Business & Economy

Photo Blog: Google, Castle Air Force Base, Weeds And Air Force One

KVPR | By Ezra David Romero

Published July 18, 2014 at 10:50 AM PDT

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An new terminal was built at Castle, but was abandoned before it ever opened.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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The Castle Air Museum at the base is full of planes and relics from war time. The museum offers tours as well as educational programs for teens.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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A bowling alley at the base was active until a few years back, say Scott Malta the base manager.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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The runway at the base is still active and is one of the longest in the state.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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This buidling houses Google's Project Loon, says Scott Malta the base manager.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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A retired Air Force One aircraft is used for testing at the base.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Google is testing out their version of the self-driving car at Castle.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Merced County hopes to turn the airport at the base into a heavily used entity.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Castle also serves as a training ground for pilots and the Forest Service has a station at the base.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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There are over 40 people working on unmanned aircraft technology at the UC Merced campus at Castle.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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After the base shutdown in 1995 artifacts were spread out across the base. Since then they have been brought together in an air museum near the entrance of the base.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Over 40 buildings were torn down when Merced County bought the base, the remaining are waiting for tenants or rennovation.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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One of the first things you see at Castle is an abandoned gas station.

Ezra David Romero / ValleY Public Radio

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Brendan Smith, a PHD student at UC Merced, is creating a drone that will take water samples from rivers and other bodies of water.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Today this building houses a company that makes, tests and fits prosthetic limbs. When Castle was open the tall building was used for drying parachutes.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

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Castle wasn't always tan and brown, in Cold War times it was painted in many shades of pastels.

Ezra David Romero / Valley Public Radio

Central California isn't necessarily known for advancing the world of technology, but Ezra David Romero reports that some are trying to change that. Merced County, a region know for milk and almonds, is working to attract high tech companies to fill what was once Castle Air Force Base in Atwater.

"Becoming a success in the future is thinking bigger, thinking brighter, it's thinking Google." - Mark Hendrickson with Merced County.

In Romero's first story he spies on what Google is doing at the base, flies a drone and takes a tour of other tech companies scattered across the base's 2,700 acres.

These photos bring you into what is now the Castle Commerce Center and lets you see firsthand the initial stages of the communities transformation.

Story: Google's Self-Driving Car And Others Use Merced As A Landing Pad