Designed by Albert Kahn and constructed in 1930, the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant was the largest assembly plant on the west coast.

When President Roosevelt banned the production of civilian automobiles during World War II, the plant temporarily became the Richmond Tank Depot. Jeeps, tanks, and other military vehicles were assembled here for shipment to the war in the Pacific.

After the war, Ford resumed assembly of civilian automobiles until the plant was closed in 1956, rendered obsolete by technological changes in automobile manufacturing.

When we photographed the building from the SS Jeremiah O'Brien Liberty Ship in 2004, it was still vacant. It has since been renovated and is now a focal point of Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.