the northwest corner of the hangar andthe creation of two emergency exits along theside of the hangar. (The latter were made by thesimple expedient of removing several corrugatedpanels and installing paper “EXIT” signs overthe resulting openings.)30

Throughout their occupancy of the hangar com-plex the Riding Stables have continued to carryout periodic upgrades to the structures, albeitprimarily the former vehicle sheds, to deal withproblems such as poor drainage, sanitation, andsecurity upgrades. These actions have includedinstallation of a septic tank and leeching field in197631; re-roofing the sheds and installing fire de-tector systems in 198432; installing additionalwooden flooring in the stalls along with an exte-rior ramp to deal with bad drainage in the westpaddock in 198533, and replacing the existingpower distribution and electrical lighting systemsin 1985.34

In 1994, with the closing of the Presidio immi-nent, the Presidio Stables formally incorporatedthemselves as the “Presidio Riding Club”. Fol-lowing base closure of the Presidio, the stableswere issued a renewable year-to-year Special UsePermit by the Golden Gate National RecreationArea to carry out the programs.35

At the time of this writing, the Presidio RidingClub still continue their operations in the threehistoric structures, and are still negotiating withthe National Park Service for a long-term leaseon the complex.36

Endnotes)1 “Historic Resource Study: Forts Baker, Barry,Cronkhite, Golden Gate National RecreationArea”, by Erwin Thompson, Denver ServiceCenter, NPS, 1979. Pg 93-942 Photographs, “USTC Fort Barry Target RangeOctober 1917” and “ROTC No. 62 Fort Barry”,both in GOGA-3045, PARC, GOGA


3 Thompson, pg 944 Air Service Newsletter, 29 December 19205 Air Service Newsletter, 29 December 19206 Drawing “Standard Dirigible Balloon Hangarfor Aviation Station”, 1920, Park Archives &Records Center (hereafter PARC), Drawer 213,Folder 37 Blueprints, “Dirigible Balloon Hangars forAviation Stations, Construction Division, WarDepartment, Washington, D.C.”, Contract 9528.Dated 8/20/1920 and 9/29/1920. Drawer 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA8 Gregory, pg 2049 Air Service Newsletter, 12 January 1921.10 Air Service Newsletter, 15 March 192111 “Completion Report On Construction ofBalloon Hangars, Generator Houses, etc. atForts Barry and Winfield Scott, Calif. UnderLump Sum Contracts by Lange & Bergstromand McClintic-Marshall Co.”, by Lt. Col. Ira L.Frendendall, Constructing Quartermaster, Q.M.Corps, 30 June 1921. Construction CompletionReports, Entry 391, Box 286, Record Group77, Office of the Chief of Engineers, NARA12 “Completion Report”, page 9-1013 “Completion Report” page 814 “Historic Record of Buildings, Fort Barry,California”. Entry for Bldg 141 “Hangar(Balloon)”. Park Archives & Records Center(PARC), Golden Gate National Recreation Area(GOGA).15 “Historic Record of Buildings, Fort Barry”16 Drawing, “Fort Barry – Cal. Showing BalloonHangar Etc.”, 27 July 1921. Drawer 213, Folder1, PARC, GOGA.17 “Historic Resource Study: SeacoastFortifications, San Francisco Harbor”, by ErwinThompson, Denver Service Center, NPS, 1980.Pg 288.18 “Historic Record of Buildings, Fort Barry”19 “Historic Record of Buildings, Fort Barry,California”. Entry for Bldgs T-142 and T-143“Motor Vehicle Shed (Temporary)”. PARC,GOGA20 “Historic Record of Buildings, Fort Barry,California”. Entry for Bldg 141 “Hangar(Balloon)”. Park Archives & Records Center(PARC), Golden Gate National Recreation Area(GOGA). The handwriting beneath the photomatches handwriting used to make entrieselsewhere on the page dated 1940.21 Drawing, “Alterations to Balloon Hangar,Fort Barry,” 24 August 1943. Drawer 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA22 Drawings “Offices for Fort Barry Motor PoolInside Balloon Hangar, Bldg #141, Fort Barry,California”, 10 November 1943, and “Latrine atBldg No. 141, Ft Barry, Motor Pool for the 6th

