This 1941 cover image shows Chrysler engineers planning the design of the first factory for mass production of tanks in the US
Design and construction of the 690,000-square-foot building in Warren, Michigan took seven months (mostly winter) and was overseen by the construction division of the Army Quartermaster Corps. USA
A team of 197 Chrysler employees worked 70 hours a week for 11 weeks laying out the production line. The preparation of the architectural, structural and mechanical plans was carried out by Albert Kahn Associated Architects & Engineers.
While water, sewer, and electrical lines ran below the floor slab, pipes for steam, oil used for machining work, and propane gas for cutting operations were lowered from the roof trusses. The 8-inch-thick reinforced concrete floor slab was covered with creosoted wood blocks.
OW Burke Co. was the general contractor. Two temporary railway tracks were laid, enabling the delivery of steel and the lifting of steel rebars by locomotive cranes.
