Site information:

1040 Canal Boulevard, Richmond, CA

The very end of Canal St. is the Rosie the Riveter National Historic Site, which is related to this site and contains many informational signs.

37.913934,-122.369527

Plaque information:

State plaque

Plaque text:

Richmond Shipyards

During the World War II home front effort, the Richmond Shipyards were an immense facility covering 800 acres.  Constructed for the Henry J. Kaiser Company in 1941 and 1942, these shipyards became the largest in the world. New methods of ship construction developed here, including prefabrication and intense labor specialization, allowed the production of new vessels at a record pace.

The shipbuilding techniques used by Henry J. Kaiser at Richmond became a model for shipyards throughout the nation. During the period 1941-1942 the Richmond Shipyards built 747 ships, including 519 Liberty Ships, which represents almost a quarter of the total U.S. Liberty Ship production.

Between 1942 and 1943 the Richmond Shipyards hired 90,000 workers, many of them women, African Americans from the rural South, and members of other underrepresented groups.  The influx of new workers drawn by good wages for unskilled labor reshaped the social and cultrual landscape of the Bay Area.

Plaque placed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, the Port of Richmond, and the Bill Beaver Project, on December 7, 2017.

Registered 8/11/2000