C.A.”, 26 November 1943. Both, Drawer 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA

23 Drawing “Paint Shed in Motor Shed No 143,Regimental Motor Pool, 6th CA”, Plan 7143-E-182, 17 January 1944. Drawer 213, Folder 1,PARC, GOGA24 Drawings “Conversion of Balloon Hangar forUse as Armament Shop” (4 sheets), 30 June1953. Drawer 213, Folder 1, PARC, GOGA25 Drawing, “Bldg 907 – Fort Barry / NikeAssembly Area”, 21 May 1954. Drawer 213,Folder 1, PARC, GOGA26 Oral History interview with CWO PeterBohan, U.S. Army (ret.). 1998. GOGA-2647.PARC, GOGA27 Bohan28 Drawing, “Bldg 907 – Fort Barry. Housingfor Air Receivers”. 15 September 1959. Drawer213, Folder 1, PARC, GOGA29 Public information handout sheet prepared bythe Presidio Stables, n.d.30 On-site inspections of Fort Barry BalloonHangar, January and April 2004.31 “Progress Report: Installation of Septic Tankat Leaching Field, Horse Stables, Bldg 901,Fort Barry”, 6 July 1977. ADPWE-2, Box 14,Folder “Installation Septic Tank”, PARC,GOGA. At the time this report was prepared theproject had been temporarily halted awaitingunspecified NPS actions.32 “Report of Proceedings of the GoverningCouncil for the Presidio Riding Club”, 17October 1984. ADPWO-3, Box 5, Folder “PSFRiding Stable”, PARC, GOGA33 “Report of Proceedings of the GoverningCouncil for the Presidio Riding Club”, 17December 1984 and 1 February 1985.ADPWO-3, Box 5, Folder “PSF Riding Stable”,PARC, GOGA34 Drawing, “Rewire Stable Facilities at FortBarry, Buildings T-901 and T-902”, 30 July1985. Drawer 213, Folder 1, PARC, GOGA35 Letter, Supt. Brian O’Neill, GOGA, to Lt.Col. Davis, HQ 6th U.S. Army, 5 July 1994.ADPCA, Box 3, Folder “Riding Club”, PARC,GOGA36 Interview with Jay Eichenhorst, GOGABusiness Office, 6 July 2004.


The north elevation of the BalloonHangar showing the existing 15’ x 20’opening and the two tiers of corru-gated glass fiber sheets. (JaneLehman, 2002)

The vertical trusses form bays alongthe sides of the Balloon Hangar andthe glass fiber sheets let in an ampleamount of natural light. (John Mar-tini, 2004)

ExteriorFoundationThe foundation consists of concrete piers at eachcolumn. There is a 6” high concrete curb and a2’-0” x 6” concrete apron running around theperimeter of the building. There is a 10” con-crete slab in the center of the structure while theslabs on the east and west wings of the buildingare only 4” thick.

StructureField constructed trusses form the roof and wallsof the hangar. The trusses are 20’ on center andassembled from steel angles. The top and bot-tom chords are 4x3 angles and the intermediatemembers are 2½ x2 angles. The purlins are 4”channels, approximately 4’ on center, that spanbetween the trusses and carry the roof sheath-ing.

Wall SurfacesHistoric Building - The original sheathing usedon both the roof and walls of the building wascorrugated asbestos-coated sheet iron. Thissheathing was partially removed in 1953 and thelower section was replaced with the current cor-rugated cement asbestos siding.

Two extremely large (approximately 22’ x 46’high) sliding doors were mounted on the northside of the building. (See photo inside frontcover.) These doors were suspended from steelstructures that projected out beyond the sides ofthe building. The doors and frames were re-

moved in 1943 and replaced with two 10’ x 12’ ga-rage doors and one passage door.

There were two horizontal bands of windows onthe original building, similar to the factory stylewindows of the time. These were approximately4’ tall and ran the entire length of the building ata head height of 20’ and 42’. (Check type oforiginal windows)

Current Building - The lowest tier of the Bal-loon Hangar siding is corrugated cement asbes-tos siding in approximately 3’ x 6’ sheets. Theyare 3/8” thick with a 4.2” profile in the corruga-tions. This siding is cracked and broken in manyplaces and has a great deal of green algae on theexterior. Where sheets of siding have broken, anattempt to patch the surface with corrugatedmetal siding has been undertaken. The uppertiers of siding are the original corrugated asbes-tos coated iron sheets. These are generally invery poor condition.

