Historic Zero Hour Navy Newsletters Have Surfaced!

Ten issues of the Zero Hour newsletter produced by the U.S. Naval Air Station Sunnyvale were found! What's more, they are dated 1933, the very year the mighty USS Macon airship made its maiden voyage before coming to its home in Hangar 1 at the air station now known as Moffett Field. The Cultural Resources Manager found the documents in Building 25 during renovations and immediately started the process of protecting and providing access to them. The Senior Archivist took steps to stabilize, preserve, and digitize the documents, which are being transferred to the Moffett Museum for study and safekeeping.
+ See all 10 issues!

(Image credit: Jonathan Ikan)

Cultural Resources Manager
Jonathan Ikan featured in
NASA News & Notes

See page 13 in Volume 36 No. 32:
https://history.nasa.gov/nltr36-2.pdf

Jonathan Ikan stepped in to manage the center's historic preservation efforts after Keith Venter's retirement in 2017.

Keith Venter at the award
ceremony on October 7, 2015.
(NASA image ACD15-0181-017)

NASA Honor Award for Keith Venter:
Exceptional Achievement Medal

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden selected Keith Venter as a 2015 recipient of an exceptional achievement medal for his extensive efforts at Ames Research Center to lease significant portions of Moffett Federal Airfield.

Award citation: For outstanding, innovative approaches in operations management supporting NASA's commitment to preserving our Nation's historic treasures.

WPA Painting Found at Moffett Field

Ames Research Center Historic Preservation Officer Keith Venter and Archivist April Gage holding up the Gene McComas painting "Mission San Juan Bautista." The Works Progress Administration commissioned McComas to do the work as part of the Federal Art Project effort to employ artists during the Great Depression. The painting, found at Moffett Field, has been returned to the General Services Administration Fine Arts Program repository where it will be conserved, cataloged, and loaned to one of the nation's museums.

The painting recovery effort
is featured in the August 2015 issue of the
Mission Villiage Voice (see page 16)

The effort is also mentioned in the August 2015 Preservation ePost by the California Office of Historic Preservation

NACA Park Eco-Lawn Project Wins Sustainability Award

Award recipients Keith Venter, Facilities Historic Preservation Officer (left) and Steve Frankel,
Facilities Engineering Branch Chief, standing on the Eco-Lawn (official Ames photo ACD11-0119-003).

Keith Venter and Steve Frankel received the 2011 NASA Ames Sustainability Award for their design and implementation of an energy- and water-efficient multipurpose park on a historic and previously-contaminated 14-foot wind tunnel site. Named "NACA Park," this site commemorates the history of flight testing at Ames while providing an open space for honoring new accomplishments.

Eco-Lawn represents a first test case at Ames to a move away from traditionally high maintenance lawns. The Eco-Lawn looks like a normal green lawn, but requires approximately 1.6 million gallons less water annually than a traditional lawn for the given space. The way this lawn saves water is based on the selected slow-growing long rooted grass species. And, because it grows slowly, less mowing is required which in turn saves energy and reduces maintenance costs.

The Eco-Lawn project team included Keith Venter, Steve Frankel, David Yee, Tim Gafney, and Pat Jacquemet.

For more information on the Eco-Lawn and other sustainable landscapes, see:
+ www.wildflowerfarm.com
 

Possible Hangar One Reuse by Google Noted in Smithsonian's Air & Space Magazine

Historic Preservation Officer Keith Venter is quoted in an article entitled Hangar One May House Aircraft Again in the May 2012 Issue of Air & Space Magazine. The piece discusses the Hangar's history and rehabilitation process, noting Google's recent offer to pay for the restoration of the historic structure, adapting it for use as a museum or educational space and for housing the company's fleet of aircraft.

+ News, detailed reports, and other information about Hangar One posted by the Ames Historic Preservation Office.

Historic Preservation Office Staff Receives Prestigious 2008 Preservation Design Award

The California Preservation Foundation honored Keith Venter and Tom Anderson with a 2008 Preservation Design Award for a study of historic resources related to the Space Shuttle program. (Rich Sucre, Page and Turnbull, San Francisco, and the Ames Environmental and History offices provided assistance with the report.)

+ Download award announcement in PDF format.

+ Review the award-winning report entitled Evaluation of Historic Resources Associated with the Space Shuttle Program at NASA Ames Research Center