Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park — Attraction in Richmond

The Ford Richmond Plant, formally the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, in Richmond, California, was the largest assembly plant to be built on the West Coast and its conversion to wartime production during World War II aided the United States' war effort. The plant is part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It currently houses the National Park Service visitor center, several private businesses and the Craneway Pavilion, an event venue.

Built in 1930 during the Great Depression, the assembly plant measures nearly 500,000 square feet (46,450 m2). The factory was a major stimulant to the local and regional economy and was an important development in Richmond's inner harbor and port plan.

To ensure that America prepared for total war by mobilizing all the industrial might of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt banned the production of civilian automobiles during World War II. The Richmond Ford Assembly Plant switched to assembling jeeps and to putting the finishing touches on tanks, half-tracked armored personnel carriers, armored cars and other military vehicles destined for the Pacific Theater. By July 1942, military combat vehicles began flowing into the Richmond Ford plant to get final processing before being transported out the deep-water channel to the war zones. The "Richmond Tank Depot" (only one of three tank depots in the country) as the Ford plant was then called, helped keep American fighting men supplied with up-to-the-minute improvements in their battle equipment. Approximately 49,000 jeeps were assembled and 91,000 other military vehicles were processed here.

After the war, the devastation to the local economy as a result of the closing of the Richmond Shipyards would have been crippling had it not been for the continued production of the Ford Plant. The last Ford was assembled in February 1953, with the plant being closed in 1956 and production transferred to the San Jose Assembly Plant because of the inability to accommodate increased productivity demands.

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the plant. After the earthquake, the City of Richmond repaired and prepared the Ford Assembly building for rehabilitation.

In April, 2020, Contra Costa County officials announced that the Craneway Pavilion would be converted into a 250-bed hospital for COVID-19 patients who do not require an intensive care unit...

Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond is one of the most meaningful and powerful places I have ever visited. It is not just a park but a living story of what the Bay Area contributed during World War II and how ordinary people rose up to do extraordinary things. Standing here, you can feel the weight of history while also being inspired by the strength and resilience of the women and men who built ships, worked in factories, and supported the war effort on the home front.

The visitor center is incredible, with exhibits that bring the era to life. There are photos, artifacts, and powerful stories that tell you what it was like to live and work in Richmond during the 1940s. You learn about the shipyards, the housing boom, the struggles of rationing, and most importantly, the women — the “Rosies” — who stepped into roles traditionally held by men and forever changed the workforce. Listening to oral histories and watching short films, you can almost hear their voices echoing through time.

Walking around the park grounds adds even more to the experience. You can see the historic shipyard buildings, the cranes, and the shoreline where so much work took place. The views of the Bay and San Francisco in the distance remind you of how vital this area was, and still is. There are memorials and signs that help you understand what once stood there and the impact it had on the war effort. It is both humbling and inspiring to stand in the same place where history was made.

What I love most about Rosie the Riveter Park is that it is not just about history in books, it is about people. It tells the story of women breaking barriers, families adjusting to wartime life, and communities working together under incredible pressure. It is about sacrifice, resilience, and determination, and those lessons still feel important today.

Visiting this park is an experience that stays with you. It makes you proud of what everyday people accomplished and grateful for the freedoms that were secured through their hard work. It is one of the most significant historical sites in the Bay Area and a place I recommend to anyone who wants to truly understand the spirit of the home front during...

I was able to visit this park in 2012. I had already sent the story of my mother, Ava Marie Phillips Woods, and my father also, having worked in the factory in Anderson, Indiana, during the war. My mother began working in Delco Remys in the converted plant from car manufacturing to war supplies, after my father, William Howard Woods left to go to Frankfurt, Germany. He was a welder there, repairing planes to keep them flying and fighting the enemy. The park, although still under construction, then was a fascinating place with a large open park telling stories of women who worked in Richmond, building Victory snips and of other women, and men, who worked in converted factories all over America building ships, planes, Jeeps and other supplies for the war. These men and women built more war supplies, in less time than had ever been done, by any country, in the history of the world. My parents stories are in their archives. They were both American Heroes. Also, part of the park is one of the restored Victory ships, used by the U.S. Navy, during the war. The Red Oak Victory ship. They now have a beautiful Visitors Center, also. Everyone, should visit this historic park that honors so many of our parents and grandparents who took their part in saving the world from the...