The two 10’ x 12’ garage openings were replacedwith one 15’ x 20’ opening which is still existing.The metal roll up door is still in place.

Two rows of translucent, colored corrugatedglass fiber sheets exist in place of the originalwindows. When the sheathing on the first tierwas replaced, the window heights were doubledto approximately 9’ tall. These sheets are in faircondition.

RoofingThe roof sheathing is 22 ga. galvanized corru-

Physical Description – Balloon Hangar (FA-907)

The Fort Barry Balloon Hangar is a large, distinctive building nestled into ahillside in the Marin Headlands. The hangar is a gambrel-shaped structure. Ithas a rectangular floor plan 76’-2” x 120’-0”, and is approximately 53’ high atits ridge. The inside of the building is essentially one large open space and iscurrently being used as a riding ring by the Presidio Horse Stables. In front ofthe hangar are two long, low buildings that were originally constructed asMotor Vehicle Sheds, but are currently being used as horse stables withpaddocks surrounding them.

The gambrel walls have an approximately 3:1 slope and are covered withcorrugated siding. There are two bands of corrugated fiberglass on the walls ofthe building which serve to let natural light inside. Drainage is poor andshrubbery has grown up around the south, east and west sides of the buildinglimiting access to these sides.

The three ventilators on the roof leanat different angles. (John Martini,2004)

An attempt is made to patch the as-bestos board siding with corrugatedmetal siding of the incorrect profile.(John Martini, 2004)


The structure’s original field-as-sembled trusses are clearly visible.(John Martini, 2004)

Stenciled number on Bay 5 remainingfrom the Balloon Hangar’s use as amaintenance garage during WorldWar II. (John Martini, 2004)

gated metal on a 1:4 roof slope. The currentroofing was installed in 1953.

There are 3 round metal ventilators mounted onthe roof.

Included within this report is a structural and anarchitectural analysis of this building. It gives adetailed assessment of the condition of the steelframing members and of the condition of outerskin of the building, including the roof, walls,and window areas.

InteriorBecause the building was originally constructedto house hydrogen filled observation balloons, itwas designed to have a large unobstructed inte-rior space in which to inflate and work on theballoons. The clear space within the hangar is45’ wide by 120’ long and is almost 46’ high. Thevertical trusses supporting the sloping wall formsix 15’ by 20’ bays along each side. The largeopen space is still very much intact although itsuse has changed several times over the years.

FloorThe floor throughout the interior space is con-crete. According to the plans a new concretefloor was placed in 1953 when the building wasconverted into its missile storage use. The con-crete is 10” thick in the open center portion and4” thick in the side bays. The majority of the

open space is currently being used as a horse-riding arena. There is a layer of soft fill approxi-mately 12” thick covering the majority of themain floor area.

WallsDuring the hangar’s previous uses as a motorpool garage and Nike assembly area severalrooms were constructed along the perimeter ofthe building in the bays formed by the trusses.Two 15’ x 20’ rooms, with a loft above, still existin the northeast corner of the interior. There is1x8 V-groove siding on the walls and remnantsof the railing around the loft.

There were also rooms in the other three cor-ners of the space. There are parts of the roofs,walls, doors and windows of these rooms re-maining, however they are not complete.

A fence was constructed of horizontal 2x6’s toform the outer edges of the riding rink.

Mechanical and PlumbingThere are several overhead gas heaters remainingin the building. They are very rusted and pre-sumably have not been used since the facility wasdecommissioned from military use. One waterheater is remaining in the corner that was previ-ously used as the restroom.

The southwest interior corner of theBalloon Hangar shows the originalvertical trusses, rooms built duringthe Nike Assembly use of the build-ing, plus the wall of the current in-door riding rink. (John Martini, 2003)


Motor Vehicle Shed interior showing4x4 post and beam and cross bracing.(John Martini, 2004)

Original design of the Sheds had ex-posed rafter ends. Gutters and smallroofs over the openings were addedlater. (Jane Lehman, 2004)

StructureThe vehicle sheds are constructed of 4x4 postsand beams, 12’-0” on center in both directions.There are 4x4 cross braces at the corners of allthe columns. The foundations are individualprecast concrete piers. The roof framing is 2x4@ 16” on center with 2x6 sheathing on top.When the vehicle sheds were built in 1940, theend walls were filled in with 2x4 framing and 1x8vertical sheathing, but the long sides were openon the front and back. This created a carportwith easy access for pulling vehicles in and out.

