Fran Mainella, Director of the National Park Service, visited Richmond on Friday, July 26, 2002, to meet with Richmond City Council members, Contra Costa County officials, City department heads, the development team for the Ford Assembly Building and others.

Director Mainella was the keynote speaker at the 2002 Conference of Americans for National Parks conference, February 24, 25, and 26, 2002, where she was invited by former Mayor Rosemary Corbin and Vice-Mayor Tom Butt to visit the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Judy Hart, Superintendent of the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park and John Reynolds, Western Regional Director, welcomed Mainella to Richmond, and the entourage boarded a tour boat at Marina Bay for a waterfront tour of the park features, including the Marina Bay parks, Ford Assembly Building, Shipyard 3 and the Red Oak Victory, ultimately dropping off Director Mainella at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco for a subsequent engagement.

Mainella used the time during the boat trip to discuss with City Manager Isiah Turner and  Richmond City Council members the future of the national park and the role it would play in making Richmond a major tourism destination. The park is a “partnership park,” meaning that all of the actual land and buildings within the park are owned by others than the Federal government, including the City of Richmond, Contra Costa County and several private parties.

The General Master Plan for the park is underway, including a series of meetings for public input on the future of the park. For additional information, see www.rosietheriveter.org.

The Richmond City Council is expected to authorize execution of a Disposition and Development Agreement and Program Management Agreement with Assembly Plant Partners at next week’s City Council meeting on July 30, 2002. This will set in motion a $55 million rehabilitation of the former Ford Assembly Plant, a 550,000 square foot structure on the Richmond waterfront that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The Ford Assembly Plant, built in the 1930’s and used for tank production in WW II, will be the home of the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park Visitor Center.