By Kathy Chouteau
Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond is revving up for “Riveter Days” from Thursday through Saturday in honor of national Rosie the Riveter Day (Thursday, March 21). Community members are encouraged to dress up like Rosie the Riveter, attend a pop-up and participate in the Rosie Roll-Call as part of the events.
Whether you live in Richmond or beyond, a trip to the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Center is a MUST. There along the historic waterfront, you’ll embark on a journey of discovery about how people from all corners of the country flocked to Richmond shipyards in the WWII-era 1940’s for war production jobs aiding the fight against the Nazis and the Axis of Evil. The city’s population exploded from 23,000 to 100,000 during 1940 to 1945.
Among these people were the “Rosie the Riveters,” women from varying ethnicities and experiences, who rose up to build ships for their country while simultaneously waging personal battles for minority, women’s and labor rights along the way.
The Visitor Center’s interactive and educational exhibits make the Rosie the Riveters’ experiences come alive, as do its assortment of park films that offer an impactful glimpse of this tumultuous time in U.S. history.
Daily scheduled films currently at the Visitor Center include Home Front Heroes, 16 minutes, about Richmond as told by the Rosies and others who worked here during the war; The War at Home, 25 minutes, which tells the story of the Home Front via the people who experienced it; and Blossoms and Thorns, 19 minutes, which shares the story about Japanese immigrants and Japanese-Americans in Richmond who were sent to internment camps during WWII.
Lest we forget the park’s gift shop at the Visitor Center, which is the perfect place to show some hometown pride by purchasing your very own red-and-white polka dot scarf—just like Rosie—or a wide assortment of posters, T-shirts, glasses, postcards, pins, magnets and the like.
Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park’s Visitors Center is located at 1414 Harbour Way S., #3000, in Richmond.