When the vehicle sheds were converted intohorse stables in the 1960s, most of the long sidewalls were filled in with framing and sheathing.There is one section on the north end of FB-905that was never filled in and retains much of itsintegrity. Originally the floors were dirt, how-ever, some of the bays have had concrete floorsadded.

RoofingThe roof framing is a very shallow gable with theraking edges on the north and south of thebuildings. There is red asphalt composition rollroofing on the Vehicle Sheds. The east Shed hasrecently been re-roofed, but the west Shed hasan extensive collection of patches on the roof.

Six-inch deep aluminum gutters have beenadded to the front and back eaves of both Sheds.These follow the roof line and drop down inshort downspouts from one gutter to the next.The only downspouts are at the far north end ofthe buildings.

SidingThere is a collection of different types of sidingon the buildings at this time. There is 1x8 and1x6 vertical siding, and 1x12 horizontal board andbatten siding. There are some areas that have nosiding and some areas that have siding to a heightof approximately 3-ft.

The walls at the far ends of the Sheds have origi-nal 1x8 vertical siding. On the north end of thebuilding there is a lot of algae and organicgrowth that should be cleaned off. The horizon-tal 1x12 siding was added during the conversionto a riding stable. All of the siding on the struc-tures needs paint.

Doors and WindowsThere was at least one wood frame, double-hungwindow in each end of the Vehicle Sheds. Sev-eral of them have been replaced with aluminumsliders of a different proportion than the origi-nal.

Originally there were no doors on the VehicleSheds because they were open carports. Duringthe conversion to riding stables it became neces-sary to add walls and doors to the structures. Itwas at this time that sliding doors suspendedfrom overhead tracks were installed. These areconstructed out of vertical 1x8 siding to matchthe walls.

Physical Description – Vehicle Sheds (FA-905 andFA-906)

The two long low buildings directly in front of the Balloon Hangar are theMotor Vehicle Sheds. They are rectangular buildings 216’-0” long by 46’-0”deep with their long side oriented in the north-south direction. The buildingswere originally built as temporary structures during World War Two.Although they have since been enclosed, they were originally built as open-sided carports to protect motor vehicles. The buildings are located on thegently sloping, former landing field and are composed of three 72’ wide sections

Sliding doors hanging from overheadtracts on West Vehicle Shed. (JaneLehman, 2004)

Aluminum sliding window installed inthe area of former wood double-hungwindow. Note former rough opening.(Jane Lehman, 2004)


Plans of the original Motor VehicleSheds, August 1940. Part of the “Se-ries 700” mobilization structures con-structed just prior to the beginning ofWorld War II.

The current corral area in betweenthe two former motor vehicle sheds.Building 906 is on the left and Build-ing 905 is on the right. (Jane Lehman,2004)


The Balloon Hangar’s gambrel shapeis a major character defining element.(John Martini, 2004)

The Balloon Hangar isan element of the FortsBaker, Barry, andCronkhite National Reg-ister District. All threebuildings are contribut-ing to a potential Na-tional Historic Land-mark District on theHarbor Defenses of SanFrancisco Bay.

♦ Rural setting - The Balloon Hangar has alwaysbeen situated in a semi-rural location in theMarin Headlands. Historically the hillsides werecovered with low coastal scrub plants. Theplants that have been allowed to grow up againstthe buildings should be removed and the drain-age problems must be corrected.

♦ Building shapes - Balloon Hangar’s gambrelshape and Vehicle Shed’s long, shallow profile

♦ Balloon Hangar’s large open interior space - Ariding ring is a very compatible use for thisbuilding, as would be the previous uses of amaintenance garage or an equipment assemblyarea.

