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Rosie the Riveter
Richmond, California
Rosie the Riveter
 National Park Service Richmond, CA Redevelopment

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Operating Hours & Seasons?
Visitor Center: PASSPORT STAMP STATION
Monday to Friday; 8:30am to 5:00pm except major holidays.
Please Call 510-232-5050 for Visitor Center information.
Rosie Memorial: The Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Marina Bay Park is open year round, dawn to dusk, as are the other city parks within the National Park's boundaries.
Red Oak Victory Ship: PASSPORT STAMP STATION
Open 10am - 3pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Some Sundays. All hours are subject to the availability of the volunteer staff as well as inclement weather. Please call before your visit: 510-237-2933
Refer to the Self-Guided Auto Tour for other park sites.

What Is the Rosie the Riveter Memorial?
The Rosie the Riveter Memorial: Honoring American Women's Labor During WWII, is the first national monument to celebrate and interpret women's crucial contributions to the World War Two Home Front. It is located in Richmond, CA, in Rosie the Riveter Memorial Park at the site of the former Kaiser Shipyards, which were the largest and most productive of World War II.

What Does the Memorial Commemorate?
The Memorial commemorates and interprets the important contributions that women made to the war effort as increasing numbers of men joined the armed services.Over 6 million women from all backgrounds, and from all over the country, worked at industrial jobs that challenged traditional notions of women's capabilities and ensured American productivity that helped to win the war. The sight of women outfitted in overalls and wielding industrial tools became an icon that was popularized in the 1942 song, "Rosie the Riveter," providing a nickname for all women who worked in wartime industries. Across the nation women worked in defense industries and support services including shipyards, steel mills, foundries, lumber mills, warehouses, offices, hospitals and daycare centers.

Why Is the Memorial in Richmond, CA?
Wartime upheaval affected all of the U.S., but changed California and the San Francisco Bay Area profoundly. Some historians have called the WWII-era California's "Second Gold Rush" for its role in transforming the population, economy and even physical landscape of the state. No city felt these effects more than Richmond, which went from a small town to a booming city hosting the largest number of defense industries and war housing projects in the country. To fill these industrial jobs, employers needed to hire a broader range of workers, including women and people of color. Women of all ages and ethnicities came to Richmond to find new, better-paying jobs throughout the war. Their labor on "Liberty" and "Victory" ships played a role in America's remarkable productivity during the war years.

How Many Women Worked at the Richmond Shipyards?
At the height of the war, women made up approximately 27% of the 100,000-strong Richmond Kaiser shipyard workforce. In other industries, women made up to 80% of the workers.
There are no remaining employment records of all of the Kaiser shipyard employees. We are working to create a list of women who worked at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyards and currently have a database of over 200 names of women who worked as welders, drafters, truck drivers, first aid nurses and other jobs.

Who Designed the Memorial?
The Rosie the Riveter Memorial was designed by the San Francisco-based artist team of Susan Schwartzenberg and landscape architect Cheryl Barton. Schwartzenberg and Barton were awarded the commission following a competition open to artists throughout the West Coast. Click HERE for details.

Who Sponsors the Memorial?
The Memorial was commissioned by the Richmond Redevelopment Agency for the City of Richmond, California.

How Can I Find Out More About Women and the World War II Home Front?
Please see our Resources Page.

Are there any Movies available on Rosie the Riveter?
The award winning film, "The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter." is available from the Richmond, CA Library.
You can email the Head Librarian, Monique Le Conge at Monique_LeConge@ci.richmond.ca.us
You can also go to the website of Clarity Films for more info on this film or to purchase it online.

How Can I Find A "Rosie" to Interview?
Most women above the age of seventy have stories to tell of their experiences during the war. We suggest contacting your local senior center or house of worship to find women for interviews. Unfortunately, we can not respond individually to the many requests we get for "Rosies" to interview for research purposes.

