Goodyear Airdock, Airship hangar in Akron, US
The Goodyear Airdock is an airship hangar in Akron, Ohio, that ranks among the largest buildings of its kind in the world. The hall extends roughly 1,175 feet (358 meters) in length and 325 feet (99 meters) in width, rising about 211 feet (64 meters) high with nearly 364,000 square feet (34,000 square meters) of floor space.
Construction finished in 1929 and the building served as the assembly hall for two naval airships, USS Akron and USS Macon, which were built there in the early 1930s. After the airship era ended, Goodyear used the facility for other industrial purposes.
The hangar received recognition as a landmark of civil engineering for the technical solutions required to build a structure of this size at the time. Today it stands as a reminder of the era when airships were seen as the future of transport.
The hangar's massive semi-spherical doors move along curved tracks and open when work takes place inside. Visitors who want to see the building from outside can find good viewing angles from surrounding streets, as the facility sits on a large industrial site.
The building rests on rollers that allow expansion and contraction during temperature changes so the structure does not sustain damage. High in the walls are windows that help balance the temperature inside.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
