Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park

Address:1401 Marina Way
Richmond, California
Tel: (510) 232-5050

Visit the first memorial in the nation to honor the 14 million women who changed the face of American industry! The Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park preserves and interprets the stories and places of our nation's home front response to World War II. The Memorial began as a public art project for the City of Richmond in San Francisco in the 1990's and today, pays homage to the "Rosies" who made lasting impacts by working in WWII defense industries and supporting steel mills, foundries, lumber mills, aircraft factories, offices, hospitals and daycare centers.

The memorial is located at Marina Bay Park and is constructed in a manner that gives the impression that it is a Victory Ship's hull currently undergoing construction. Mass assembly techniques that the shipyard workers would have used are represented in the "partial construction" of the memorial. The memorial represents memories of the women who worked on the home front helping to serve and protect American soil. The design was chosen through a 1998 competition and has been called a "construction metaphor exploring the symbolic connection between building ships and the reconstructive processes of human memory." Visitors can walk the walkway which is the length of a ship's keel, slopes toward the San Francisco Bay, and is aligned with the Golden Gate Bridge. There is an etched timeline along the white granite walkway that includes quotes from women workers. There are other sculptural elements of stainless steel along the walkway that are presumably designed following drawings from ship's blueprint. There are two gardens of rockrose and dune grass to explore, as well as porcelain panels on the hull and reproductions of memorabilia, pictures, letters, and quotes gathered from former shipyard workers. Visitors can also enjoy the self-guided auto tour and see the last remaining Victory Ship that was created in the Richmond Kaiser Shipyards. There is a small, un-staffed visitor center at Richmond's City Hall where portions of this collection will someday be displayed. The Memorial in Marina Bay Park is open year round, from dawn to dusk.

To get to the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, take I-80 East (from San Francisco) to I-580 West towards Richmond/San Rafael. Exit at Marina Bay/South 23rd Street. Make a left over the freeway overpass and then a right onto Regatta. Continue until you hit Marina Way South (at a T intersection). Turn left onto Marina Way South. Feel the pride and empowerment that inspired so many before us at the historic Rosie the Riveter memorial!