On
May 9, 1917, William E. Boeing (1881-1956)
reincorporates Pacific Aero-Products Co. as the Boeing
Airplane Co. and moves his aircraft assembly from
Seattle's Lake Union to the so-called Red Barn in a
former shipyard on the Duwamish River. This action comes
just 20 days after America’s entry into World War I and
is prompted in large part by the U.S. Navy’s acceptance
of Boeing’s Model C trainer float plane.
RIGHT: Boeing's famous "red barn", which was a former
Shipyard building.
Boeing had purchased the Heath Shipyard on the
western shore of the Duwamish in 1910, not long after
commissioning it to build his personal yacht. He had it
converted for aircraft construction in 1917 following
the award of a Navy contract for 50 Model C trainers.
Boeing workers variously called it “Oxbow,” “Plant 1”
(after 1936) and, most commonly, the "Red Barn” after
the yard’s main building.
This complex remained Boeing’s main factory until
completion of Plant 2 in 1936 at Boeing Field on the
opposite side of the Duwamish River. The Red Barn was
sold to the Port of Seattle in 1970 and moved to the
south end of the Boeing Field in 1975 to serve as the
original wing of the Museum of Flight.
