Naval Air Station Alameda Naval Air Station Alameda ( NAS Alameda ) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda , California , on San Francisco Bay . NAS Alameda had two runways : 07 - 25 ( 8 , 000×200 ft ) ( 2 , 438×61 m ) and 13 – 31 ( 7 , 200×200 ft ) ( 2 , 195×61 m ) . Two helicopter pad s and a control tower were also part of the facilities . History . In 1927 , wetland s at the west end of Alameda Island on the east shore of San Francisco Bay were filled to form an airport with an east / west runway , three hangars , an administration building , and a yacht harbor . The airport site included the Alameda Terminal of the First Transcontinental Railroad ( California Historical Landmark # 440 ) . By 1930 , United States Army Air Corps operations referred to the site as Benton Field . Pan American World Airways used the yacht harbor as the California terminal for " China Clipper " trans - Pacific flights beginning in 1935 . The " China Clipper " terminal is designated California Historical Landmark # 968 . On 1 June 1936 , the city of Alameda , California ceded the airport to the United States government a few months before the Army discontinued operations from the field . Pan American World Airways shifted its terminal to Treasure Island in 1939 for the Golden Gate International Exposition . Congressional appropriations passed in 1938 for construction of naval air station facilities for two carrier air wing s , five seaplane squadrons and two utility squadrons . Appropriations were increased in 1940 for construction of two seaplane hangars and an aircraft carrier berthing pier , and naval operations began on 1 November 1940 . Fleet Air Wing 8 began patrol and scouting missions following the attack on Pearl Harbor . In April 1942 , the USS " Hornet " ( CV - 8 ) loaded at Alameda the 16 B - 25 aircraft that would take part in the Doolittle Raid on Japan . Air support training unit No . 2 at Alameda included the fleet radar operator ' s school , Link celestial navigation Trainer school , and aviation storekeeper school . As World War II continued , Alameda became headquarters for a system of auxiliary airfields : Alameda remained an important naval base through the Cold War . From 1949 to 1953 , the Navy based the Lockheed R6V Constitution — the largest airplane ever listed on the Navy inventory — at NAS Alameda . The two prototypes regularly flew between nearby NAS Moffett Field and Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . The base was the focus for northern California United States Navy Reserve drill after 1961 . Runways were lengthened for jet aircraft , and the airport was renamed Nimitz Field in 1967 following the death of Admiral Chester W . Nimitz . Nuclear powered aircraft carriers were home ported at Alameda into the 1990s , and thousands of local civilians were employed overhauling aircraft at the naval aviation depot . The base was closed in 1997 . Post - closure uses . After the base closed on 25 April 1997 , the USS " Hornet " ( CV - 12 ) was given to the former air station to be used as a museum ship , the USS " Hornet " Museum . The television series " MythBusters " often conducts its more destructive experiments on the grounds of the station ( which it refers to as the " Alameda Runway " ) , due to the extensive safety zone which it provides . For the same reason , this location has been used as a checkpoint for the Bullrun rally race ; the lengthy airstrip allowed for the staging of a challenge involving chasing a semi - trailer . A two - mile freeway loop was constructed on the base for the filming of a lengthy car chase sequence for the movie " The Matrix Reloaded " . The loop cost over $ 1 . 5 million to construct and was used solely for shooting the film ' s chase scenes ( a seven - week long process ) before it was demolished . The route is still visible on aerial photography on the former 07 / 25 and 13 / 31 runways . As of November 2011 an aerial view on Google Maps shows one of the runways being used for a simulated airliner crash for the TV series " Trauma " . Since 2000 , the City of Alameda has been planning the redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station , now known as Alameda Point . Complicating the redevelopment are several constraints : land - use constraints consisting of Tidelands Trust ; soil and groundwater contamination ; wildlife refuge buffer requirements ; geotechnical issues ; 100 - year flood plans ; institutional and contractual constraints with Alameda Measure A , the Alameda Naval Air Station Historic District and existing residents and leases . In August 2001 , Alameda selected Alameda Point Community Partners ( APCP ) as the master developer for the property . APCP was a partnership of financier Morgan Stanley , Shea Homes of Livermore , Centex Homes of Dallas and the Industrial Realty Group . The development was estimated to cost $ 2 billion and take 15 years to complete . Alameda Point Community Partners was selected over Catellus and Harbor Bay / Lennar , and signed a two - year exclusive negotiating contract as the property ’ s master developer . By 2005 , only Shea Homes and Centex Homes were working on redevelopment plans , and a Preliminary Development Concept called for building 1 , 700 homes on the site . In July 2006 , the City of Alameda and the Navy agreed to a $ 108 million purchase deal . In September 2006 , APCP decided that it would not move forward with the development plan identified in the Preliminary Development Concept and withdrew from the project . In May 2007 , the City selected SunCal Companies as the master developer from a field of five applicant firms that sought to develop . In July 2007 , the City and SunCal entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement as SunCal began to gather community input and develop preliminary plans . In August 2010 , the Alameda City Council voted to terminate the exclusive negotiating agreement with SunCal and halt its proposal for the former Naval Air Station . Various reasons were cited in the staff report leading up to the vote , including the developer - and city - initiated ballot measure related to the project that was defeated in February 2010 by a margin of 85 % . Superfund cleanup site . NAS Alameda was listed as a Superfund cleanup site on 22 July 1999 . 25 locations on the base were identified as needing remediation . The largest of the individual locations is the West Beach Landfill which occupies approximately 110 acres ( 44 . 5 ha ) in the southwestern corner of the base . Tests of the landfill indicate polychlorinated biphenyl ( PCB ) contamination . Notes . 7 . USS Hornet history