On December 7th 2011 Marking the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day, Rosie the Riveter World War II/Home Front National Historical Park (NHP) and USS Iowa BB-61 Join Forces to Announce Their Own Formal Historic 2012 Openings and Activities on the Deck of the USS Iowa

RICHMOND, Calif., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 7, 2011 in honor of the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day in the morning that the air portion of the attack on Pearl Harbor (Hawaiian time) began, the National Park Service, the Pacific Battleship Center and the Craneway Pavilion will make their own historic announcements (including one from The San Francisco Giants) for their official opening dates next year for The Rosie the Riveter/ WWII Home Front NHP Visitor Education Center and The USS Iowa BB-61 Museum.

The 2012 announcements will be hosted by The Craneway Pavilion onboard the deck of The USS Iowa BB-61 which is currently docked across the street in the Port of Richmond, California. The ceremony will mark the first time that a group of "The Rosie's," VIPs and officials will be on the deck since the battleship was taken out of retirement to be converted into a museum.

The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front NHP Visitor Education Center (an interactive museum) will be located immediately across from the BoilerHouse Restaurant in its own historic building that is part of the Ford Assembly Building complex, made possible through an arrangement by Orton Development, which owns and operates Craneway Pavilion.  

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was created in 2000 to preserve and interpret the stories and sites of our nation's home front response to World War II. During World War II, Rosie the Riveter emerged as an iconic cultural symbol of American women across the country rolling up their sleeves to support the war effort. Many of these pioneering "Rosie's" toiled in the historic Ford Assembly Building, site of the new center (as well as the world-class event and production facility Craneway Pavilion).  They built 49,000 jeeps, and outfitted tanks, in a re-tooled industrial plant that first opened in 1932 to make Model "A" Fords.  Rosie the Riveter has since become a symbol representing the strength and determination of women everywhere striving for equality in all walks of life.

"Rosie the Riveter represents what is great about America: that spunky, adventurous, generous-hearted, and hard-working spirit," Eddie Orton, Orton Development, said. "It has been an honor to work in her environs and to recreate her contribution to American history. We are very excited about the 2012 opening of the National Park Service's Rosie the Riveter Museum and Visitor Center and we invite everyone to come by and share Rosie's inspirational story."

"The Visitor Center and interactive museum will both interpret the national home front movement, and orient visitors to Richmond's influential history from the era," Tom Leatherman, Superintendent, Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park, said. "The Center will feature interactive exhibits and learning experiences. Visitors will see, hear, and reflect on the stories and contributions of courageous home front Americans.  They will both tell the local story and link to other representative sites across the country."

Known as "The Big Stick" of the U.S. Navy, the World War II-era battleship, The USS Iowa BB-61 represents the peak of naval military power in an era from Franklin Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush.  Currently docked across the street from the Old Ford Motor Plant in Richmond, The Iowa is the last lead battleship of its class. It is one of the biggest, fastest and most powerful battleships ever to sail and serve in combat duty. It is undergoing extensive refurbishment and restoration over the next few months before making its way to her new permanent home at the Port of Los Angeles as a museum.

"This is the world's last battleship's final voyage," said Robert Kent, president of the Pacific Battleship Center, said. "During World War II, the Iowa carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic to Casablanca for a crucial 1943 meeting in Tehran with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin. She was transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944 and saw action in the South Pacific also served as the Third Fleet flagship, flying Admiral William F. Halsey's flag at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay."

The Iowa's sister ships are now museums: The Missouri is located at Pearl Harbor; The Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va.; and, The New Jersey, in Camden, N.J. The Navy no longer has battleships in its fleet.

The Pacific Battleship Center

The Pacific Battleship Center is working to bring the USS IOWA back to life as an interactive naval museum experience that honors and illustrates the positive contributions of this renowned ship and its crew at critical moments in American history. Our education programs offer lessons in history, leadership, team-building, character development, and community service. We're honored to do this for the last available U.S. Navy battleship.

Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park

Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, located in the wartime boomtown of Richmond, California, preserves and interprets the stories and places of our nation's home front response to World War II.

The Craneway Pavilion

Once the historic building facility of Rosie the Riveter and tanks used in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, The Craneway Pavilion is a now a world-class and sustainably designed event, concert and production facility centrally located in one of the planet's most iconic destinations. Located on 25 waterfront acres, Craneway Pavilion offers an expansive 45,000 square feet facility in an architecturally significant building dating back to 1932.

For more information:

http://www.craneway.com

http://www.nps.gov/rori

http://www.pacificbattleship.com/

SOURCE Craneway Pavilion