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'{{Infobox NRHP| name =Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant | nrhp_type = | image = Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (Richmond, CA).JPG | caption = | location= [[Richmond, California]] | coordinates = {{coord|37|54|38.6|N|122|21|30.1|W|display=inline,title}} | map_label = Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant | locmapin=San Francisco Bay Area#USA California#USA | area = | built =1930 | architect = [[Albert Kahn (architect)|Albert Kahn]] | added = June 23, 1988 | governing_body = City of Richmond, California | refnum=88000919 <ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2006a}}</ref> }} 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 of the United States|West Coast]]<ref name="nps">{{cite web | url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/for.htm | title=Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant | work=World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area | publisher=[[National Park Service]] | accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref> 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. ==Construction== Built in 1930 during the [[Great Depression]], the assembly plant measures nearly 500,000 square feet (46,450&nbsp;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.<ref name="nps"/> Ford became Richmond's third largest employer, behind [[Standard Oil]] and the [[Santa Fe Railroad]]. It is also an outstanding example of 20th-century industrial [[architecture]] designed by architect [[Albert Kahn (architect)|Albert Kahn]], known for his "daylight factory" design, which employed extensive window openings that became his trademark. The main building is composed of a two-story section, a single-story section, a [[craneway]], a [[boiler]] house and a shed canopy structure over the railroad track. ==World War II== 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 [[jeep]]s and to putting the finishing touches on [[tank]]s, half-tracked [[armored personnel carrier]]s, armored cars and other military vehicles destined for the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|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 depot]]s in the country<ref name="roripdf">{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/rori/upload/RORI%20Self-Guided%20Auto%20Tour%209-15-06.pdf | title=Self-Guided Auto Tour | work=Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park | publisher=National Park Service | format=PDF | accessdate=2007-04-04}}</ref>) 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.<ref name="roripdf"/> In mobilizing the wartime production effort to its full potential, Federal military authorities and private industry began to work closely together on a scale never seen before in American history. This laid the groundwork for what became known as the "[[military-industrial complex]]" during the [[Cold War]] years.<ref name="nps"/> This Assembly Plant was one cog in the mobilization of the "[[Arsenal of Democracy]]" and a historic part of what is today's industrial culture of the United States. ==Post-war== 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. The plant was featured in the movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream." Principal photography started with first unit shooting on April 13, 1987 in the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, California. 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 and selected Orton Development as the developer of the rehabilitation project. In 2008, after the building's rehabilitation was completed, tenants including [[SunPower|SunPower Corporation]] and [[Mountain Hardwear]] made the building their new home. The craneway ("Craneway Pavilion")<ref>[http://www.craneway.com/Venue/About/ Craneway Pavilion: Venue - About]</ref> of the building is also used for banquets, weddings, and corporate events.<ref>[http://www.insomniac.com/event/skrillex-2014-10-31-craneway Skrillex Insomniac Halloween]</ref><ref>[http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/bjandoumlrk-breathes-new-life-into-craneway-pavilion/Content?oid=3560611 Björk Breathes New Life Into Craneway Pavilion - East Bay Express]</ref> In 2018, the Craneway Conference Center was the venue for [[West Edge Opera]]'s summer opera festival.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rowe |first1=Georgia |title=Why SF Bay Area’s West Edge company does opera like no one else |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/30/why-sf-bay-ares-west-edge-company-does-opera-like-no-one-else/ |accessdate=14 December 2018 |agency=Bay Area News Group |publisher=San Jose Mercury News |date=30 July 2018}}</ref> ==See also== *[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Contra Costa County, California]] *[[List of Ford factories]] ==References== {{Reflist}} {{NPS}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (Richmond, California)}} *[http://www.nps.gov/rori Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park] *[http://www.craneway.com/ Craneway Pavilion website] {{History of Richmond, California}} {{Ford factories}} [[Category:Ford factories|Assembly Plant]] [[Category:Former motor vehicle assembly plants]] [[Category:Motor vehicle assembly plants in California]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Richmond, California]] [[Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1930]] [[Category:Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California]] [[Category:Motor vehicle manufacturing plants on the National Register of Historic Places]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, California]] [[Category:Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park]] [[Category:Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in California]] [[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1930]] [[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1988]] [[Category:1930 establishments in California]] [[Category:1988 disestablishments in California]] [[Category:Companies based in Richmond, California]] [[Category:Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Economy of the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Richmond, California]]'