What is the "Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park?"
Inspired by the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, the National Park Service has developed a proposal for a "Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park," making Richmond the premier site for commemorating and interpreting this important chapter of American history. Legislation authorizing the Park, authored by Congressman George Miller and supported by Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, has been passed by Congress.
The Park will encompass the Rosie the Riveter Memorial, Shipyard #3 (the single remaining shipyard in Richmond), a Home Front Visitor's and Education Center in the nearby Ford Assembly Building, and other structures remaining from the period, including daycare centers, war workers' housing and the Kaiser Field Hospital.

What Other Programs has the Rosie the Riveter Project Undertaken?

  • The Rosie the Riveter Memorial project includes an education program at Richmond's Kennedy High School, in collaboration with Community Works, and an Oral History Project that has completed 16 audio and videotaped oral histories with former Kaiser Shipyard workers.
  • In Summer/Fall 2000, we collaborated with the Women's Bureau/US Department of Labor and Tradeswomen, a nonprofit organization, on a program "Nontraditional: Then and Now", exploring issues related to women's entry into nontraditional jobs.

Recently Added FAQs Based on Your Feedback

1. I remember the Home Front experience during World War II or have a relative who worked in a defense industry How can I (or my relative's experiences) contribute to the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park?

The Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park is about not only the Richmond shipyards and the women who worked there, but about all Americans who worked in "The Arsenal of Democracy" during World War II. As a part of the General Master Plan for the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, the National Park Service is soliciting stories of the Home Front. If you wish to contribute, click this link and fill out and return the form.

2. What is the current status of the Rosie the Riveter World War II National Historic Park?

Over the next several years, the Rosie the Riveter/World War II National Historical Park will take shape in Richmond. The park, which was authorized by Congress in October 2000, will tell the story of the home front experience in Richmond and across the country through preservation and interpretation of places and stories associated with the war years.

Richmond played a significant part in the WWII home front. The four Kaiser Shipyards produced 747 ships, more than any other shipyard complex in the country. Richmond was home to 55 additional war related industries. As workers from across the nation migrated to secure defense jobs in the Bay Area, Richmond grew from 24,000 residents to over 100,000 in a few short years.

Today, Richmond has WWII era buildings and sites that have retained their historic integrity, and former home front sites that have been converted to new uses. Some have been identified on the accompanying map. Information about additional historic resources will be gathered through community dialogues. The National Historical Park will weave these sites together to bring the home front story to life through interpretive displays, tours and public programs.

The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park will be developed and managed through a partnership with the National Park Service, the City of Richmond and other partner organizations that will include the Rosie the Riveter Trust and the Richmond Museum of History. Most of the park sites are city owned or privately owned, and will remain under their current ownership and management.

The National Park Service website is http://www.nps.gov/rori/.

3. Where can I purchase Rosie the Riveter memorabilia, such as posters, t-shirts, etc.?

In the future, it is expected that the Rosie the Riveter Trust will have available via the Internet a complete line of books and images that tell the home front story. We also anticipate that these materials will be available eventually on site at the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Meanwhile, a limited line of products is available from Watermind at http://www.watermind.com,

4. Is the Rosie the Riveter image copyrighted?

The image that has become most widely known was commissioned by the United States War Production Commission - Co-coordinating Committee for use on a recruiting poster in 1943. It was intended to be displayed for only two weeks, February 15 through February 28. The artist was J. Howard Miller. It is widely held that this image is in the public domain, but we are aware of no official documentation to that effect. There are less well-known images, including a painting by Norman Rockwell entitled "Rosie the Riveter," that remain under copyright.

5. I am doing a school assignment about World War II, Rosie the Riveter, the Home Front, Women in the Workforce, etc. Can you send information? Can you put me in touch with a "Rosie" that I can interview?

At this time, all the information we have is available is on our website; however, a web search of "Rosie the Riveter," "World War II" and similar terms will yield thousands of hits. There is a useful links page on our website.