♦ Visible interior structure of Balloon Hangarand Vehicle Sheds

♦ Balloon Hangar’s corrugated siding and roof-ing - Much of the corrugated siding and roofinghas been lost due to rust and metal fatigue. Itwill be necessary to replace it in the future with asimilar material. The approach for this should besimilar to that of preserving an historic ship,where replacement of the skin is considered es-sential to its preservation.

♦ Open bay at north end of Vehicle Shed FA-905

Significant Features of Balloon Hangar andVehicle Sheds

The following characteristics of these buildings are considered significant. Theyretain a high degree of integrity and would be very sensitive to change.


BOOKS AND REPORTS

_______. The National Register NominationForm for Forts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite,U.S. Army. 1973.

______. Progress Report: Installation of SepticTank at Leaching Field, Horse Stables, Bldg901, Fort Barry,”

______. Report of Proceedings of theGoverning Council for the Presidio RidingClub,” 17 October 1984, 17 December 1984and 1 February 1985.

Gregory, V. J. Keepers at the Gate. PortTownsend Publishing Co, Port Townsend, WA,1976

National Park Service. The GeneralManagement Plan/Environmental Analysis forGolden Gate National Recreation Area.National Park Service, 1980.

Thompson, Erwin. Historic Resource Study:Forts Baker, Barry, Cronkhite, Golden GateNational Recreation Area. National ParkService, 1979.

Thompson, Erwin. Historic Resource Study,Seacoast Fortifications, San Francisco Harbor.National Park Service, 1979.

Presidio Stables. Public Information HandoutSheet, no date.

MANUSCRIPT SOURCES

San Francisco, CA Park Archives andRecord Center, Golden Gate NationalRecreation Area

Post Building Book, Fort Barry,California

Historic Record of Buildings, FortBarry, Bldg 141, T-142, T-143

Oral History Interview, Peter Bohan,U.S. Army (ret.)

Letter, Supt. Brian O’Neill, GOGA, toLt. Col. Davis, HQ 6th U.S. Army, 5 July 1994

Interview, Jay Eichenhorst, GOGABusiness Office, 6 July 2004

Washington, D.C. National Archives

Record Group 77, Records of Office of Chiefof Engineers. National Archives

Completion Report - Fort WinfieldScott

Completion Report on Construction ofBalloon Hangars

NEWSPAPERS

Air Service Newsletter, “14th and 24th BalloonCompanies to Cooperate with Coast Artillery”,27 April 1920

Air Service Newsletter, “For the First Time inHistory of the World Problem Fired In WhichAll Data Was Supplied From the Air byBalloon”, 29 December 1920

Air Service Newsletter, 12 January 1921

Air Service Newsletter, 15 March 1921

Air Service Newsletter, “24th Balloon Company,Fort Baker, California”, 25 June 1921

GRAPHIC SOURCES

Park Archives and Record Center, GoldenGate National Recreation Area

Photograph, “Aerial – Fort Funston,”February 1942, Kenneth Cooper Collection

Photograph, “USTC Fort Barry TargetRange,” October 1917

Photograph, “ROTC No. 62 FortBarry”

Drawing, “Dirigible Balloon Hangarsfor Aviation Stations,” September 1920

Drawing, “Fort Barry, Cal. ShowingBalloon Hangar Etc.” 27 July 1921

Drawing, “Vehicle Sheds, Ft. Barry(Balloon Hgr), August 1940

Drawing, “Alterations to BalloonHangar, Fort Barry,” 24 August 1943

Drawing, “Pain Shed in Motor ShedNo 143, Regimental Motor Pool, 6th CA,” 17January 1944

Drawing, “Conversion of BalloonHangar for Use as Armament Shop,” 20 June1953

Drawing, “Bldg 907 – Fort Barry/NikeAssembly Area,” 21 May 1954

Drawing, “Bldg 907 – Fort Barry,Housing for Air Receivers,” 15 September1959

Drawing, “Rewire Stable Facilities atFort Barry, Buildings T-901 and T-902,” 30July 1985

San Francisco Public LibraryPhotograph, “C3 Army Balloon at San

Francisco City Hall,” ca. 1929

Bibliography


WEB SITES

USAF Museum website http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/early_years/ey5a.htm “Caquot Type R ObservationBalloon”

Golden Gate National Recreation AreaFort Mason, Building 201San Francisco, CA 94123

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C A

National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

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