Ford Assembly Plant

Ford Assembly Plant entrance.

NPS photo/Luther Bailey

Quick Facts

Location:

1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA

Significance:

WWII Home Front History

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

City of Richmond California

The Historic Ford Assembly Plant

Located along the Richmond waterfront, the Ford Assembly Plant played a pivotal role during World War II. Initially designed to produce civilian vehicles, the plant shifted its focus to support the war effort. By assembling 49,000 jeeps and transforming into one of only three tank depots in the United States, the plant became crucial in the production and finishing of military vehicles. Here, the final touches were put on 91,000 tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, and other military vehicles, all destined for combat. This massive output made the Ford Assembly Plant a key component of the "Arsenal of Democracy."

Today, the City of Richmond has meticulously restored the Ford Assembly Plant, repurposing it for modern use while preserving its historical significance. The building is now managed by Orton Development and houses various businesses, including Craneway Pavilion and Assemble Restaurant. Although the National Park Service does not own the plant, visitors can explore the exterior of the historic structure and enjoy views of the waterfront. Parking is available at the nearby Visitor Education Center, where rangers and docents provide additional information about the plant's history.

For those interested in a deeper dive into the site's rich past, an audio program is available in the "Self-Guided Tours" section of the NPS app. This program offers an engaging way to learn more about the vital contributions of the Ford Assembly Plant during World War II and its enduring legacy in Richmond's industrial culture.

Note: While the plant's interior is not accessible to the public, the exterior offers a glimpse into its storied past, and the surrounding area provides a scenic backdrop for visitors.

 

• Ford Assembly Plant

  
  

  This extended audio program provides a comprehensive history behind the historic plant and it's uses during WWII. You can listen to this program at home, at the site or even in your classroom. Downloadable versions are available.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS/Luther Bailey/Rob Milton/Lauren Goode

  Audio Transcript

  Out of the three wartime tank depots in the United States, the Ford Assembly Building is the only surviving structure.

  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 Nation's war effort.

  The 500,000-square-foot Ford Assembly Building was built in 1931 to produce the new Ford Model A. The factory was a major stimulant to the local and regional economy during the Great Depression and was an important development in Richmond's inner harbor and port plan. 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, known for his "daylight factory" design, which employed extensive window openings that became his trademark. The main building is comprised of a two-story section, a single-story section, a craneway, a boiler house and a shed canopy structure over the railroad track.

  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 WWII. 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 of 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 Ford Assembly Plant assembled 49,000 jeeps, but it's "claim to fame" was becoming one of only three tank depots in the entire United States. Every combat vehicle used in WWII was processed by one of these three depots. Here the finishing touches were put on 91,000 tanks, half-tracks, armored cars, and other military vehicles destined for combat. This Assembly Plant was one cog in that mobilization of the "Arsenal of Democracy" and a historical part of what is today's industrial culture of the United States.

  The "Richmond Tank Depot" as the Ford plant was then called, helped keep American fighting men supplied with up-to-the-minute improvements in their battle equipment. 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.

  After the war, the devastation to the local economy as a result of the closing of the Kaiser 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 because of the inability to accommodate increased productivity demands. In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake severely damaged the plant. The City of Richmond repaired and prepared the Ford Assembly Plant for use. Title to the building was then passed to Orton Development and most of the building is now leased to various businesses.