We suggest that you look around your city for people to interview about the home front and World War II. If you ask around, there will be friends and relatives with fascinating stories. If all else fails, visit a local residence for senior citizens. There were war production facilities all over the United States, and there are Rosies in every part of America. These individuals will typically be in their seventies and early eighties, or older, and many of them would be thrilled to give you first person accounts of their experiences. It is important to get their stories for posterity while they are still with us. We would appreciate it if you would send us computer files of the stories you write so that they may be eventually added to our historical files. We may even publish such stories on our web site.

The Richmond Public Library Reference Desk is also a resource and may be contacted at (510) 620-6561.

6. I would like to volunteer or to help in some way with the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park.

President Clinton signed the legislation creating the park only in October of 2000. Superintendent Judy Hart started working in January 2001, and she did not even have an office until April of 2001. There will be an intensive planning period of approximately two years before there will be any significant activity at the park, and the opening of the visitor center is probably two to three years away. Currently, there are no typical volunteer or docent type tasks available. If you give us your name and how to contact you the information will be kept on file, and we can contact you when volunteer opportunities open up.

7. I want to visit the national park. What is available, and when is it open?

The Following Sites are Open to the Public. Please see the map showing locations and aerial views.

  • Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Marina Bay Park: The first national Memorial to honor and interpret American women's contributions to the WWII home front. Directions are at http://www.rosietheriveter.org/map.htm. The memorial is in a public park and is open every day during daylight hours.
  • "Shipyard Stories" in Barbara & Jay Vincent Park: An artwork using historic photos and oral histories to illustrate daily life for Richmond shipyard workers.
  • S.S. Red Oak Victory: Built at Kaiser Shipyard #1, this 455-foot long ship carried munitions and cargo during WWII. Named after the Iowa town that lost the highest percentage of its sons on the battlefront, the ship is being restored by the Richmond Museum Association. The ship is open to visitors during certain hours and by appointment. Directions and contact phone numbers can be found on the website http://www.redoakvictory.org/.
  • John J. Sheridan Observation Point: This observation point is adjacent to the Ford assembly Building and the entrance to Harbor Channel. Richmond Shipyard No. 3 is across the channel.

The following sites are not open to the public. Interpretation is under development.

  • Ford Assembly Building: During WWII, thus vast building converted from automobile to tank production. The WWII Home Front Visitor/Educational Center, to be housed in the waterfront portion of the building, will provide orientation and education programs and exhibits about Richmond and other home front sites around the United States.
  • Shipyard No. 3: The only Richmond shipyard built as a permanent facility, Shipyard No. 3 currently includes five historic buildings (machine and sheet metal shops, general warehouse, cafeteria, and first aid station) and five graving/dry docks.
  • Kaiser Field Hospital: This building was used for health care for workers. One of the lasting programs in Kaiser's efforts to boost worker productivity and retention, the pre-paid health plan that became Kaiser Permanente was established here in Richmond.
  • Maritime and Powers Child Development Centers: These structures were originally built to serve families working in Richmond's home front industries and have been in continuous use as daycare facilities since the war.
  • Atchison Village: This 450-unit development served as housing for war workers. Now a mutual housing cooperative, the neighborhood retains much of its WWII-era appearance.

8. I have items from the war production era that I would like to donate to the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park (photos, documents, I.D. cards, hard hats, etc.). What should I do?

If you have something of historical value, we would appreciate it if you could describe it and tell us if you would consider donating it. We will file this information for future reference. Neither the National Park Service nor the Rosie the Riveter Trust currently has the resources available to collect and archive all available information and artifacts, but we are working on a way to collect items that may be of value for display in the future visitor center. The Richmond Museum of History may be interested in documents and artifacts related specifically to Richmond (Richmond Museum of History, 400 Avenue, Richmond, CA 94804, phone 510-620-8842).

9. Where can I get a copy of the video "The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter?"

The award winning film, "The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter." is available from the Richmond, CA Library.
You can email the Head Librarian, Monique Le Conge at Monique_LeConge@ci.richmond.ca.us
You can also go to the website of Clarity Films for more info on this film or to purchase it online.